Cisco has had a rocky relationship with the cellular network, having bought and sold a series of start-ups, over the years, in this area – from WiMAX vendor Navini to small cell pioneer Ubiquisys. One of the acquisitions in this area which did make it into a mainstream Cisco product line was Intucell, developer of SON (self-optimizing network) technology. But now, Cisco will sell its SON assets on to HCL Technologies.
“HCL’s decision to make this acquisition comes in line with our Mode 3 strategy,” said HCL corporate VP Sukamal Banerjee. “As we expand our footprint in this space and support the mobility needs of our customers; the SON products and services will now be included in our telecommunications offerings. This will gain further importance with 5G networks.”
Since acquiring Intucell in 2013 for $475m, Cisco had added considerably to its functionality and developed a well-respected SON offering within its broader automation portfolio, though RAN optimization always seemed rather peripheral to its main areas of interest, at least once it shut down its cellular small cell business.
Israeli-founded Intucell came to prominence in the early 2010s large thanks to a deal with AT&T. The start-up had developed ‘dynamic SON’ software, which allowed cells to respond more flexibly to shifts in data and signalling traffic, according to time of day and other criteria (a cutting edge idea a decade ago). SON techniques were harnessed to, in effect, allow the cell to ‘follow’ the user.
This was part of the drive – still incomplete – to turn the traditional static cellular network into a self-aware, fluid creation, whose cells constantly expand or contract according to the capacity required, as users move around the system.
Other SON acquisitions around the same time included Nokia’s of Eden Rock and Amdocs’s of Celcite and Actix. Nokia’s deal has had the biggest impact, forming the foundations of a leadership business that has successfully remained independent of the Nokia RAN.