A line test system must not only gather data concerning telephone-line measurements but also provide effective analysis of those measurements and allow the data to be managed easily within the system. It does this by providing an increased level of automation, making it unnecessary to correlate data by hand. Switch-based testing cannot store data on its own; it requires an auxiliary control system. Another major benefit of such a comprehensive system is its ease of use and standard method of operation, which in turn eases demands on both training and operation. When combined with the sophisticated nature of the test results and the automatic integration of these results with the service provider's OSS, this ease of use increases the productivity of the technicians who rely on the information to perform their jobs.

Linking the Central Processor and Test Heads

To transmit data efficiently, a stand-alone line test system must also provide communication between the central processor and test heads. The test system can use a number of communication methods to accomplish this. It can use either traditional modems or Intranet connections (X.25 or transmission control protocol [TCP]/Internet protocol [IP]). In addition to a choice of methods of transmission, the test system provides flexibility in the traffic capacity of the connections. The central processor can also connect to other OSSs by using a foreign systems interface to forward test data and receive line-record data.

Test Results and Analysis Concepts

An effective line test system offers a number of sophisticated algorithms to analyze test measurements. A test-system-processor platform makes it easier to handle data because it isolates the increased test analysis data processing from the call processing tasks of the switch. This leaves more switch processor time available to handle the increased number of nonvoice calls and the resulting increase in speed of machine dialing. Because a switch must focus on call-processing tasks, not on line testing management data, it can only provide nonspecific test result data. A separate line test system allows for much more varied data.

Cable-Failure Analysis

Cable-failure-analysis reports can be very valuable. One product provides such reports by combining ANI with nightly scans on the MDF, matching cable pair with telephone number. With some systems, it is possible to test telephone numbers at night and print out data organized by cable and pair, greatly simplifying repair. It enhances cable maintenance, too, because it makes it easier to do proactive testing and send technicians to more than one location per dispatch. Switch-based testing cannot accomplish these efficiencies. It can test an entire office, but print reports only by telephone number. To save money on dispatch, it is necessary to relate faults by telephone number to the outside plant, because adjacent numbers could be on different cables. Without the correlation between telephone numbers and cables, the information is not usable.

Cross-Functional Use of Data

Once the analyzed data is in the test system database, it must be forwarded to the different cross-functional departments within the telephone company. To help accomplish this, the line test system must provide extensive report-generation capabilities and fault-patterning capabilities. This data, available to specific departments, can improve workflow and lower business costs in a number of crucial areas:

• provisioning—reduce I-reports and prequalify lines for ISDN and xDSL service
• engineering—study current cable loading patterns in advance of a cable extension (to identify where to add cable load coils)
• records verification—scrub the line records OSS database
• cable maintenance—safeguard the outside plant investment, by doing proactive testing so that water faults are identified early
• trouble administration—use proactive testing to reduce trouble rate, and use reactive testing to reduce MTTR and overtime