Talktalk Telecom : unique ‘self-healing broadband’ recognised at World Communication Awards

Ground-breaking system proactively checks network for faults

Early reporting leads to quicker repairs and happier customers

A ground-breaking new system that proactively checks TalkTalk's network for faults has won the Best Network Operation Initiative at the prestigious World Communications Awards.

Project Genesis was developed by TalkTalk's Next Generation Network team and carries out thousands of line checks every day, automatically raising fault tickets if it finds problems. The system checks 99 per cent of new lines for faults before they go live, and carries on checking the line after activation to check it is still working properly.

Chief Technology Officer Gary Steen said: "Project Genesis means we can diagnose problems quickly and proactively, and deliver a faster resolution for any problems that occur. The aim is to create self-healing broadband, which fixes itself before the customer notices there is a problem. I'm hugely proud of the whole team involved in the design, build and operation of Genesis, it's truly transformational."

Since launch Genesis has:

• Tested 2.1 million TalkTalk Group customers' connections

• Discovered and automatically reported over 70,000 migration faults affecting new customer

• Discovered 81 per cent of faults automatically, with the remainder being reported by customers

• The length of time to repair faults on new connections has fallen from an average of four to five days to one to two days, and Genesis is now active for all TalkTalk Consumer and Business connections and connections provided by partners

• Genesis is now rolling out to the rest of TalkTalk Group's customer base of 4.2 million homes

TalkTalk Group's unbundled Next Generation Network already reaches 97 per cent of the British population and is handling more data than ever, with a recent peak of 1.25Tbps. TalkTalk is increasing capacity a hundred-fold over the next five years to meet growing demand.

TalkTalk Business was also a runner up in the World Communications Awards' Best Customer Care Award, for work carried out by a specialised team at TalkTalk Business, which looks after big enterprise clients like DHL. Members of the team are important advisors for blue chip companies, delivering ICT solutions that will help them expand as growth returns to the British economy.

distributed by