top of page

Yemen Telecom Network Triage: Build a Board‑Ready Asset Inventory and Damage Assessment

  • Writer: Bridge Connect
    Bridge Connect
  • 17 hours ago
  • 3 min read

Part 2 of a Bridge Connect mini-series on post-conflict telecoms (spotlight on Yemen)


Most telecom recovery plans fail because they start with an unreliable asset baseline. This briefing shows Yemen telecom leadership how to build a credible inventory and damage assessment in 30 days using a minimum viable dataset, an evidence standard (photo/GPS/serial), and a criticality model that converts engineering detail into board-ready CapEx sequencing.


In recovery environments, the fastest way to lose investor confidence (and internal credibility) is to run planning and procurement off an unreliable asset baseline.

A credible inventory is not “engineering hygiene.” It is how you:

  • justify CapEx priorities,

  • quantify restoration cost,

  • negotiate vendor terms,

  • and present a coherent modernization roadmap.

This matters even more in Yemen’s telecom context, where sector analyses describe deep institutional and regulatory constraints and high uncertainty for private operators.


Executive summary

A recovery-grade inventory has three attributes:

  1. Minimum viable dataset (small enough to complete quickly)

  2. Evidence standard (photos, serials, logs—so it is trusted)

  3. Decision outputs (a board can act on it within minutes)


In 30 days, you can produce an investable baseline if you structure the work into:(1) Taxonomy → (2) Data capture → (3) Verification → (4) Criticality → (5) Cost bands → (6) Board outputs


Step 1: Define a simple taxonomy (do this first, or nothing scales)

Choose a structure that matches how decisions get made.

Recommended top-level taxonomy

  • Sites: radio sites, core sites, aggregation sites, data centers

  • Transport: fiber segments, microwave links, IP/MPLS nodes, power feeds

  • Core: mobile core elements, fixed core elements, IMS, DNS, AAA

  • IT/OSS/BSS: billing, mediation, CRM, provisioning, monitoring

  • Power assets: gensets, batteries, solar/storage, rectifiers


Minimum viable dataset (what you must capture for each site)

  • Site ID + GPS coordinates

  • Technology (2G/3G/4G/Fixed/Wi‑Fi/FWA)

  • Backhaul type + capacity (fiber/microwave)

  • Current status (operational / degraded / offline)

  • Primary outage cause (power / backhaul / radio / core / access)

  • Energy autonomy estimate (hours)

  • Photos (tower, shelter, power system)

  • Key serials/labels (where possible)

  • Ownership/lease status (if relevant to restoration)

Keep it lean. You can add “nice-to-have” fields later.


Step 2: Build an evidence standard (inventory that can survive scrutiny)

In recovery phases, teams often argue about what is “true.” End that early.

Evidence standard for each asset

  • Level 1: reported by NOC/field (unverified)

  • Level 2: verified by photo + timestamp + GPS

  • Level 3: verified by photo + serial + configuration/log extract

Your board deck should show: % of MVN sites at Level 2+.


Step 3: Capture data fast (use tools that work with poor connectivity)

Do not wait for a perfect OSS refresh.

Practical approach

  • Use mobile forms that work offline (and sync later).

  • Use standardized photo naming: SITEID_DATE_ASSETTYPE.jpg.

  • Upload to a single repository with controlled access.

Field execution tipAssign inventory squads with mixed skills:

  • 1 RF technician

  • 1 power technician

  • 1 data capture lead (forms/photos)


Step 4: Apply criticality—because not all assets are equal

If you do not apply criticality, your inventory becomes a spreadsheet that does not drive decisions.

Criticality scoring (simple and effective)

  • Demand score: traffic/revenue proxy

  • Dependency score: number of downstream sites/services

  • Restoration leverage: cost-to-impact ratio

  • Risk score: likelihood of repeated failure (e.g., chronic power instability)

This produces a ranked list of “assets that matter.”


Step 5: Convert conditions into cost bands (stop pretending you can cost perfectly)

In Yemen-like recovery settings, precise costing is slow and usually wrong.

Instead, use cost bands:

  • Band A: low-cost restoration (<X) — spares + field work

  • Band B: medium — partial rebuild, power upgrade, backhaul fix

  • Band C: high — major rebuild, relocation, or redesign required

The goal is a credible portfolio view for CapEx sequencing.


Step 6: Produce board-ready outputs (what executives actually need)

By Day 30, the inventory team should produce:

  1. MVN map with status (operational/degraded/offline)

  2. Top 20 failure clusters (e.g., “power autonomy below target” across MVN)

  3. 90‑day restoration plan (work packages + owners + cost bands)

  4. 12‑month modernization “no regrets” plan (transport + power + monitoring)

  5. Risk register (single points of failure + mitigation)


KPIs (what to measure weekly)

  • % of MVN assets captured (target: >95%)

  • % of MVN assets verified at evidence Level 2+ (target: >80%)

  • Time to close “unknown status” assets (target: <7 days)

  • % of repeat outages from the same root cause cluster (downward trend)

  • CapEx allocated to top criticality quartile (target: majority)


Subscribe to Bridge Connect for more insights



ملخص تنفيذي (Arabic synopsis)

  • جرد الأصول ليس عملاً هندسياً فقط؛ هو أساس قرارات الاستثمار والتفاوض مع الموردين.

  • اعتمدوا بيانات حدّية قابلة للإنجاز بسرعة، مع معيار إثبات (صور/إحداثيات/سجلات).

  • طبّقوا تصنيف الأهمية لتوجيه الإنفاق إلى الأصول الأعلى تأثيراً.

  • استخدموا شرائح تكلفة بدل تقديرات تفصيلية مبكرة تؤخر التنفيذ.

  • المخرجات المطلوبة: خريطة MVN، خطة 90 يوم، وخطة 12 شهر “No Regrets”.

bottom of page