Technical Services

HAF provides a range of technical services:

Temporary Senior Management

Many of HAF’s technical consultants have experience at CTO and director level within operating companies. During the start-up phase of an operation, HAF can supply individuals or teams to provide interim technical leadership to ensure successful business launch and network roll-out. The role of these consultants will also be to recruit the permanent team members including the eventual replacements for themselves. Typical position that HAF consultants can fill on an interim basis are:

  • CTO
  • Directors of Engineering, Implementation and Operations
  • Heads of radio planning, transmission and core network design
  • Head of National Network Roll-Out
  • Regional Network Roll-Out Managers
  • National and Regional Roll-Out Managers including:
    • RF Planning
    • Site Acquisition
    • Site Design
    • Site Construction
    • Equipment Installation and Commissioning
  • Regional Operations Manager

Technology Selection

HAF’s technical experts can assess what technology and specific equipment offering best meets your needs. Having made an assessment of the business requirement to be addressed (i.e. which services are being offered to which market with which demographics, any regulatory and spectrum constraints and the dynamics of the business model and CAPEX constraints) HAF can make recommendations on the best technology to address this requirement. Following this, HAF can rigorously assess a range of equipment manufacturer offerings and assess these against different criteria.

HAF has built and assessed a number of test networks as part of such technology selection projects.

Network Planning and Design

HAF has carried out network radio planning for a range of network technologies including GSM, CDMA, UMTS and a number of broadband wireless technologies between 450MHz and 26GHz. HAF use the Aircom ASSET radio planning tool. HAF is able to carry out the full set of coverage, capacity and frequency and interference planning activities. We have excellent relationships with suppliers of digital mapping data and are able to source terrain, clutter and vector data for most countries.

HAF has also been engaged in a number of network optimization projects and we have our own network drive testing equipment as supplied by NEMO Technologies.

HAF can also support clients in the design and dimensioning of transmission and core network solutions.

Network Drive Testing

HAF Consulting offers network performance drive testing and competitive network performance analysis services. HAF employs drive test equipment from Nemo Technologies and includes the ability to establish up to 4 calls simultaneously. We are able to measure and record all layer 3 mobile messages including RX Qual, downlink received signal levels, mobile power levels and much more. Events including dropped calls, and handoff requests, completes, and failures are captured as well. Using an integrated GPS, all recorded data is associated with precise location information. Processing of data is performed using dedicated software. HAF consultants are experienced in the proper operation, processing, and analysis of the results.

Independent audits of individual networks can be performed by HAF Consulting. Unbiased, independent audits of the RF performance can be used by network operators to validate the performance of their networks. Problem areas can be identified including poor coverage, dropped calls, interference. HAF Consulting will generate a detailed report on the network including call performance statistics, identification of problem areas, and recommended solutions. The report will include maps overlaid with plots of drive routes showing exactly where events of interest occurred. HAF Consulting is also capable of taking the lead to implement the recommendations delivered, and perform validation drives to ensure network performance improvements.

The versatility of the test equipment allows a HAF Consulting team to measure and record the RF performance of up to 4 different networks simultaneously. This allows a client operator to directly compare the performance of their network against the competition in the same market. The client operator will be able to see where the competition has poorer coverage, better coverage, dropped calls, noisy calls, and congestion. HAF will provide an unbiased, detailed report showing the performance of the target network as compared to the competition.

Network Audits

Network Audits

HAF is able to carry out a complete technical audit of a variety of network types. Typically, these audits are commissioned for a variety of objectives including:

  • To assess risk to the business in terms of both health and safety and network down time
  • To develop site specific punch lists of remedial works to ensure all network sites meet the required site standards
  • To uncover customer affecting issues and remedial actions to improve customer satisfaction
  • To optimize business valuation prior to a buy or sell transaction
  • To assess the performance of site contractors against contracts and develop remedial warranty works
  • To highlight areas of site standards and build process and documentation that need to be improved
  • To gather information on competing networks

HAF can audit a diverse set of aspects of the network and clients tend to pick and choose the key areas affecting their business as a subset from this list:

