CDR Data Analysis Software – To analyzing CDRs and Tower Dumps

A CDR is a detailed listing of all telephone calls made using a particular network. It stands for Call Detail Record, and could be created for a particular number or an area or a particular telecom tower. Typical CDR file would contain calling numbers, called numbers, date and time of calls, durations of those calls and tower information etc., but this list is not exhaustive. Depending on specific needs, a CDR could have many more elements.

Depending on the agency using CDR, it can serve many kinds of purposes. The CDR analysis of all the details in the report can provide the results that are sought. Let us look at a few ways in which CDR is used :

Revenue Patterns : When a telecom service provider looks at a CDR, the primary focus is to understand the billing trends of a particular tower or even of an individual subscriber. This analysis helps telecom companies to flag off sudden drops in revenue from a particular source, and take necessary corrective action. Telecom companies use CDR analysis software to help pinpoint peaks and troughs which can help them while devising tariff plans or special promotions.

Tower Strength : Many providers are unable to understand the seriousness of or the reasons for a drop in the quality of their network in a particular area till they get a multitude of complaints. These issues raised by unsatisfied customers could be due to call drops, voice interference, or even call diversions. CDRs dumps of a particular tower would contain enough details about the technical aspects of the gaps in network so that corrective action can be initiated.

Forensics: CDRs which provide details of all calls made and received in a certain area would usually also have the cell IDs of all the devices which were involved in those calls. These details are often used by law enforcement agencies to help solve crimes. These law enforcement agencies send a request to the service provider in order to obtain CDR files as such files are highly confidential and are not available to public. These obtained CDRs are used by police and other agencies to understand the phone call activities of suspects as well as victims. Pelorus Technologies in partner with world’s leading OEMs provide such solutions to various law enforcement agencies that has helped in understanding and solving many cases.

Infrastructure Assessment: A good CDR would contain enough details for a telecom service provider to easily understand the gap between the bandwidth available and the demand from existing subscribers. Based on the company’s own assessment of increase in mobile phone service coverage, it helps them understand whether additional towers would be needed in a particular area.

Billing Errors : When a particular subscriber raises a complaint about incorrect billing, the telecom services company usually provides a detailed CDR which is then shared with the subscriber, so that discrepancies, if any, can be corrected.

Because of the myriad uses of CDRs and the immense benefits that their analysis can bring, software companies have now come up with tools which would help the CDR to be automatically analyzed without having to wait for a team of humans to do it. This makes the process efficient and error free.