A Study of Mobile Inbound Roamers Data During Occupation Period 2008-2009 In Iraq Muna M. Salih Technical College of Managemen/Fundation of Technical Teaching munaouceal@yahoo.co.uk Received in: 28 April 2013, Accepted in 24 June 2013 Abstract Roaming data is an important source of information about the political and social activi- ties of a country. And this is true for Iraq situation after 2003 when the mobile companies started their business. In this paper, data of subscribers roamed onto foreign networks (in- bound roamers) is collected; it consists of the name of the Radio Control Point, the counter dealing with this type of information, Mobile Network Code/Mobile Country Code tupel. This data is processed. Results obtained out of this process show the classification of the in- bound roamers (according to their countries) during the occupation period (2008-2009). These results reflect the political situation of Iraq at that time. Information resulted from this process is useful for people who make decisions. Acknowledgment: the data handled in this report is a real data belong to the former Iraqna mobile company who worked in Iraq between 2003-2009. Attempts to get new data from Zain and Asiacell have failed and this is documented with my college. Keywords: GSM, ISP, WLAN, MSC, CDMA, HLR, VLR, PSTN, MCC, MNC TAP, SMS . 437 | Computer @a@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@ÚÓ‘Ój�n€a@Î@Úœäñ€a@‚Ï‹»‹€@·rÓ:a@Âig@Ú‹©@Ü‹126@@ÖÜ»€a@I3@‚b«@H2013 Ibn Al-Haitham Jour. for Pure & Appl. Sci. Vol. 26 (3) 2013 Introduction On the 13th and 14th of November 2012 the 20th anniversary of the Mobile Roaming World Summit has been held in London. But what is roaming? Roaming is a general term referring to the extension of connectivity service in a location that is different from the home location where the service was registered at the price of a local call or at a charge considerably less than the regular long-distance charges. Roaming enables a mobile device to access the Internet and other mobile services when out of its normal coverage area. It also gives a mobile device the ability to move from one ac- cess point to another. Roaming is derived from Real-time Optimally Adapting mesh (ROAM) [1]. Roaming ensures that the wireless device is kept connected to the network, without losing the connection. The term "roaming" originates from the GSM (Global System for Mobile Communications) sphere; the term "roaming" can also be applied to the CDMA(Code divi- sion multiple access ) technology. Traditional GSM Roaming is defined as the ability for a cellular customer to automatically make and receive voice calls, send and receive data, or access other services, including home data services, when travelling outside the geographical coverage area of the home network, by means of using a visited network. This can be done by using a communication terminal or else just by using the subscriber identity in the visited network. Roaming is technically sup- ported by mobility management, authentication, authorization and billing (payment) proce- dures [2]. Roamers generally enjoy high quality service and today, subscribers expect all frequently used mobile services to work reliably everywhere in the world. Thus, the quality and availa- bility of services inside and outside the home network becomes increasingly important in the battle for customers. Objectives of the Research Producing an informative and reliable report that cover all aspects of roaming process has an advantage for both authorities of that country and managers of the mobile company, for the authorities it would reveal for them 1- the current situation of the country and to assist them to make plans, 2- direct the general communication policy as far as the mobile companies is concerned (if possible). For the managers it would help them to: 1- Choose among the alternatives of mobile networks in a single country. 2- Review the old roaming agreements and think of new ones. 3- Increase contribution of international roaming to the revenue of the company. 4- Determine if charges of international roaming have impact on choosing this service by a consumer. 