2176

Get a Live Demo

You need to see DPS gear in action. Get a live demo with our engineers.

White Paper Series

Check out our White Paper Series!

A complete library of helpful advice and survival guides for every aspect of system monitoring and control.

DPS is here to help.

1-800-693-0351

Have a specific question? Ask our team of expert engineers and get a specific answer!

Learn the Easy Way

Sign up for the next DPS Factory Training!

DPS Factory Training

Whether you're new to our equipment or you've used it for years, DPS factory training is the best way to get more from your monitoring.

Reserve Your Seat Today

Overview of Telecom Asset Management

By Andrew Erickson

October 16, 2022

Share: 

Remote monitoring is a critical element in any telecom network, no matter your industry. Your network might actually be your business if you're in the telecommunications industry. If you're a power utility or railroad or public agency, your telecom network helps you deliver service without downtime.

Across a longer time scale, the practice of "telecom asset management" is actually quite related to remote monitoring. Without it, you won't have a good handle on the equipment you have on hand to accomplish your organizational goals. In addition, remote monitoring equipment is commonly tracked within any asset management scheme.

Let's go over asset management in general, then finish by bringing it back around to remote monitoring and how DPS can help make your job easier.

What is telecom asset management?

Telecom asset management is the process of tracking and managing assets across their lifecycle. This includes inventorying, monitoring, and maintaining telecom equipment and devices at remote sites.

The benefits of asset management include reducing operational costs, improving customer satisfaction, and reducing risk.

This tutorial will cover the basics of telecom asset management, including best practices and tips for tracking and managing telecom assets.

What are telecom assets?

Telecom assets are any equipment or devices used in a telecom network. This can include cell towers, base stations, routers, switches, remote monitoring equipment, and more.

Tracking telecom assets is important for many reasons. First, it helps telecom operators keep track of their inventory and know when equipment needs to be replaced or repaired. Second, it helps telecom operators more effectively manage their remote sites.

And finally, tracking telecom assets can help telecom operators improve customer satisfaction by ensuring that equipment is properly maintained and operated.

What is the lifecycle of a telecom asset?

The lifecycle of a telecom asset begins when the asset is first installed at a remote site. Once the asset is operational, it will need to be monitored and maintained on an ongoing basis.

Eventually, the asset will reach the end of its useful life and will need to be decommissioned. At this point, the asset will be removed from the remote site and either recycled or disposed of.

Tracking and managing telecom assets across their entire lifecycle is essential to reducing operational costs, improving customer satisfaction, and reducing risk.

Best practices for telecom asset management

There are many steps that must be completed for you to have a properly executed management plan:

Inventory management

Inventory management is the process of tracking and managing telecom assets across their lifecycle. This includes inventorying, monitoring, and maintaining telecom equipment and devices at remote sites.

Best practices for asset inventory management include:

  • Creating an inventory of all telecom assets
  • Asset tracking the location of each asset
  • Monitoring the condition of each asset
  • Maintaining accurate records of each asset

Asset monitoring

Asset monitoring is the process of tracking and managing telecom assets across their lifecycle. This includes inventorying, monitoring, and maintaining telecom equipment and devices at remote sites.

Best practices for asset monitoring include:

  • Tracking the location of each asset
  • Monitoring the condition of each asset
  • Maintaining accurate records of each asset
  • Responding quickly to changes in asset condition

Maintenance management

Maintenance management is the process of tracking and managing telecom assets across their lifecycle. This includes inventorying, monitoring, and maintaining telecom equipment and devices at remote sites.

Best practices for maintenance management include:

  • Inspecting telecom assets on a regular basis
  • Replacing or repairing telecom assets as needed
  • Maintaining accurate records of each asset
  • Responding quickly to changes in asset condition

Decommissioning management

Decommissioning management is the process of tracking and managing telecom assets across their lifecycle. This includes inventorying, monitoring, and maintaining telecom equipment and devices at remote sites.

Best practices for decommissioning management include:

  • Planning for the decommissioning of telecom assets in advance
  • Ensuring that all telecom assets are properly decommissioned
  • Maintaining accurate records of each asset
  • Responding quickly to changes in asset condition

By following these best practices, you can more effectively manage your telecom assets and reduce operational costs.

How to actually implement telecom asset management

Now that you know the basics of telecom asset management, let's take a look at how you can actually implement it.

There is asset management software containing automated management tools that will assist with the entire process. This will vary based on the software you choose, but it will follow the same basic process:

The first step is to inventory all of your telecom assets. This includes tracking the location of each asset, as well as the make, model, and serial number.

You should also track the condition of each asset, and maintain accurate records. This will help you identify when an asset needs to be repaired or replaced.

Once you have an inventory of your telecom assets, you can begin monitoring them on an ongoing basis. This includes tracking the location of each asset and monitoring the condition.

You should also maintain accurate records of each asset, and respond quickly to any changes in condition.

If an asset needs to be repaired or replaced, you should take action as soon as possible. Costs will only expand if you leave something undone.

Finally, when an asset reaches the end of its useful life, you should decommission it properly.

DPS can help you with remote monitoring and provide details for your telecom asset management

In my role as a sales engineer at DPS Telecom, I've obviously been involved in hundreds of different remote site monitoring projects. If you're working on any kind of new install or upgrade that requires monitoring, I can absolutely help you with that.

On several occasions, I've also been asked to assist during an asset management project of some kind. This can include the creation of drawings and site equipment lists to capture the current state of the network. Often, the project is driven by a requirement for regulatory compliance.

In general, I'm offering specific information about the specific NetGuardian RTUs that are installed at each site.

If you need help with remote monitoring or for a telecom asset management project that includes DPS equipment, give me a call at 1-800-693-0351 or email me at sales@dpstele.com

Share: 
Andrew Erickson

Andrew Erickson

Andrew Erickson is an Application Engineer at DPS Telecom, a manufacturer of semi-custom remote alarm monitoring systems based in Fresno, California. Andrew brings more than 17 years of experience building site monitoring solutions, developing intuitive user interfaces and documentation, and opt...