Rethink RAN Research Module 2: RAN Optimization market forecast—Deployments and key trends 2015 to 2020
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Some trends are becoming certainties
One, mobile operator growth (or sometimes survival) will depend on implementing ever-more heterogeneous networks, virtualizing many of their functions, and supporting a wide range of services and applications.
Two, attracting and retaining customers is increasingly down to the quality of user experience, not price, which means taking a far more rigorous approach to managing and optimizing the network.
These two are very hard to support in parallel. Monitoring, performance management and optimization approaches need to evolve rapidly to support these new requirements. Management and orchestration of virtual or hybrid networks are immature and the subject of deep splits over the best approach. Even without considering NFV/SDN, there is limited ability to optimize wireless, WiFi and wireline networks in a unified manner, even though a rising number of operators are differentiating themselves based on converged services.
Certain services raise particularly difficult optimization challenges. VoLTE and even ViLTE (video over LTE) require extremely good quality of service to provide a superior experience to 2G/3G voice and video, or over-the-top alternatives. This requires end-to-end optimization and some early VoLTE deployments have suffered from a failure to carry out this difficult task.
To address such challenges, operators expect to invest heavily in RAN software and services over the next five years, with a particular focus on optimization and SON.
The wireless forecast included in this report is based on research on the top 40 international mobile operator groups, which account for 80% of the global mobile subscribers (IMG-40). A total of 125 operating companies are included. From this representative group of operators, the forecasts are developed.
From the starting point of a calculation of the number of cell sites already deployed worldwide, forecasts were made of the numbers and type of RAN optimization tools and services that would be required. These included manual and automated (eg SON) processes. They included software tools, services provided by a third party onsite, and hosted services.
The forecasts were based on a combination of data from:
Definitions and scope of key categories of RAN software are outlined here:
| Category | Key tools and services covered |
| RF testing and monitoring | Monitoring, probes, drive tests, device-based tools
New generation probes including virtualized |
| RAN planning | Site survey, parameter design, capacity planning, coverage planning, interference management, macro/small cell/transport interaction |
| RF optimization | RF optimization including neighbor list optimization, parameter optimization, simulation, signal and protocol analysis |
| Video optimization | RAN-based video efficiency (not CDN etc) – congestion management, cell site caching, traffic prioritization |
| QoE – Traffic shaping according to QoE levels | Shaping and prioritizing traffic according to QoS levels, subscriber, traffic type |
| SON | Centralized, distributed and hybrid self-optimizing network and self-organizing network, Cloud-SON |
| RAN analytics | Real time analytics of data from probes and other RAN monitoring etc. |
| VoLTE and video | Optimization projects are divided into four main categories – video, web, VoLTE, IoT. Deployments specifically geared to VoLTE and video are separated out, as these are currently key use cases |