Case Study - Radio Network
Please note - this case study is quite long because the solution took 4 years to fully implement, as more and more issues became apparent, well beyond the initial design brief.
A wide area radio network had been operating for around 20 years, covering a select number of cities in the South-East and North of the country. When Maxxwave were first approached, it had recently undergone a change of ownership.
The new owners wished to expand the network, covering adjacent towns and cities. This would increase the revenue considerably, by increasing the population covered.
However, the network was still reliant upon 1980's infrastructure and equipment, which was well beyond its initial design lifetime, and was starting to become expensive to maintain and unreliable.
The Maxxwave Solution
The entire business model was looked at, both technically and commerically. It was quickly realised that there were many more issues than just the ageing infrastructure, there were also ageing business practices still being employed, and the network had lost touch with what the end user actually wanted.
Initially the approach was to fix the technical aspects. Kilostream circuits were replaced with a bespoke Voice Over IP system, designed in-house by Maxxwave. The manufacturer of the original equipment was contacted, and software updates were obtained and implemented which fixed numerous bugs and issues.
Next an appraisal was made of the radio transmitter sites. It was discovered that over the years the network had become a patchwork of mismatched transmitter sites, which were not working together in unison, creating large areas of overlap in some areas, and large coverage holes in others. Several transmitter sites were removed completely, with no loss of coverage, but a significant annual cost saving. Other transmitter sites were re-located to adjacent masts, effecting large cost savings for no technical difference, and other transmitter sites were re-engineered to improve coverage into areas which had been lacking.
Another major issue was the high equipment failure rate due to the age of the equipment. Detailed fault logs were kept, and it was quickly realised that in reality, it was only a few key components that were frequently failing. Again, the original manufacturers were contacted, and we discovered that there are newer models available, which offer both improved reliablity and preformance. This was paid for from the cost savings that we had made previously.
Finally the commercial aspects were considered. Detailed market studies were made, and it was realised that the main cause of poor sales was the unrealistic price put on the products. With the considerable savings made, it was possible to reduce the retail price, and so the network has once again become a viable entity, with a dramatic improvement in sales volumes.