Orchestrated acceleration in site engineering to deploy 5G
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Highlights
- For 5G network to reach the masses effectively, telcos need to deploy thousands of new small cells to cover target locations.
- To deploy the 5G infrastructure, telcos struggle with high cost, deployment time, and operational expenditure. Additional factors significantly impact deployment, such as network planning, site selection, installation, integration, testing, and making the site on air.
- As multiple stakeholders work toward a common goal, speed and transparency are of the utmost importance throughout the network site engineering and deployment process.
- A framework with strict progress governance, end-to-end process visibility, intelligent data fabric, and a distributed structure using advanced technologies will simplify the site engineering process.
- A defined intent can scale up the site engineering process for network densification by orchestrating an automated and flawless integration for site optimization, performance testing, and acceptance before handing it over for operations.
In this article
In this article
What it takes to deliver on the 5G promise
5G networks have many promises to deliver not only for the end customer, but also for the enterprise, the government, and the telecom industry.
The networks must be deployed at a large scale for 5G network to reach the masses. 5G networks primarily run on the millimeter waves, which have a greater capacity to take data over the network, but at the same time, these waves lack coverage. In such scenarios, telcos must deploy thousands of new small cells to cover target locations fully for which, they will have to make massive site acquisitions. Deploying such a high infrastructure at these locations comes with high cost, deployment time, and operational expenditure. A lot of investment would be needed to build the infrastructure. Various factors further impact the deployment, such as network planning, site selection, installation, integration, testing, and making the site on air.
The main cost drivers of 5G infrastructure densification
These include training engineers, the physical hardware used in deployment, and testing and integration of the network.
Such a significant investment will impact the ROI in case of delays or underutilization of equipment inventories at warehouses or sites. Due to the multitenancy, the whole process will involve multiple stakeholders working toward a common goal. Here it will include the network infrastructure provider, the equipment provider, subcontractors, managed services providers, and the telco. Hence, speed and transparency will matter throughout the network site engineering and deployment process. This will require strict progress governance, end-to-end process visibility, and clearly defined timelines. This mandates finding a framework that maintains a fine equilibrium between speed, security, and transparency. The framework should have these three guiding factors:
- Fluidity
- Obtainability
- Certainty
Figure 1:Three guiding factors for the framework
Fluidity:
Through the site engineering process, the fluidity of information should be maintained. This is so that the data can be accessed, analyzed, or automated for processing at any stage or time.
Obtainability:
Deployed sites, which play a crucial role in infrastructure development, should be a part of an open framework. Different applications or utility ecosystems can utilize this openness. For example, using open APIs from site engineering systems for smart city development or green energy initiatives through optimization of energy usage on these sites.
Certainty:
While maintaining fluidity and openness, the framework must support and sustain a high level of trust and certainty among all the entities. These entities can supply equipment, help construct the site and integrate or run the network.
The need for a digitally immune site engineering framework
5G is a significantly advanced technology that offers many promises to users and providers.
Due to the need for densification, 5G networks bring many complexities, one of which include deploying small cell sites.
Figure 2: Site engineering process
More sites bring higher probability of service interruptions, further adding dependency on the field force and equipment providers. Being a highly digital, virtual, and scalable network, 5G also needs more frequent updates and real-time monitoring, where following elements can mitigate such challenges.
Intelligent data fabric
The involvement of many entities in the site engineering process brings together multiple databases, data lakes, cloud data stores, apps, and document repositories. An intelligent data fabric can weave the data assets and underlying technologies in a unified way. It also enables automation over data to complete the AI lifecycle.
The intelligent data fabric enables data and information management from nominal selection to site operation. It connects traditionally siloed entities like telecom infrastructure service providers, OEMs (original equipment manufacturers), and MSPs (managed service partners) in a single place, offering clear visibility and improved reliability. The site deployment lifecycle ensures an integrated view of all these entities.
Decentralized digital twin with a distributed structure
Asset acquisition, capitalization, and management take place across the site engineering value chain.
A transparent, trusted, and distributed system built on blockchain makes it easy to operate and maintain. A virtual and distributed node for all the entities (operator, tower companies, OEMs, and MSPs) forms a digital twin node connected in real time through a digital thread. This can be decentralized, where decision-making is not limited to a single stakeholder but all.
In certain situations, some transactions, like a land contract or property leasing, could be done with the help of a third party outside the blockchain. Once agreed upon and executed, these off-chain transactions are made on-chain. Across the process, the user from the entities transacts through historical data, network planning and design parameters, contracts, financial transactions, and approval workflows. This distributed ledger becomes a single source of truth and reduces data silos.
This decentralized digital twin with a distributed structure analyzes the data to improve the wireless network site engineering process and ensure time-bound deliveries.
Several such uses of the digital twin with customer and network data aggregation have been showcased at the TM Forum. Blockchain helps accelerate the digital twin adoption to match the scale of the 5G network. The obtainability of different APIs and digital frameworks from the site engineering process leads to the economic sustainability of smart cities.
To simplify site engineering through technological interventions, it is necessary to unlock the full potential of machines used by providing the intent as an outcome. AI will demand essential information from various integrated sources based on the intent.
Intent-based orchestration
The Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) clearly defines concepts about intent-based management, service models, and functionalities.
Scaling up the site engineering process for network densification needs an automated and flawless integration for site optimization, performance testing, and acceptance before handing it over for operations. A defined intent can help orchestrate such integrations. Based on the concepts defined by the IETF, multiple scripts will run to configure the site per the required technologies and parameters. The orchestrator can perform these in a flash using a pre-defined configuration catalog. This catalog contains all the required information and standard policies to run the intent-based orchestrator, optimizing the use of available resources and running the scripts with no errors.
Figure 3: Intent-based orchestrator
Here, the intent will be given as an input to an intent translator engine. This has a set of AI-ML and rule-based models working in complete synergy. The engine will provide near-real-time output regarding the parameters and specifications required for site integration on the field.
For example, a telco is looking to provide coverage in some area in a specific range. The orchestrator will gather all the required intelligence and suggest the best location to deploy the tower, tower structure, and antenna with directions and parameters for the respective technologies. Reliable network planning and deployment, including site configuration in multi-vendor and multi-technology environments, brings significant tangible and secure benefits. The reduced time and effort required to maintain the network translate into more time for network innovations, which provide real value to the business.
Moving into the future of digital-physical fusion
As the densification of networks take prominence, a digital-physical fusion with convergent technologies can speed up the site rollout process.
It can also present a better case for governance and transparency. An orchestrated acceleration in site engineering for 5G deployments makes better business sense as it will minimize the deployment time and enable faster realization of many sought-after benefits of 5G.
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