The mobile network operator knows best the extent, nature, and potential of its data. Operator staff are also aware of how much data is generated in the networks, though not all of it is useful for statistical purposes, and so discussing the data and server requirements for a partnership is best addressed as an iterative process, with broad outlines leading to technical discussions of greater details. 

The project lead, in this case the NSO, should have some technical level of understanding of the data, which data fields and what to request, as well as how much infrastructure is needed to process it. 

The UN Mobile Phone Data Task Team has developed two resources that provide enough technical information to reach the necessary level of understanding, a Handbook on the use of Mobile Phone data for Official Statistics (2019) available as a PDF and an awareness-raising course (2023) available through the ITU Academy. The most common types of MPD that are used for official statistics are call detail records (CDRs), internet protocol detail records (IPDRs) and signalling data. The UN resources explain technical details of the data sources and how to put in a request following the principle of data minimization. As indicated in the Introduction, organizations such as the World Bank’s GDF-MPD program or ITU are helpful resources for support in developing data and server requirements.

Two documents underpin the discussions surrounding the required data and infrastructure:

A data requirements document includes the minimum requirements for data according to the project objective and chosen data sharing modality. The data requirements document includes technical details on:

  • Data source
  • Expected data period
  • File format
  • Necessary data fields.

A server requirements specification document includes the minimum requirements for the infrastructure necessary to receive and process data. This document specifies the expected infrastructure needs regardless of data processing location and guides expectations on infrastructure costs (to be borne or compensated). The server requirements document specifies:

  • Specifications of the processing server
  • Specifications of the storage/archive server
  • Specifications for the application server (optional)
  • Main principles for server setup.