5- Decide whether they should offer a number of bundles to help keep the cost of data roam- ing down to beat competitor networks. Type of Roaming Authentication Protocol Dealing with roaming two types of network should be considered home and visited net- works the differentiation between home network and visited network is technically given by the type of subscriber entry in a specific network. If a subscriber has no entry in the home subscriber register of the network (e.g. Home Location Register (HLR) in GSM networks or local customer database in WLANs), the required subscriber data must first be requested by the visited network e.g. from the subscriber's home network in order that the subscriber can be authenticated and any authorization for using the network services can be checked. The "visit- 438 | Computer @a@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@ÚÓ‘Ój�n€a@Î@Úœäñ€a@‚Ï‹»‹€@·rÓ:a@Âig@Ú‹©@Ü‹126@@ÖÜ»€a@I3@‚b«@H2013 Ibn Al-Haitham Jour. for Pure & Appl. Sci. Vol. 26 (3) 2013 ing" subscriber acquires an entry in a user database of the visited network (e.g. Visited Loca- tion Register (VLR)) and the authorized network services are enabled. GSM/WLAN roaming services can be supplied in two different scenarios. The first One is SIM-based roaming au- thentication Protocols. This system recognizes when a subscriber roams onto a foreign net- work and automatically downloads an updated preferred network list onto the SIM (subscriber identification module) . The SIM Steer system uses an applet on the handset’s SIM card. This contains the prefer- ence list for roaming partner selection which will cause the handset to read this new list im- mediately. This list can be regularly updated to match the region of the world that the subscriber is visiting. SIM Steer monitors the update location requests and, where relevant, downloads an updated list for that region followed by a refresh command to ensure that the list is immedi- ately read by the handset. Steering of roaming helps you to choose which partner your roamers attach to in order to get the best price, the best quality and to fulfill your promises to partners. It is a vital function for any roaming operation, especially as prices come under increasing downward pressure. Without steering you will be paying too much and cannot be competitive. You would also be vulnerable to problems on partners’ networks and could therefore suffer serious damage to customer satisfaction [3]. The second is username/password based roaming authentication Protocols. Enter a valid home username and a valid password to use the Visited network [4]. The technical term "roaming" also encompasses roaming between networks of different net- work standards. Device equipment and functionality, such as SIM card capability, antenna and network interfaces, and power management, determine the access possibilities. Using the example of WLAN/GSM roaming, the following scenarios can be differentiated SIM-based (roaming): GSM subscriber roams onto a Public WLAN operated by: their GSM Operator, or another Operator who has a roaming agreement with their GSM oper- ator. Username/password based roaming: GSM subscriber roams onto a Public WLAN oper- ated by: their GSM Operator, or another Operator who has a roaming agreement with their GSM Operator. Types of Roaming Wireless local area network (WLAN) roaming services are segmented as follows: - Internal Roaming This is implemented when a mobile station is transferred with a strong signal between ac- cess points, preventing network blockage or interruption from weak signals. - External Roaming Implemented when a mobile station shifts to a wireless LAN or other foreign Wireless In- ternet Service Provider (WISP) to access service. WISP allows users to maintain an Internet connection while moving within a local coverage area. -Regional roaming This type of roaming refers to the ability of moving from one region to another region in- side national coverage of the mobile operator. Initially, operators may have provide commer- cial offers restricted to a region (sometimes to a town). Due to the success of GSM and the decrease in cost, regional roaming is rarely offered to clients except in nations with wide geo- graphic areas like the USA, Russia, India, etc., in which