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GSM AssociationOfficial Document: IN.01 UNRESTRICTED

UNRESTRICTED 2.0 of 15

Guidelines for Service Level AgreementBetween Mobile Operators and Carriers

2.0January 2006

This is a non-binding permanent reference document of the GSM Association.

Security Classification Category (see next page)This is an UNRESTRICTED document.



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Copyright NoticeCopyright © 2006 GSM Association

This document and the GSM logo are registered and the property of the GSMAssociation.

Document History

Version Date Brief Description Editor /Organisation

1.0 August 2004Guidelines for ServiceLevel Agreement to beapproved as a Non-bindingPRD by IWG

IWG

2.0 January2006

CR 002 (IWG 04_006)Change to Unrestricted

Jose-AntonioAranda (VodafoneSpain)

Other Information

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Type Description

Information Category PRD Guidelines

Document Owner GSM Association Interconnect Working Group(IWG)

mailto:[email protected]



Table of Contents

1 Background ............................................................................................ 42 Purpose................................................................................................... 43 Service Definition................................................................................... 54 Definition of Terms ................................................................................ 55 Service Quality commitments ............................................................... 76 Qualifying Faults .................................................................................... 77 Service Credits ....................................................................................... 8

7.1 Qualifying Claims ............................................................................... 87.2 Service Credit Level ........................................................................... 87.3 Service Credits Claim Procedure ....................................................... 8

8 Controlled routing policy....................................................................... 88.1 Direct routing...................................................................................... 98.2 Routing through Incumbent ................................................................ 98.3 Routing through Third Party ............................................................... 9

9 CLI Transparency on mobile destinations........................................... 910 ISUPv2 Signalling and numbering on mobile destinations.............. 1011 Emergency Routing Procedure........................................................... 1012 . 64 K Call Transparency ..................................................................... 1113 Customer Care ..................................................................................... 11

13.1 Fast response times......................................................................... 1114 Monthly Reporting on QoS indicators................................................ 1115 SLA Review........................................................................................... 1116 Check List............................................................................................. 12ANNEX A.......................................................................................................... 1ANNEX B SERVICE CREDITS CHART ........................................................... 1



1 BACKGROUNDThe International wholesale market for international voice transport has traditionally beendriven by fixed operator’s standards (which were by nature more limited). Thedevelopment of mobile telephony usage and the implementation of value added serviceshas modified this trend towards “a more focused quality services approach” where themore quality conscious players are demanding customized solutions, supplier stability,high quality-of-service standards, and efficient and professional customer care.

With regard to the service rendered by international carriers to mobile operators, it isimportant that the quality of service is at the level that a mobile operator needs to offeroptimum quality of service to their customers both at home and when roaming.

2 PURPOSEThis document is intended to provide mobile operators with Guidelines (“the Guidelines”)for the implementation of a Service Level Agreement (“SLA”) related to the directlyconnected switch interconnect. According to these Guidelines, an S L A agreed betweena mobile operator and an international carrier may include the following areas:

• Service Definition

• Definition of Terms

• Service Quality commitments

• Qualifying faults

• Service credits

• Service Credits claim procedures

• Controlled routing policy

• Transparent CLI on European Mobile destinations

• ISUPv2 Signalling on European mobile destinations

• Emergency Routing procedures

• 64 K Calls Transparency

• Customer Care

• Fast response times

• Monthly reporting on Q0S indicators

• SLA Review



3 SERVICE DEFINITIONThe present Guidelines provide recommendations for a destination-based quality drivenagreement for the delivery of traffic of the mobile operator routed through the internationalcarrier within the terms of their Carrier Service agreement.

These Guidelines does not intend to cover marketing, commercial, growth, capacity orother operational or non-operational issues.

