We live in a highly interconnected world, and that interconnectedness couldn’t have existed without the tremendous contributions from the telecommunications industry. With 5G technology finally becoming mainstream, IoT growing at a rapid rate, and AI tech gaining prominence, the telecom industry is surely up for an exciting future. This faster-than-ever growth comes with the need for robust, continuous telecom testing to always maintain a high standard of service quality.
In this article, we will explore in-depth the need for telecom testing, common challenges, pitfalls, as well as best practices in this domain.
Telecom testing is the process of testing telecommunications systems, services, and networks to ensure their functionality, performance, and reliability. The purpose of telecom testing is to maintain and enhance the user experience at a high level while still ensuring adherence to industry standards.
Telecom testing is uniquely complex due to the wide variety of technologies employed, such as voice, data, or multimedia services, each governed by their own protocols that can all affect each other. As digital transformation accelerates and expectations from users rise, QA teams must also deliver quality at higher velocity, making robust telecom testing a true feat to achieve.
When performing telecom testing, testers must be equipped with both “telecom” knowledge and “testing” knowledge. Having telecom domain knowledge enables them to design more relevant test scenarios to the specific systems under test.
Generally before each test session, stakeholders and subject matter experts will sit with the testing team to provide them with the information that they will need, but a solid understanding of how telecom systems definitely benefits them in the long run. Several advantages of having a strong domain knowledge include:
Here is a basic list of concepts to read up on:
Telecom domain knowledge includes more than just the mechanisms of telecom technologies. It’s also about understanding the specific requirements and expectations of different telecom services. For more information, you can have a look at Accenture benchmarking reports for the global telecom industry. These reports set the standard for a wide variety of telecom metrics across more than 200 networks and 120+ countries, providing you with valuable insights to base your testing against.
Simply put, telecommunications enable individuals and businesses to communicate and exchange information on a global scale. It is the backbone of the digital economy, ensuring a seamless connection between us. Key activities and processes in this industry include:
All of these core processes require robust testing to maintain their quality. For example, in network infrastructure development, testing ensures that the physical components of the network are properly installed and optimized. For telecom service provisioning, QA teams want to approach testing from the perspective of the user, ensuring that they can access and enjoy the services without disruptions.
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These key activities can be broadly divided into 2 major categories:
While Operations Support Systems (OSS) and Business Support Systems (BSS) serve distinct aspects within a telecom business, they often join forces to enhance the full spectrum of telecommunications services.
Operations support systems and business support systems leverage the capabilities of cloud computing, automation tools, and data analytics. This collaborative approach streamlines functions across the entire telecommunications organization, spanning both internal operations and customer interactions. The strategic integration of OSS and BSS empowers telecom providers to effortlessly link customers with dependable technology solutions.
Furthermore, given the intrinsic connection between customer concerns and network issues, it's logical for these two systems to synchronize their efforts. The cooperative utilization of OSS and BSS equips telecom enterprises to surmount industry hurdles, provide steadfast network services, and enhance the overall customer experience. This unified approach drives innovation, resilience, and customer satisfaction within the telecom ecosystem.
A typical workflow in the telecom industry should look like this:
Similar to any other industry, the testing life cycle in the Telecom industry also follows the standard stages of the Software Testing Life Cycle (STLC), including 6 stages:
In the Requirement Analysis phase, testers and relevant stakeholders sit together to discuss what they want to achieve in the project. There are 3 sides: the Product Owner, the Developer, and the Tester, each with their own distinct approach. It is the difference in the “language” they use to communicate their ideas that creates the need for BDD testing, which is a way to craft user stories and scenarios in business-readable language instead of technical language so that anyone involved can all understand what’s going on.
After that, with the Requirements ready, testers develop a detailed test plan to outline which test cases to prepare and the specific environment configurations needed to execute those test cases effectively. Test execution is scheduled, and results collected will be deep-dived to uncover insights for informed decision-making and future references.
Test Case | Description |
Call Connectivity Test | Verify successful call establishment and satisfactory call quality between two numbers. |
SMS Functionality Test | Test sending and receiving SMS messages with accurate content and order. |
Data Connection Test | Access various websites and verify consistent data speeds for different network types. |
Roaming Functionality Test | Test seamless switching between home and roaming networks with uninterrupted services. |
Voicemail Functionality Test | Test leaving, saving, and retrieving voicemail messages accurately. |
Call Waiting Test | Test call waiting by holding one call and answering another, ensuring seamless switching. |
Conference Call Test | Test creating and participating in multi-participant conference calls with clear communication. |
Call Forwarding Test | Test forwarding settings, enabling, disabling, and modifying call forwarding as needed. |
Network Coverage Test | Test signal strength in different areas (urban, rural, indoor, outdoor) for reliability. |
Emergency Call Test | Test making emergency calls even with limited coverage, ensuring successful connections. |
Balance and Usage Test | Test checking account balance and usage details for accurate information. |
International Roaming Test | Test using services while roaming abroad, verifying charges and service functionality. |
Call Drops and Handover Test | Test seamless call handovers between cell towers, ensuring no call drops. |
Network Switch Test | Test device's ability to switch between different network technologies based on availability. |
Network Compatibility Test | Test device's compatibility with various network bands and frequencies. |
SIM Card Functionality Test | Test inserting, removing, and replacing SIM cards, ensuring proper recognition. |
Caller ID Test | Test accurate display of caller information during incoming calls. |
Network Congestion Test | Test device's performance and call quality during peak usage hours. |
App-based Services Test | Test functionality and usability of telecom-related apps. |
Phone Compatibility Test | Test device's support for telecom services and features provided by the provider. |
Tool Name | Description | What it does |
Wireshark | Network protocol analyzer for packet-level inspection | Wireshark captures and analyzes network traffic, making it essential for diagnosing and troubleshooting network issues. It can decode a wide range of protocols and offers real-time monitoring. |
Spirent TestCenter | Network testing and analysis solution | Spirent TestCenter performs comprehensive testing of network equipment and services, including traffic generation, network emulation, and performance testing. |
Ixia | Network and application testing platform | Ixia provides testing solutions for network performance, security, and application testing. It simulates real-world traffic conditions to identify issues and vulnerabilities. |
Hammer Call Analyzer | Voice quality and call performance analysis tool | Hammer Call Analyzer assesses voice quality, call setup, and performance for VoIP and telecom networks. It helps identify voice-related issues and improve call quality. |
SIPp | SIP protocol testing tool for VoIP applications | SIPp tests the functionality and performance of SIP-based VoIP systems. It generates SIP traffic, simulates calls, and measures call quality. |
Netrounds | Cloud-based active network testing and monitoring | Netrounds offers active testing of network services by generating synthetic traffic and measuring performance. It's ideal for ensuring quality of service (QoS) for telecom services. |
BreakingPoint | Network security and performance testing platform | BreakingPoint simulates realistic network traffic to test security infrastructure, identify vulnerabilities, and evaluate network performance under stress. |
QualiTest | Testing automation platform for telecom systems | QualiTest provides end-to-end testing automation solutions for telecom systems, ensuring efficient and reliable testing processes. |
JDSU MTS | Modular test solution for telecom and fiber optics | JDSU MTS offers a range of modules for testing telecom networks, including fiber optics, transport networks, and wireless technologies. |
Telecom testing is a complex and critical process due to the intricate nature of telecommunications systems and networks.
Katalon is a comprehensive, AI-augmented quality management platform empowering testers to create, manage, and execute tests on a wide variety of environments. The struggles of testing across multiple networks for telecommunications system can be easily addressed:
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