there is a number of regional opera- tors. -National roaming This type of roaming refers to the ability to move from one mobile operator to another in the same country. For example, a subscriber of T-Mobile USA who is allowed to roam on 439 | Computer @a@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@ÚÓ‘Ój�n€a@Î@Úœäñ€a@‚Ï‹»‹€@·rÓ:a@Âig@Ú‹©@Ü‹126@@ÖÜ»€a@I3@‚b«@H2013 Ibn Al-Haitham Jour. for Pure & Appl. Sci. Vol. 26 (3) 2013 AT&T Mobility's service would have national roaming rights. For commercial and license reasons, this type of roaming is not allowed unless under very specific circumstances and un- der regulatory scrutiny. -International roaming This type of roaming refers to the ability to move to a Foreign Service provider's network. It is, consequently, of particular interest to international tourists and business travelers. Broadly speaking, international roaming is easiest using the GSM standard, as it is used by over 80% of the world's mobile operators. However, even then, there may be problems, since countries have allocated different frequency bands for GSM communications (there are two groups of countries: most GSM countries use 900/1800 MHz, but the United States and some other countries in the Americas have allocated 850/1900 MHz): for a phone to work in a country with a different frequency allocation, it must support one or both of that country's fre- quencies, and thus be tri or quad band [5]. -One Network service The Zain Group has witnessed exponential growth over the last four years, growing from a single operator in Kuwait in 2003 to being a 15,000-employee, US$26.5 billion capitalised company offering a range of advanced mobile voice and data services to over 42.5 million customers. Zain has created a roaming-free market in Africa, with a dozen countries all enjoy- ing one single telecoms market. Since then, Zain has announced a single roaming-free market for its Middle East customers. This will give Zain customers contiguous local network coverage stretching from Iraq in the east to the Atlantic Ocean in the west, a distance of some 4,000 kilometres [6]. The Roaming process The details of the roaming process differ among types of cellular networks, but in general, the process resembles the following: When the mobile device is turned on or is transferred via a handover to the network, this new "visited" network sees the device, notices that it is not registered with its own system, and attempts to identify its home network. If there is no roaming agreement between the two networks, maintenance of service is impossible, and service is denied by the visited network. The visited network contacts the home network and requests service information (including whether or not the mobile should be allowed to roam) about the roaming device using the IMSI (International Mobile Subscriber Identity) number. If successful, the visited network begins to maintain a temporary subscriber record for the device. Likewise, the home network updates its information to indicate that the mobile is on the host network so that any information sent to that device can be correctly routed. If a call is made to a roaming mobile, the PSTN( public switched telephone network) routes the call to the phone's registered service provider, who then must route it to the visited net- work. That network must then provide an internal temporary phone number to the mobile. Once this number is defined, the home network forwards the incoming call to the temporary phone number, which terminates at the host network and is forwarded to the mobile [2]. Roamers calculation The data handled in this paper is collected in a device compatible with the Alcatel prod- uct RCP (Radio Control Point). In a cellular mobile radio network with intelligent network architecture, the Alcatel RCP is a set of counters combines the control part of the Mobile Ser- vices Switching Center (MSC) and a Visitor Location Register (VLR) in the same machine. 