4 DEFINITION OF TERMSThis section should include the definition of terms related to the quality parameters asbased on the definitions below:

ASR = (Answer Seizure Ratio) ITU E.425 ASR represents the relationship between thenumber of seizures that result in an answer signal and the total number of seizures.ASR is measured by the mobile operator on outgoing traffic on their gateway switch. Bydefinition, this ASR cannot be measured by the carrier

ABR = (Answer BID Ratio) ITU E.425 ABR represents the relationship between thenumber of bids that result in an answer signal and the total number of bids.ASR is to be measured by the carrier on incoming traffic on their gateway switch. Bydefinition, this ABR cannot be measured by the mobile operator.ASR and ABR as described above may be comparable, since they are based on thesame triggers on the interconnect, but just measured from a different side

CLI = (Calling Line Identification) Calling Line Identification. Also known as “A number”is basic information contained in the signalling system that identifies the calling party.

• CLIP – CLI Presentation provides for the calling user number to be displayed tothe called user.

• CLIR – CLI Restriction provides a means for the calling user to restrictpresentation of its MSISDN to the called user.

NER = (Network Efficiency Ratio) ITU E.425 NER expresses the relationship betweenthe number of seizures and the sum of the seizures resulting in an answer signal ORbusy signal OR no answer. It excludes the effects of customer behaviour and terminalbehaviour. It represents the ability of the network to deliver calls to the far end terminal.

PGAD = (Post Gateway Delay) ITU E.437 PGAD is the time interval between theseizure of the international circuit and the receipt of the answer supervision.

PDD = (Post Dial Delay) ITU E.431 PDD is the time interval between dialling completionand the call connection (ringing tone).

ALOC = (Average Length of Conversation) ITU E.437 ALOC measures the averageduration of calls. A statistically significant difference in ALOC to the same destination ondifferent routes may be investigated.

MTRS = Maximum time to restore the service in case of network or service errors/faults:• Depending upon Severity of the service error as defined in IREG/TADIG

documents:



o Fatal - A fatal error puts into question the availability of the service dueto a total interruption and/or serious degradation of the service whichaffect to an important number of customers.

o Severe - A severe error degrades the quality level of the serviceoffered to the Mobile Operator without isolation with the other network.

o Warning - A warning error might affect the regular functioning of theservice.

The severity of errors may depend upon the network elements/services involved in themalfunctioning.

Network Availability of the service = possibility for the Mobile Operator to access theservice offered by the Carrier.

Availability of Service shall be calculated as the average of the time when the service wasavailable, during a defined period in time (i.e. month, quarter r, as follows;

where:A is the number of hours in the period.

B is the time without service due to programmed works

C is the time without service due to Priority 1 (fatal)failures

P is the total time availability percentage

Agreement = the Service Agreement between the Carrier and the Mobile Operator forthe provision of services.

Month= from 1st day of calendar month 0.00.00h to last day of calendar month23:59:59h CET

Service Credit = the amount that the Mobile Operator is eligible for when submitting aqualifying claim with regards to QoS commitments.

SLA= quality Service Level Agreement

GSM Gateways/SIM Box = GSM Gateways are devices whose original purpose was toallow fixed line telephones to interface with mobile networks. The fixed line telephonesare connected to the device that contains one or more GSM SIMs. The GSM Gatewaythen connects calls made by the fixed line telephones to the GSM network using theSIMs contained within it.

Direct Termination: When the traffic is routed from the originated network towards thedestination network using only one Carrier single network

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5 SERVICE QUALITY COMMITMENTSAccording to these Guidelines, the Mobile Operator may encourage the Carrier to committo achieve certain average values of the following Quality of Service indicators as definedbelow:

• Guaranteed availability of the service (in a month time)• MTRS in case of

o Fatal errors: x hourso Severe errors: y hourso Warning errors: z hours

• ASR• ABR• NER• PGAD• PDD• ALOC

It is recommended that the measurements of these indicators are based only on the dailytraffic sent by the Mobile Operator for each destination or termination network via theInternational Carrier, so the origin of the measurements is the Operator network. Besidesthe global measurement (on a daily basis), detailed figures concerning only the peak hourtraffic can be taken into account. A destination may be a country, a fixed or a mobilenetwork which should be identified by one/some specific number range/s.

