Leveraging visualization technology in Geospatial applications

Data visualization in the telecommunications industry
Telecommunications companies have traditionally been quick to recognize the potential of new technology and use it to improve their business processes. Visualization systems allow users to see complex information displayed in ways they never before possible. As problems become more complex and as the patterns being searched for become more obscure, one-dimensional questions and two-dimensional reports simply fail to provide decision-makers with the input needed to understand the situation clearly. Visualization systems enable that change.

Visualization applications make it easy for engineers to see exactly what is happening in ways that no printed report can communicate. In some cases, products are used to watch current traffic patterns and flows through lines. Color, size and shape represent distinct load attributes on each section. In other cases, historical call detail data is accessed from geographic displays to pinpoint what kind of call activity is occurring and where [Mattison 97].

Cellular and PCS engineers use visualization tools to help isolate repeater and cell traffic problem nodes. Trouble spots and failed service reports are posted to a geographical mapping system, which includes the position, type, and orientation of each node. This combined data can be used to improve overloaded link-lines or multiplexers in the network.

The network capacity planning engineers need to understand the network capacity required based on the potential volume of calls the network must be able to carry without faults. In fact, most regulatory tariffs include a specification for the service level a carrier must provide to their customers.

One way customer service groups are using visual technology is to create visually based central clearing warehouses for all service-related activities. Using these facilities, dispatchers can get a 'birds-eye' view of where customers are having problems, the nature of those problems, and where the closest available service personnel can be located. Instant access to information reduces service call time, and improves the service provided to customers [Flavin 96].

The following three cases examine how data visualization has been applied by large telecommunications companies to solve data analysis issues associated with large repositories of spatial and network traffic data.

British telecom
In the British Telecommunications (BT) network there are six thousand switches and twenty-five million customer lines generating megabytes of network status and control data every minute. Overlaid on the physical network is an expanding range of voice, data, and video services, each with their own data and management requirements. The main driver for rapid growth in visualization activity is the overwhelming volume of data that routinely confronts both researchers and managers.

An example of a visual network capacity planning tool is shown in figure 5. This application used for network performance analysis, call volume record pattern analysis, and planning for upgrades within the British Telecom network. The application front-ends a database, where call attributes are held, and ad-hoc queries are made. The principle view of the data is in a map-based display, where geographic regions such as managed network zones and exchanges are shown. Network nodes are shown as glyphs on the map, selectable via mouse gestures to generate SQL queries. As the user “drills in” to the call data detail, further views of call routing and route volume is shown both in tables and in a visual display.

Vodafone
Visualization software technology has enabled Vodafone, one of the UK’s largest mobile telecommunications companies, to implement a system for monitoring cell coverage and network performance. The Vodafone Information System Analyzer is an intuitive application, which the engineering department is using extensively to monitor cell and network performance. Information that was once difficult to extract from multiple Oracle databases and required considerable SQL experience is now accessible through visual queries. For workers who rely on information, complex patterns in the data are immediately recognized and comprehended through the use of data visualization.

The application runs on UNIX and Windows platforms and provides a variety of views into the data, including vector and raster map information, 2D charts, and data tables. Users can interact with the display to select areas of interest and drill on more detailed information, such as the precise cell coverage in a dense urban area, as shown as a 3D view in Figure 7.

The network management application includes both geospatial map-based views as well as complimentary data visualization views seamlessly integrated into one user interface. With improved access to information, and visual representations of data that hasten comprehension, Vodafone has been able to improve product quality and service to customers on their mobile telephone network. In particular, critical systems monitoring through the Y2K period has proved the value of visualization in rapid problem identification.