440 | Computer @a@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@ÚÓ‘Ój�n€a@Î@Úœäñ€a@‚Ï‹»‹€@·rÓ:a@Âig@Ú‹©@Ü‹126@@ÖÜ»€a@I3@‚b«@H2013 Ibn Al-Haitham Jour. for Pure & Appl. Sci. Vol. 26 (3) 2013 Data of Iraqna network is accumulated in RCPs , then is collected either for one hour or one day, this depends on the way desired to analyze the data. The data processed in this paper consist of four columns taken for one hour period. -The first column contains name of RCPs range from RCP03 to RCP17 each one is re- sponsible for a specific area of a town or a country. For example if these RCPs are in Bagh- dad, one would be for data of Almansur area, the second for Aljadria and so on. -The second is number’s counter of the traffic (calls). -The third is the Mobile Network Code (MNC) which is used in combination with a Mo- bile Country Code (MCC) (also known as a "MCC / MNC tuple") to uniquely identify a mo- bile phone operator/carrier using the GSM, CDMA .[7] -The fourth is date & time of observations (Table 1). -Data Processing MCC is the first three digits of MCC/MNC tuple the last 2 (or last 3 as in US code) is for the network operates in that country. MCC is extracted as it is the unique key to each country. Since these codes are duplicated (because each RCP may receive traffic for the same country roamed onto the same network or different one), so duplication needs to be removed, then each code compared with the original data to group different networks belongs to a single country. The code 418 is neglected be- cause it is for Iraqna local subscribers. Grouping different networks belong to a single country will enable us to sum the number of roamers onto these networks giving the total number roamed onto that country with all networks operating in it which have agreement with Iraqna company. Figure (2) shows the flowchart of processing the data. Figure (3) shows part of the VBA program code used to pro- cess the data. Using MCC/MNC manual the code of the country and the code of the its networks is matched to identify the name of the country and the networks have been roamed onto then, these are listed with all their operational details together with the number of roamers. Number of inbound roaming shows that the highest roaming is onto USA (Figure4). (Figure 5) shows the percentage of inbound roamers onto different countries, USA then India have the highest percentage above all. Conclusion The data taken from mobile companies reflects the political and social behavior of that country at that time. Examining the results showed in Figure(4) and Figure(5) leads to the conclusion that the majority of foreigners who roamed by Iraqna were Americans, Indians then British, this reflects the situation in Iraq in 2008 the year the data was taken in, where US and UK have had the major contribution in the troops who occupied Iraq. But why India? Probably because of the cheap labor which has been offered by Indian companies also the Ira- qi interest in having medical treatment in Indian hospital. Analyzing the results obtained in Figure(4) and Figure(5), would enable the mangers to de- cide for example’ whether to reconsider the roaming agreements with these countries or if it is worth expand it to include other networks or it is just a temporary situation, or to decide if it is beneficial to the company to impose extra charges on a specific network and so on. Using Visual Basic Application (VBA) in this paper reveals the power of this programming language in processing huge data produced by this kind of activity. Reporting makes use of data collected through the probing links monitoring the interna- tional traffic flowing through the international links. Data collected is analyzed and placed in trace files to compute various statistics and detailed information that are beneficial for the business analysis of the inbound roamers’ traffic behavior. 441 | Computer @a@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@ÚÓ‘Ój�n€a@Î@Úœäñ€a@‚Ï‹»‹€@·rÓ:a@Âig@Ú‹©@Ü‹126@@ÖÜ»€a@I3@‚b«@H2013 Ibn Al-Haitham Jour. for Pure & Appl. Sci. Vol. 26 (3) 2013 References 1- www.techopedia.com/definition/2971/roaming, Copyright © 2010 - 2012 Janalta Interac- tive Inc. 2- What is roaming service, May 2007- Definition from WhatIs_com.mht. 3-SIM Based Steering-www.evolved-intelligence.com/latestnews/simsteer.aspx- Copyright (2012) evolved intelligence. 4- www.gsma.com-newsroom-wp-content-uploads-2012-06-IR6232.pdf 5-Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia, modified on 19 September( 2012), GSM standard Mobile technology. 