  • Network Documentation – typically as-built drawings production and/or mark-up and verification of site folder completeness and accuracy
  • Network Inventory – development of site specific equipment and materials inventories and creation or verification of bill of materials
  • Network Site Access – confirmation of locations and access arrangements
  • Network Build Quality – from both a structural and electrical perspective covering safety and security, civil works, antenna systems, equipment locations, power supplies and backup and the telecoms and/or media equipment
  • Network Measurement – key parameters at network sites including AC and DC supply voltages, external and internal earth resistances, coaxial feeder sweep measurement, antenna heights, azimuths and downtilts
  • Network Performance – typically drive testing of network to either confirm basic functionality or to verify and benchmark performance (see Network Drive Testing)

Equipment and Services Procurement

HAF can conduct the entire equipment and services procurement process for network operators. This process can include all or some of the following aspects:

  • Development of Request for Information (RFI)
  • Shortlisting candidate suppliers
  • Development of Request for Proposals (RFP)
  • Development of detailed evaluation process including criteria, weighting, scoring and compliance
  • Management of Q&A process and bidders conferences/presentations
  • Evaluation of bid compliance
  • Evaluation of compliant suppliers against defined evaluation criteria
  • Documentation and announcement of results
  • Single and multiple candidate parallel contract negotiation
  • Contract preparation
  • Contract conclusion and execution

This process can include the evaluation and negotiation of supplier financing (see Financial Services).

Technical Due Diligence

As part of an M&A or Privatization project, HAF can supply the required expertise to perform full due diligence of the technical aspects of a candidate acquisition.

In addition to a full or partial audit of the networks (see Network Audits) our consultants are able to:

  • Conduct interviews with key technical staff
  • Review tools used for the planning, implementation and operation of the networks
  • Review all contracts with suppliers of equipment and services
  • Review internal processes and documentation systems
  • Review the technical planning process and its effectiveness in meeting customer demand
  • Review the implementation process and costs
  • Review the network performance statistics and compare with industry standards and competitors
  • Attend technical data rooms and carry out detailed documentation assessment

Technical Volume – License Applications

HAF is able to create the technical volume of license applications for a range of different technologies (see Technologies). Our consultants are expert technical writers and have rich experience of writing with clarity whilst conveying the key messages of the bid. HAF is able to carry out the following activities for the technical volume of a license application:

  • Selection and contracting of equipment supplier support
  • Network design and planning including sourcing of digital data (see Network Planning)
  • Network equipment and services bill of materials, CAPEX and OPEX plans (see Technical Input to Business Cases)
  • Detailed analysis of technical evaluation criteria and definition of winning technical strategies
  • Writing of technical bid document sections
  • Selection of local partners ready to implement network

Once the license application is submitted, HAF is able to ensure success leading up to license award by continuing to prepare for network build and launch by:

  • Carrying out supplier(s) selection
  • Preliminary acquisition of network sites including switching and data centres
  • Selection of transmission partners
  • Advertising for local staff

Technical Input to Business Cases

HAF’s technical consultants have a suite of models for a range of technologies that can populate the network CAPEX and OPEX within the HAF financial models.

These technical models take inputs from the demand forecast models (subscribers, usage, services), from demographic and geographic data and from network planning tools. The models generate an equipment and services bill of materials on an annual (or other increment) basis which, when applied to a pricing table generates the CAPEX and OPEX outputs for the financial models.

Standards Definition

HAF’s technical consultants can support clients business objectives by representing them at technical standards committees. HAF’s consultants have worked with a diverse set of technical standards from ITU, ETSI and IEEE and have experience of working within these standards bodies to define technical standards. HAF will integrate into a clients organisation, fully understand the business and technical objectives and prepare and present papers as required at standards meetings.

Support to Equipment Sales

HAF is able to support equipment suppliers in the early stages of the sales process by assisting with the development of technical sales material, making assessments of target markets and customers, identifying and contracting effective distribution partners and providing effective business analysis to demonstrate the benefits of the products and/or services being offered.