CASE STUDY: OPTIMIZED LOCATION-BASED SOLUTION

ADVANCED, ACTIVE, REAL-TIME LOCATION

LEADING LOCATION-BASED SERVICES INTO THE

FUTURE WITH A MODERN, SCALABLE SOLUTION

Finally, this operator had very sophisticated authentication

and authorization needs that required a consistent interface
CUSTOMER PROFILE for enhanced subscriber privacy. The potential for future
A leading European converged network provider commercial services only heightened the need for robust flow
with over 30 million mobile connections control and throughput management to control traffic capacity
to different customers independently.
INDUSTRY
Wireless Services, Telecommunications CHALLENGE

THE CHALLENGE As one of the largest, most-established mobile network

Provide an active, real-time location solution that operators in Europe, finding a fast, accurate, and reliable
supports a variety of use cases, including locating network location platform with forward thinking functionality
emergency callers, across all network generations and architecture was critical to this customer. For the same
reason, so was finding a partner who could not only build a
SS8 SOLUTIONS flexible, turnkey solution, but provide a roadmap for future
LocationWise expansion that anticipates market trends.

To achieve the desired levels of resilience and operability, the

system itself required a very high fault tolerance as well as
transparent, real-time monitoring of services and performance
statistics. Forensic analytic functionalities were also required,
BACKGROUND should issues occur, and detailed reporting capabilities. In
Recently, a leading European converged network provider with addition, previous experiences with location vendors meant the
over 30 million mobile connections was seeking to replace company had very specific requirements for the Service Level
the existing emergency caller location solution for all network Agreement (SLA), and a strong desire for a local partner near
generations. To support BT Emergency Services requirements its home office.
across such a large subscriber base, this operator needed an
advanced, active, real-time location platform with the highest Finally, the size of the customer’s operations also meant a
levels of resilience and operability. complex network with multi-vendor support for both core and

It also required a streamlined product that supported law

enforcement agencies (LEAs), emergency services, and
potential commercial use cases in a single interface, and
the scalability to evolve with the company’s regulatory and
commercial needs. A flexible, consultative partner with Fast and Precise Location Data
experience in regional regulations and deployments was a
high priority as well.
CASE STUDY: OPTIMIZED LOCATION-BASED SOLUTION

LOCATIONWISE FEATURES AUTOMATED CELL DATA PROCESSING, ANALYSIS, AND VISUALIZATION TO ASSIST DIAGNOSTICS.

Radio Access Network (RAN) elements. As a result, there were capabilities for reliable, sub-cell accuracy in real-time and
very specific, unique requirements around call flows – which supports control-plane A-GNSS. The customer was also given
continued to evolve throughout the implementation as 4G and the ability to expand its location-based services without
5G emergency calling came online – and the need for a vendor- massive new deployments with horizontal scaling using either
agnostic solution. physical or virtualized servers.

SOLUTION Unlike its prior vendor, SS8 had offices near the customer’s
headquarters. We provided its passive location solution so
Vision were already embedded in their network. In addition, we have
SS8’s LocationWise platform and its progressive deployment extensive experience in the surrounding region, both with other
of location elements for cell-level and, eventually, sub-cell clients and as an engaged member of the European Emergency
network location demonstrated the vision and foresight the Number Association, where we’ve supported initiatives like the
operator was looking for in its location vendor. Our active Help 112 Project.
location system currently supports emergency services, LEAs,
and commercial uses with 2G, 3G, and 4G Gateway Mobile Our tailored SLA also addressed some of the operator’s
Location Center (GMLC) elements, and a 5G GMLC capability is concerns from past experiences by offering 24/7 support
being rolled out. for Level 3 issues and remote support for preventative
maintenance, incident resolution, and reporting. Optional
The implementation was also futureproofed with the ability additional services such as developer and API support and SS8
to expand to sub-cell, high accuracy location if the operator staff onsite at the customer location during deployment further
chooses. This can be accomplished using an Enhanced demonstrated our willingness to be a cooperative partner who
Serving Mobile Location Center (E-SMLC), or with a Location would evolve with the customer.
Management Function (LMF) for multi-tenancy support that
prioritizes emergency calls and increases location precision. RESILIENCE & OPERABILITY
BT Emergency Services requirements do not presently call for
this capability, but it allows the customer’s operations to evolve To meet the strict resiliency requirements of the customer and
to meet more rigorous regulations in the future. satisfy regulatory mandates, SS8 implemented an active/active
georedundancy strategy using four instances in two separates
SS8’s optional high-accuracy platform uses multiple sites for the GMLC nodes. This configuration gave the operator
standards-based algorithms plus our own proprietary geographically distinct data centers, each with two separate
CASE STUDY: OPTIMIZED LOCATION-BASED SOLUTION

LOCATIONWISE SUPPORTS THE COMPLETE

ECO-SYSTEM FOR A MOBILE NETWORK.

