Business of Telecommunications

This subject has the following teaching availabilities in 2015:

200 hours

4-year Electrical Engineering degree or equivalent.

None

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For the purposes of considering request for Reasonable Adjustments under the Disability Standards for Education (Cwth 2005), and Students Experiencing Academic Disadvantage Policy, academic requirements for this subject are articulated in the Subject Description, Subject Objectives, Generic Skills and Assessment Requirements of this entry. The University is dedicated to provide support to those with special requirements. Further details on the disability support scheme can be found at the Disability Liaison Unit website: http://www.services.unimelb.edu.au/disability/

AIMS

This subject provides an introduction to the business side of telecommunications, breaking down the business into market segments - retail, enterprise, wholesale - to understand what drives each of the business areas and how government regulations impact their business.

INDICATIVE CONTENT

To understand how a Telecommunications Company delivers service to their customer, the following topics will be included:

• Telecoms marketplace (retail, enterprise, wholesale, network)
• Telecoms market views (Australia, SEA, Europe, Americas)
• Overview of BSS and OSS systems
• Telco processes – as defined by eTOM
• Products – definition / creation
• Services – definition / creation / existing standards
• Systems Integration
• Terminology
• Contracts and SLA management

INTENDED LEARNING OUTCOMES (ILO)

On completion of this subject, the students should have developed a broad knowledge of the business of a Service Provider with a solid understanding of:

1. Telco product structure / theory / concepts
2. Practical knowledge of real life products
3. Network management / service assurance
4. Practical knowledge of various network technologies (IP, Ethernet, MPLS, SDH, FTTP, etc.)
5. BSS/OSS architecture - practical understanding
6. Network abstraction / metadata modelling
7. Telco data model (SID etc.)
8. Telecoms Business Processes – Lead-to-Cash, Order-to-Activation, Plan & Build, etc.
9. Process analysis/design as a generic skill
10. SLA management
11. Knowledge of specific BSS/OSS COTS products
12. Trends (i.e. FTTN/FTTH) and topical issues (i.e. Social Media)
13. Career options

As part of this course, case studies will help the students reinforce their learning with real life scenarios. Examples of these will be:

• Implementing a new network technology and associated products – eg. Fictitious telco decides to sell cloud computing
• Optimising and managing – case study in service assurance
• Regulatory change and market structure – what will the introduction of the National Broadband Network be to the telco industry
• Transformations –Telstra transformation experience or other similar study

• Formally supervised 3 hour written examination, at the end of semester, worth 70%
• Homework assignments throughout the semester (approximately 40-45 hours of work per student), worth 30%.

Hurdle requirement: Students must pass the end of semester examination to pass the subject.

Intended Learning Outcomes (ILOs) 1-13 are assessed in the final exam and submitted assignments.

TBA

This subject is not available as a breadth subject.

On completion of this subject, the students should have developed:

• Problem solving and analytical skills
• Critical and creative thinking, with an aptitude for continued self-directed learning
• Sense of intellectual curiosity
• Ability to interpret data and research results
• Ability to learn in a range of ways, including through information and communication technologies
• Capacity to confront unfamiliar problems
• Ability to evaluate and synthesise the research and professional literature
• Ability to develop models of practical applications and evaluate their performance by rigorous analytical means

LEARNING AND TEACHING METHODS

The subject is delivered through lectures

INDICATIVE KEY LEARNING RESOURCES

Students are provided with lecture slides, and case studies.

CAREERS / INDUSTRY LINKS

This course is designed and delivered by an industry based expert in the field who brings and industry perspective and industrial experience to the subject.