SAM RMS

Mobile Site Asset Management (SAM) and hybrid energy control

Base Transceiver Stations are of strategic importance to the entire economies of countries and their dependability is crucial to the operation of most businesses – especially those that matter. But there’s something about BTSs that is unknown by most of those who depend on them (but not by their operators): They are composed of costly, complex hybrid
systems – and they are very numerous indeed. For example, South Africa’s leading mobile network provider has nearly 8000 base stations in this region alone. This means that bad system management at one can be replicated thousands of times nationally to the detriment of the bottom line of their operators and network users alike.

Good BTS asset management results in improved service availability and significantly reduced operating costs through decreased energy consumption – after all, 80% of energy in a mobile network is used by the base stations and
mainly because of this, there are currently, over 18 000 SAM systems being used by 18 network operators in 30 countries including Africa, Central America and the West Indies.

Hundreds of new BTSs are being installed every year to cope with increasing traffic. The traffic density for the same network provider increased by nearly 320% between 2008 and 2010 while the company cut its energy consumption by 57%
through the effective management of its resources and the implementation of initiatives such as SAM.

Looking after BTS assets

SAM is a highly cost-effective cellular BTS asset management system designed to help customers maximise
revenue from their network assets. Real-time alarm events help them rectify malfunctions before they become serviceaffecting and alarm status reporting allows them to respond to emergencies as they occur.

In a nutshell, the SAM system achieves OPEX savings by automatically taking control of generator and commercial
utility grid supply in order to reduce fuel usage and power costs. This is done by using the backup batteries until such
a point where their threshold limits are reached and then switching back to a power supply source. This is known
as Effective Power Conservation Control or Hybrid Energy Control Complex BTS

When we say a “suitable working environment” we mean a secure, temperature-controlled location with an uninterrupted
supply of clean power. SAM’s job is to help ensure that this is a reality rather than a specification. Air conditioners, for
example, are there to maintain an ideal working temperature but if they fail, they can do more harm than good. The same
holds true for utility grid power and standby generators. They all exist to provide a working infrastructure – until they
fail. Last but not least is the question of responsibility and responsiveness. Given that every key aspect of every BTS
will be monitored and reported on, who will be responsible for actually doing something about the thousands of “alarm”
conditions that can (and will) arise from normal operation? And then there’s the aspect of perimeter and shelter security.

What’s needed is an intelligent approach to BTS alarm and equipment status monitoring that takes into account the
key factors that contribute to an effective BTS supportive infrastructure and that can do something about rectifying
problems without recourse to human intervention until absolutely necessary. In this way, problems can be
addressed timeously and without imposing an unrealistic workload on human supervisors. Looking after BTS assets
properly results in some important benefits:

Improved revenue

• Maximised income from sustained traffic density
• Satisfied and therefore retained customer base throughreduced network downtime
• Better competitive position and improved confidence in selling of services

Reduced maintenance costs

• The more routine the maintenance, the more cost-effective it becomes.
• Early detection of malfunctions contributes to controlled rather than emergency situations
• Early detection of performance trends provides for the addressing of problems before they become service-affecting.

Improved asset management

• Better use of costly BTS assets (high return to expenditure ratio)
• Performance tracking assists with equipment screening and selection
• Reduced number of weak links in the service delivery chain