Find out how Evolved Roaming from We Are CORTEX provides a complete end-to-end solution for IR.21/IR.85 automation.
Unlike RAEX, it automates the implementation of document changes, not just the collection and dissemination of them.
This is the first blog in a series of three exploring the challenges of automating RAEX (Roaming Agreement Exchange) and IR.21 (and IR.85) changes and the business opportunities it offers. This blog will consider what the right solution should look like in practice.
The three stages of processing changes to RAEX IR.21/IR.85
When you receive an update to one of your IR.21 or IR.85 agreements, you have to take a number of steps. Briefly, these can be summarised as:
- Detect the changes from the current version
- Assess the impact on your network and configurations
- Deploy the required modifications to support the new requirements
In this article, we consider the ‘Detect’ process, and explain why RAEX, while critical in itself and necessary, it is insufficient for the complete IR.21/IR.85 workflows you have to support.
The Detect stage requires multiple steps: the acquisition of all IR.21/IR.85 documents affected, ingestion of partner document changes, validation that all partner information is correct, security checks, identification of partner changes, and documentation of all partner changes to provide a complete and accurate audit trail of them all – past and present.
RAEX IR.21/IR.85 changes bring multiple challenges
This comes with just as many challenges. Our experience with customers is that the Detect stage can take up to a few days – but bear in mind that this figure relates to every partner update.
Operators will typically receive 12-25 partner updates a month, each with 10-150+ changes per update, and with hundreds of partners, in some cases, it represents a significant volume of work. Partners may also use different update methods, such as GSMA Inbox, REST, email, PDF, and more, even though RAEX is, generally preferred – and the GSMA has sought to mandate its use as we head towards 5G SA roaming.
Regardless of the mode of delivery, however, manually reviewing these changes and exposing the deltas from previous versions of your agreement with a particular partner is repetitive, resource-heavy, and prone to human error – any mis-keys, mistakes, or misunderstandings can have far-reaching consequences impacting revenue, creating reputational damage, and even loss of roaming services. It also eats up valuable time that could be spent focusing on strategic or revenue-building tasks.
Errors can lead to unbillable or delayed CDRs, for example – and issue that may only become visible after partner upgrades or a new service launch. There may also be signalling issues – such as session interruptions, attach failures, or MAP/Diameter misrouting – mediation errors (such as parser mismatches, incomplete batches, duplicate CDRs, and so on). In short, there’s lots to consider and lots that could go wrong.
So why is RAEX insufficient?
RAEX is designed to provide a platform for operators to exchange operational roaming data (RAEX OpData) and commercial roaming rate information (RAEX IOT) through a centralised tool. It acts as a single portal and provides a means of distributing and disseminating roaming IR.21 and IR.85 roaming information between roaming partners.
This is the important bit. RAEX does not provide a way for operators to implement or interact with systems that provide roaming services. Partner operators are responsible for implementing any changes throughout their network and systems.
At the same time, some operators use RAEX detection services through SaaS models. This can help with the Detect stage, but not with the Assess and Deploy stages. For these reasons, a truly automated end-to-end solution is imperative; one that spans all workflows.
Evolved Roaming from We Are CORTEX is an end-to-end solution for IR.21/IR.85 automation
The We Are CORTEX Evolved Roaming solution solves this problem. It provides the automation you need, based on end-to-end orchestration of processes across the required flow, regardless of the underlying solution set and vendor mix in your network.
It is based on several key concepts:
- Process decoupling
- Reusable automation components
- Integrated change management
- Flexible interfacing
- Minimum viable processes
- Operational safety
To explore these in greater depth, download our paper “Roaming automation: New Revenue, improved margins, and happier customers”
It detects and shares document changes throughout the partner ecosystem but can also automate the implementation of those agreements – across all partners and for all roaming agreements. It implements; it does not simply distribute.
Furthermore, the We Are CORTEX Evolved Roaming solution can be deployed incrementally. It allows operators to first target areas of greatest friction to gain the most value quickly, but it can be implemented incrementally to other systems, process, and bottlenecks, at your own pace. This reduces risk, while maintaining visibility of the overall goal.
In turn, this allows you to validate that the solution complies with the complex series of operations required for the implementation of each change to an IR agreement.
As you will be aware of you are reading this article, IR-21 (and IR.85) processing is fraught with friction and so is a perfect candidate for automation.
Download the “Roaming automation: New Revenue, improved margins, and happier customers”, to find out how you can solve this key challenge for your roaming teams.
Alternatively contact us if you have further questions or to discuss your requirements.