An indication of the performances to be committed by the Carrier is detailed in Annex Afor reference purposes only.

6 QUALIFYING FAULTSWhen according to the Mobile Operator’s own measurement, the average daily QoSindicators listed in point 3 above achieved by the Carrier fall below the values agreedbetween the Carrier and the Mobile Operator, the Mobile Operator may raise a“qualifying daily fault”

Qualifying Faults should be conditional upon:• The mobile operator sending more than xxxx attempted calls in a 24 hours period• The mobile operator raising a fault within xx hrs

The operator may encourage the carrier to handle and investigate all disturbances inQuality Performance, and to commit to resolve xx% of qualifying daily fault within xx hrswhere the fault lies in its own network and when the fault lays in a third Party networkinvolved in the traffic conveyance/termination.

When according to the mobile operator’s own measurement, the average weekly ormonthly QoS indicators listed in point 3 above falls below a certain point, it isrecommended that the mobile operator raise a “qualifying weekly/monthly fault”.

Qualifying Faults are conditional upon:• The mobile operator raising a fault within X days (for weekly fault) and within XX

days (for monthly faults)



When raising a qualifying fault the mobile operator can re-route the traffic away from theCarrier in order to guarantee the achievement of its QoS requirements through otherproviders. If the fault is not resolved in the committed time, the mobile operator canpermanently re-route the traffic.

7 SERVICE CREDITS

7.1 Qualifying ClaimsThe Mobile Operator may submit a claim for a service credit under the followingcircumstances:

• A valid qualifying fault was raised• The qualifying fault was not resolved in the committed time (in case of daily faults)

It is recommended that claims be notified to the carrier Account Manager within xx daysof the end of the calendar month to which the traffic relates

7.2 Service Credit LevelOperators can use Annex B as reference

7.3 Service Credits Claim ProcedureIn order to claim for a service credit, the mobile operator may provide the following detailsof the faults to the Account Manager of the Carrier:

• Carrier’s fault reference• Mobile operator’s faults reference• Destination• Time of notification• Time of resolution• Severity of error• Amount of credit claimed

The operator may agree with the carrier the way in which the service credit will be paid(i.e. the service credits can be deducted from the Carrier’s issued invoice, the monthfollowing verification of claim by the Carrier).

8 CONTROLLED ROUTING POLICYIn order to avoid deterioration of the quality of service, the routing for each destinationmay be made transparent to the Mobile Operator.

In any case, the direct termination of traffic on the Mobile Operator can be favouredwhenever it is technically possible.

The Mobile Operator may request the Carrier to provide the routing informationassociated to its offer, namely identifying the type of routing used. . In particular theminimum information that the Carrier should provide consist on the type of route used,classifying the connection into three groups depending if the termination is made through:direct interconnection, the incumbent operator or a third party.



Mobile Operators may request that all relevant changes on that routing arecommunicated as soon as possible. In fact if the primary route meets congestion or “outof service”, the traffic could automatically overflow onto the next available route, and theMobile Operator properly and promptly informed about the new routing.

8.1 Direct routingIdentified as direct routing destinations are those for which the Carrier offers the MobileOperator direct termination to all the operators covered by the destination during thecorrespondent period offered.

The operator may encourage the carrier to warranty that no GSM Gateways are used inthe termination of operator’s traffic when this routing option is used.

8.2 Routing through IncumbentIdentified as Routing through Incumbent destinations are those for the Carrier offers theMobile Operator terminating traffic through the Incumbent operator of such destination toall the operators covered by the destination during the correspondent period offered.

The operator may encourage the carrier to use all the means under its control to avoidthe involvement of GSM Gateways in the termination of operator’s traffic when thisrouting option is used.

