Micromuse Inc., the provider of realtime business and service assurance software, today announced that SmarTone is using the Netcool suite as the strategic platform for the service quality management of its General Packet Radio Service (GPRS) and third-generation (3G) services.

SmarTone is a provider of mobile data services in Hong Kong and was the first operator in Hong Kong to launch GPRS and trial WCDMA 3G services.

SmarTone deployed a comprehensive Netcool solution specifically suited to address the needs of mobile service providers by allowing proactive management and performance monitoring of existing wireless services. Additionally, the solution allows SmarTone to quickly and easily integrate and manage new services as customer requirements and market competition dictate. The complete Netcool solution includes specialized applications for systems and service monitoring to enable constant service uptime and end-to-end monitoring of SmarTone's GPRS and 3G infrastructures, helping to maintain the availability and reliability of its mobile data communications services.

With the Netcool solution in place, SmarTone can identify where service degradation is occurring and immediately determine the probable impact on customers or service levels, thus allowing SmarTone to prioritize the time and resources needed to address the most critical problems. In addition, Netcool's realtime Business Dashboards provide an end-to-end view of service quality across SmarTone's business operations, which allow its strategists to assess which services require additional investments and resources, or alternatively, identify where unnecessary investment is occurring.