Preemptive detection of failure in telephone networks

We describe TCAF, an expert system that performs 24-hour monitoring and surveillance of the customer access facilities (CAF) in GTE's telephone network. TCAF is able to identify a large variety of problems, ranging from a fault in a customer's phone to a cut in a large cable. The system is currently being deployed, and initial results show it to be 3-10 times more accurate, and more automated, than the methodologies currently employed by local exchange carriers.