8.3 Routing through Third PartyIdentified as Routing through Third Party destinations are those for which the Carrieroffers the Mobile Operator terminating traffic through third operator, different from thefore-mentioned in the previous paragraphs to all the operators covered by the destinationduring the correspondent period offered.

The operator may encourage the carrier to use all the means under its control to avoidthe involvement of GSM Gateways in the termination of operator’s traffic when thisrouting option is used.

9 CLI TRANSPARENCY ON MOBILE DESTINATIONS

Call Line Identification (CLI Presentation and CLI Restriction) is a feature that supportsbilling processes in an interconnection arena, but above all development of services,enhancing calls and revenues streams.

CLI non-transmission on international scenario is perceived by the Customer as anetwork problem, especially due to fact that CLIP is a default feature available on nationalcalls. Moreover, CLI non-transmission/manipulation is (a) depriving customers of thechoice to answer calls, especially when they are roaming abroad and would be interestedin knowing the identity of the caller (given that they are charged for receiving calls whileroaming); (b) preventing customer to return an unanswered/missed call (this implies alack of service to the customer and loss of revenues to mobile operators).

In addition the non-transmission/manipulation of CLI hampers the development ofenhanced roaming services, like seamless access to voice-mail, and the creation of aglobal environment to the customers (Virtual Home Environment) providing the possibilityto offer to end-users, when they are roaming abroad, the same range of services andquality they are granted nationally.



The Mobile Operator may request the Carrier to guarantee the transparent routing (i.e.excluding removal or alteration) of CLI information through its network and the delivery ofCLI and CLIR up to the traffic termination point through specific and binding agreementswith the third parties involved in the routing of the call.

Whether, according to mobile operator’s own measurements and test calls, thecommitment on CLI delivery is not met or is achieved under the requested andcontractually agreed values, the Mobile Operator may consider including in the SLA thepossibility to permanently re-route the traffic with no advance notice and to claim for apre-agreed service credit (i.e.; based on a fixed amount per month/destination;percentage of invoice, etc)

10 ISUPV2 SIGNALLING AND NUMBERING ON MOBILEDESTINATIONS

ISUPv2 enabled routes are used to make sure important parameters such as OriginallyCall Number (OCN) and Redirecting Number (RDN) are passed on along the call toensure the roamer access to home country value added services. Additionally ISUPv2gives information to the operator and subsequently to the customer related to theprogress of the calls.

Correct routing of the numbering plan and special mobile numbering plans ensure theproper delivery of standard mobile services such as CAMEL and access to voicemail,taking into account that some of the numbers (i.e. MSRN= Mobile station RoamingNumbers, Re-routing CAMEL numbers, Voicemail forwards) may have higher numberinglength.

The Mobile Operator is encouraged to request that the Carrier guarantees thetransparent routing (i.e. excluding removal or alteration) of all signalling fields and thecorrect mapping of the signalling parameters (i.e. release cause mapping) through itsnetwork and up to the traffic termination point as defined in ISUP standards.Where the Mobile Operator uses only previous ISUP versions (i.e. ISUPv1), the requestto the Carrier should be that the Carrier is transparent to all signalling field sent by theMobile Operator: if a Mobile Operator uses ISUPv1, the Carrier may be requested to betransparent to the regard of ISUPv1 fields.

The Mobile Operator is encouraged to request that the Carrier guarantees thetransparent routing of the numbering plan and special mobile numbering plans.

11 EMERGENCY ROUTING PROCEDURE

If the Quality level of Services drops below the contractually agreed targets, the operatoris encouraged to request the Carrier to immediately re-route the traffic to prioritized andtested routes.

In addition, the carrier has to proactively change its routing based on own analysis tomeet the operator’s demands.



In any case, the direct termination of traffic on the Mobile Operator should be favoredwhenever it is technically possible.

12 . 64 K CALL TRANSPARENCY

The Mobile Operator is entitle to request the Carrier to route traffic originated in themobile network only via non-compressed routes, to guarantee an acceptable performanceof data calls.

