Exponential growth in network bandwidth requirements has created a need for large CAPEX investments for most service providers. Unfortunately, each provider faces limits on all expenditures and must upgrade only what is needed, when it is needed. Nobody should waste time or money by performing unnecessary network upgrades.

To avoid needless upgrading, providers must have all the data they can get from their network to guide them through the decision-making process. The tool used to provide this information must produce a clear depiction of actual usage, so that an accurate prediction of future usage can be realized. Providers need to see where and when network upgrades would be necessary to ensure subscribers receive the service levels they expect, while gaining the required capacity to accurately support additional bandwidth growth.

Historically, providers have used spreadsheets, gut feelings, and sometimes “network-fu” in order to plan upgrades, which often leads to unused over-capacity or upgrading the wrong parts of the network. This risky business practice is often wasteful and only provides a false, short-term solution.

But there is no need to despair. Current technology offers a novel approach that will guide providers throughout the process, and show them when and where to invest in their network. Based on customer patterns specific to their network, this technology can even provide rough estimates on the cost needed for budgetary numbers. This is crucial for keeping your network operations running smoothly, because let’s face it—issues with bandwidth availability will drive your customers away.

Take the guessing out of upgrading your network by using a suite of tools that gives you the data you need to make the right decisions.