Accurate RAN Planning Saves Billions
2. Efficiency: The productivity of engineering resources is key to shortening the deployment times of 5G networks. A planning tool needs to be efficient to use, whether that be managing complexity though automation or increasing engineer productivity with efficient workflows and faster computational cycles. 3. Data-driven: Population density maps and clutter rasters are no longer fit for purpose when planning a best-in-class network. The best plan can only be determined by leveraging multiple input data sources including crowdsourced, social media, drive test, geolocated call trace and performance management data. 4. Integrated: A stand-alone planning tool no longer delivers the value expected. Integration of network planning into network lifecycle automation (NLA) processes such as testing, assurance and operations can significantly reduce operational costs. Take for example the ability to leverage planning data to inform where to focus your drive testing and reduce the time, scope and cost of the drive testing effort by over 70%. 5. Cloud-native: A cloud-native architecture is rapidly becoming the approach of choice when it comes to planning tools. It provides the high availability and disaster recovery required in a business-critical solution. On-demand compute resources and elastic horizontal scalability enables new capabilities such as nationwide predictions at any resolution and faster computation times, which are cost-prohibitive with a traditional hardware approach. And it delivers the many other business benefits associated with a cloud architecture such as automation and integration with other stages of the network lifecycle, all in a cost-effective package. In other words, RAN planning is now much more than a one-time best-effort decision to place the radio sites in the right locations. Having the right capabilities within your planning tool will ensure you can deliver a 5G network plan that meets the QoE expectations of your customers and the ROI expectations of your management.
Conclusion
In our years of experience with mobile radio networks, we have rarely seen any product that has such a big impact on the performance of the network. Any mobile network deployment will benefit from the capabilities highlighted above whether they are launching a brand new 5G network or preparing for new Network Slicing business offerings on the existing network. Overall, RAN planning and optimization is taking a key role in 5G deployment. We expect mobile operators to increase their investment in these tools, as the operations team and the CFO can both agree that this is an effective way to guide the investment in the field.
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