The operator may encourage the carrier to warranty that calls of 64 K Unrestricted DigitalInformation are conveyed trough a transparent route. This warranty should be mandatorywhen direct routing option is used for the transport and termination of operator’s traffic.

13 CUSTOMER CAREThe Mobile Operator may encourage the Carrier Services Help Desk to support theneeds of the Mobile Operator and attend to Mobile Operator’s enquiry in a 24x7 basis.

13.1 Fast response timesThe Mobile Operator may request that the Carrier Services Help Desk is able to respondwith initial feed back to the operator within 30 minutes after reporting the trouble to thecarrier) and in most cases to solve the mobile operator’s complaints within 2 hours fromreporting and constantly update the mobile operator on progress. Time of response andresolution of the network/service fault should be in line with the contractually agreedvalues as “Availability of the service” and “MTRS”. An example, for illustrative purposesis contained in Annex B.

14 MONTHLY REPORTING ON QOS INDICATORSThe Mobile Operator is encouraged to request the Carrier to report on its actualperformances related to the QoS indicators defined in section 3 within an agreedtimeframe (i.e. monthly with daily details for single destination -% value for ASR, ABRand NER and number of Seconds for PDD, PGAD and ALOC).

Figures should be related only to the traffic sent by the Mobile Operator to the Carrier.

15 SLA REVIEWThe Mobile Operator is encouraged to agree with the Carrier a periodical review of QoSbenchmark levels (referred to in Annex A, B and C to these Guidelines), in a timeframeagreed.

The parties will undertake a review of QoS benchmark levels every x months.



16 CHECK LISTBelow is a check list, which according to these Guidelines, may be contained in the SLA:

• Predefined minimum quality levels per destination• Controlled and Transparent Routing policy• Guaranteed CLI Transmission on European mobile destinations• ISUPv2 signalling Transparency on European mobile destinations• 64 K Call Transparency with non-compressed routes.• Dedicated Customer Care and Special fault handling• Monthly Reports concerning the service provided.



ANNEX A Reference of QoS indicators that Mobile operators can use in their negotiations with the carriers for the definition of QoS commitments

DESTINATION MonthlyaverageASR%

WeeklyaverageASR%

DailyaverageASR%

MonthlyaverageABR%

WeeklyaverageABR%

DailyaverageABR%

MonthlyaverageNER%

WeeklyaverageNER%

DailyaverageNER%

MonthlyaveragePGADsec

WeeklyaveragePGADsec

DailyaveragePGADsec

Albania fixedAlbania MobileBelarus fixedBelarus MobileDestination XDestination YDestination Z….

DESTINATION MonthlyaveragePDDsec

WeeklyaveragePDDsec

DailyaveragePDDsec

MonthlyaverageALOCsec

WeeklyaverageALOCsec

DailyaverageALOCsec

CLItermination%

Albania fixedAlbania MobileBelarus fixedBelarus MobileDestination XDestination YDestination Z

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Availability of the Service in a month time: not less than X%MTRS:In case of Fatal Errors xx hrIn case of Severe Errors yy hrIn case of Warning Errors zz hr

ANNEX B SERVICE CREDITS CHARTTo be agreed and defined between Mobile Operator and Carrier bilaterally.

Threshold Levels/month

MIN. MAX

Credits(% of the monthlyinvoice)

CLI delivery

Availability of theservice

MTRS (MaximumTime to Restore theService) in case offatal errors

MTRS (MaximumTime to Restore theService) in case ofsevere errors

MTRS (MaximumTime to Restore theService) in case ofwarning errors

ASR% perinternationaldestination

GSM AssociationOfficial Document: IN.01 RESTRICTED


Threshold Levels/month

MIN. MAX

Credits(% of the monthlyinvoice)

CLI delivery

ABR% perinternationaldestination

NER% perinternationaldestination

PDD sec perinternationaldestination

PGAD sec perinternationaldestination

ALOC sec perinternationaldestination

1 -(x depends upon what contractually agreed as MTRS)

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