The first generation of assurance solutions currently in use by most service providers aren't good enough, according to recent studies.

Research shows that customer experience is directly related to quality of service (QoS) and network performance. But the first generation of assurance solutions currently in use by most communication service providers are not capable of achieving relevant improvements in customer experience or service performance.

Studies also show that poor QoS is responsible for 40 percent of all customer churn. What these numbers really suggest is that the traditional approach to service assurance is not working, and communication service providers need to make changes in order to succeed.

Without question, communication service providers are doing innovative and exciting things like creating cloud environments, virtualized networks and software defined networks (SDNs). But the "if you build it, he will come" mentality will only go so far if the "it" in question is a minefield of security hazards and spotty service instead of a pasture of high-speed, secure bliss.

These are just some of the concepts discussed in the newest Heavy Reading report "Service Assurance Proves Vital To Understanding Networks." This report examines the service assurance market, providing insights as to how eight vendors define service assurance, as well as what features each vendor identify as being in their solution. It discusses drivers and challenges in the industry and includes a comparative analysis of solutions available. Finally, it examines the geographic landscape of the market and details trends that are likely to occur in the industry over the next 18-24 months.

Another key factor will be how communication service providers go about implementing new technologies into their networks. For instance, many communication service providers are just now rolling out Long Term Evolution (LTE), while others are shifting from LTE to LTE-Advanced (LTE-A). Still others are deploying voice over LTE (VoLTE), and some are in the process of implementing any and all of the technologies at the same time. Regardless of where a communication service providers is in the process, the need and desire to understand the quality of the service is imperative.

— Denise Culver, Research Analyst, Heavy Reading