servers always running in high availability. The deployment was PRIVACY & SECURITY
designed to handle the full specified traffic volume of 25tps
The customer had advanced authentication and authorization
even if three of the four servers failed – a highly unlikely event.
needs, and LocationWise provided the secure APIs for integra-
The complexity of the operator’s network meant specific tion into all requested end clients. Reinforcing our vision for
adjustments were made to the SS8 platform to accommodate a scalable solution, it provides all the mandated overrides for
resilience requirements beyond the scope of the operator’s emergency calls and law enforcement needs while also offer-
original request. The transparent solution was implemented ing subscribers a single authority to manage privacy settings if
behind a dedicated load balancing capability and provided three the operator decided to offer commercial services.
forms of resilience: link resilience, node redundancy, and a
To accomplish this, SS8 custom-built a consistent interface that
specific application-level retry capability.
allowed all systems to utilize the information, including across
This operator also had an implied requirement of the georedundant data centers. Any eventual commercial
harmonization and rationalization of functionality across subscriber would therefore be treated the same by any node in
its complex ecosystem. The variety of vendors with existing any server as respects their privacy settings – even if one data
implementations required both a standards-based platform center went down.
that could easily integrate with other 3GPP, ETSI, or Open
At the same time, emergency services and LEA clients can be
Mobile Alliance (or similar) location APIs, and one that was
prioritized. Flow control and throughput management features
customizable enough to allow bespoke behavior for non-
allow independent control of these as well as commercial
standard elements. LocationWise allowed for a smooth
clients, so non-emergency traffic, for example, can be
integration and offered the highest degree of interoperability to
managed to a dedicated capacity of the customer’s choosing.
accommodate present network elements and potential future
As a result, the location of emergency callers can be quickly
enhancements for regulatory or commercial purposes.
and accurately delivered to the Stage 1 Public Safety Answering
LocationWise’s Element Management System (EMS) allows Point (PSAP). This handling of emergency traffic means more
rich management control and reporting tools to manage all efficient deployment of first responders, and more lives saved.
SS8 components within the platform. One such component is
All location-based interactions undergo consistent validation,
the Position Analyzer, which illustrates the coverage area of
role management, auditing, and privacy checking by
cells and can highlight anomalies in the cell tower database
LocationWise’s fully integrated middleware layer, MiddleWise.
or the deployment of cell towers themselves. Another is the
The enhanced platform management and support functionality
Cell Tower Database Manager, which monitors, validates,
of MiddleWise includes a web interface to manage various
and automatically updates the cell tower database to improve
system elements and offers real time monitoring of links,
the quality of location data. These capabilities and others
utilization, and system state. It also securely integrates with
allow the platform to streamline network operations and
external systems using standard mechanisms, which allows
improve efficiency.
SS8’s support team to perform proactive maintenance.
CASE STUDY: OPTIMIZED LOCATION-BASED SOLUTION

RESULTS

SS8’s standards based LocationWise provided a fast, accurate, KEY BENEFITS

and reliable active location solution to replace this major
European operator’s existing platform for 2G, 3G 4G, 5G and
IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) networks. Our solution has Accurate and Real-Time
been audited to some of the most stringent accuracy standards Location Intelligence
worldwide and includes our advanced positioning algorithms
and innovative use of location enhancement methodologies as
well as A-GNSS. Integrates with All
Mobile Networks
In addition to a cutting-edge location tool, this large,
experienced operator was looking for a true partner – a local
location vendor who could give them all the capabilities they I nbound Roamer
require today, as well as a vision of what might be required Location
to satisfy future regulatory and commercial needs. With over
20 years of experience, two European offices, and active
deployments globally and within the customer’s home territory Scalable with
– including its own network – SS8 was a perfect fit.
High Availability
Our consultative approach included a bespoke implementation
with options to evolve the solution into a high-accuracy, sub-
Supports Multiple
cell network location platform with 5G GMLC, E-SMLC, or LMF
functionality capable of accuracy to within 50 meters. The four
Deployment Options
georedundant GMLC nodes can also provide location if the
operator chooses to roll out Voice Over WiFi (VoWiFi) capability
for emergency services. Compliant to Regional
and Standards Bodies
LocationWise is cloud ready and easily scales horizontally
using physical or virtual servers. To address the customer’s
complex architecture and georedundancy specifications, our
implementation was also customized around call flows and
for a high fault tolerance using geographically distinct data
centers. Our SLA was tailored to address existing concerns
with service and support.
Contact us to learn more about our leading
emergency caller location solutions.
The solution’s MiddleWise layer gives the customer the [email protected]
transparent, real-time monitoring it required to ensure
+1 408 944-0250 | www.SS8.com
services to its emergency services and law enforcement
clients. It also offers the centralized privacy database needed
to manage potential commercial use cases and comply with
privacy regulations such as GDPR and others.

SS8 750 Tasman Drive, Milpitas, CA 95035 USA | +1 408 944-0250 | www.SS8.com

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