6- Developing Telecoms Zain creates Mid-East roam-free zone, buys Iraqna, launches in Saudi via NSN Middle East -North Africa.mht. 7- Alcatel 900/1800 NSS u2, HLR and RCP quality of service, TRAINING MANUAL, March (2006), 3FL11001ABAAWBZZA ed 3-. Radio Control Point Counter MNC/MCC No. of Roamers Date &Time RCP03 20454 20210 1 08-02-19_22:50:01 RCP03 20454 20404 5 08-02-19_22:50:01 RCP03 20454 20412 3 08-02-19_22:50:01 RCP03 20454 20420 1 08-02-19_22:50:01 RCP03 20454 20801 1 08-02-19_22:50:01 RCP03 20454 21630 8 08-02-19_22:50:01 RCP03 20454 21803 2 08-02-19_22:50:01 RCP03 20454 21910 2 08-02-19_22:50:01 RCP03 20454 22001 1 08-02-19_22:50:01 RCP03 20454 22201 5 08-02-19_22:50:01 RCP03 20454 22288 1 08-02-19_22:50:01 RCP03 20454 22601 1 08-02-19_22:50:01 RCP03 20454 22610 1 08-02-19_22:50:01 RCP03 20454 23410 14 08-02-19_22:50:01 RCP03 20454 23415 5 08-02-19_22:50:01 RCP03 20454 23420 1 08-02-19_22:50:01 RCP03 20454 23430 1 08-02-19_22:50:01 RCP03 20454 23820 2 08-02-19_22:50:01 RCP03 20454 24007 16 08-02-19_22:50:01 Table (1): A Sample of the Raw Data Taken From RCP03 442 | Computer @a@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@ÚÓ‘Ój�n€a@Î@Úœäñ€a@‚Ï‹»‹€@·rÓ:a@Âig@Ú‹©@Ü‹126@@ÖÜ»€a@I3@‚b«@H2013 Ibn Al-Haitham Jour. for Pure & Appl. Sci. Vol. 26 (3) 2013 no yes no yes yes Figure No. (2): Flowchart of Roamers Calculation Process Start Input Mobile Country/Mobile Net- work Code tuple (MCC/MNC) End Truncate MCC (the first three digit code) Compare each code with the original data List the MCC/MNC tuple with the corre- sponding number of roamers Remove duplicated codes Is code Is end of file? Sum number of roamers roamed onto differ- ent networks for each country Output results 443 | Computer @a@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@ÚÓ‘Ój�n€a@Î@Úœäñ€a@‚Ï‹»‹€@·rÓ:a@Âig@Ú‹©@Ü‹126@@ÖÜ»€a@I3@‚b«@H2013 Ibn Al-Haitham Jour. for Pure & Appl. Sci. Vol. 26 (3) 2013 Figure No. (3): Part of The ProgramCode for Processing Roamers Data 444 | Computer @a@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@ÚÓ‘Ój�n€a@Î@Úœäñ€a@‚Ï‹»‹€@·rÓ:a@Âig@Ú‹©@Ü‹126@@ÖÜ»€a@I3@‚b«@H2013 Ibn Al-Haitham Jour. for Pure & Appl. Sci. Vol. 26 (3) 2013 Figure No. (4): Inbound Roamers with Iraqna Company onto Corresponding Countries at 19.00-20.00 hour on 2nd of August 2008 445 | Computer @a@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@ÚÓ‘Ój�n€a@Î@Úœäñ€a@‚Ï‹»‹€@·rÓ:a@Âig@Ú‹©@Ü‹126@@ÖÜ»€a@I3@‚b«@H2013 Ibn Al-Haitham Jour. for Pure & Appl. Sci. Vol. 26 (3) 2013 Figure No. (5): Percentage of Inbound Roamers Roaming onto Different Countries 446 | Computer @a@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@ÚÓ‘Ój�n€a@Î@Úœäñ€a@‚Ï‹»‹€@·rÓ:a@Âig@Ú‹©@Ü‹126@@ÖÜ»€a@I3@‚b«@H2013 Ibn Al-Haitham Jour. for Pure & Appl. Sci. Vol. 26 (3) 2013 -2008االحتالل (مدة خالل النقال (الواردین) دراسة لبیانات متجولي الھاتف ) في العراق2009 منى مھدي صالح /ھیئھ التعلیم التقنىالتقنیھ االداریھ الكلیھ munaouceal@yahoo.co.uk 2013حزیران 24قبل البحث في ،2013نیسان 28البحث فى استلم الخالصة وھذا ینطبق على وضع .ما ةلدول ةواالجتماعی ةالنشاطات السیاسیللمعلومات حول امھم ابیانات التجوال مصدر دتع عندما بدأت شركات الموبایل اعمالھا. 2003العراق بعد الذین یتجولون على الشركات االجنبیھ (المتجولین الواردین) وتتضمن اسم نقطھ فى ھذا البحث جمعت بیانات المشتركین وعولجت زوج رمز موبایل الشبكھ/ رمز موبایل الدولھ .والعداد الذى یتعامل مع ھذا النوع من البیانات، والسیطره الرادویھ، االحتالل مدةجولین الواردین(وفقا لدولھم) خالل تظھر تصنیف المتفالنتائج المستحصلھ من ھذه المعالجھ اما البیانات. ھذه ھذه العملیھ تكون منالوضع السیاسي في العراق في ذلك الوقت. المعلومات الناتجھ النتائج ھذه تعكس اذ) 2008-2009( لالشخاص الذین یصنعون القرار. ةمفید :ان البیانات التى تمت معالجتھا فى ھدا البحث بیانات حقیقیھ تعود الى شركھ عراقنا للموبایل التى عملت فى اعالم .باءت بالفشل لكنھا زین واسیاسیل يشركتمن ةجدیدالحصول على بیانات وحاولنا. 2009-2003 المدةالعراق سابقا فى وھذه موثقة مع الكلیة التى اعمل فیھا. Keywords: GSM, ISP, WLAN, MSC, CDMA, HLR, VLR, PSTN, MCC, MNC TAP, SMS. 447 | Computer @a@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@ÚÓ‘Ój�n€a@Î@Úœäñ€a@‚Ï‹»‹€@·rÓ:a@Âig@Ú‹©@Ü‹126@@ÖÜ»€a@I3@‚b«@H2013 Ibn Al-Haitham Jour. for Pure & Appl. Sci. Vol. 26 (3) 2013 References