With the lead-up to 5G CSPs have been laser-focused on overcoming the challenges of deploying a completely new wireless spectrum and densifying the network. After a decade of planning and CAPEX investment, these networks are finally becoming operational.
Now we’re entering a new era – one where all the hard work and investment begin to pay off. The focus now will be on enabling new services that can be monetised. This next phase will continue well into the future as 5G standalone networks become reality. And there’s no rest for the weary. Before you know it, 6G will be peeking around the corner.
Operational Support Systems (OSS) Must Move to the Forefront Because they will be Essential to this Next Phase.
As operators further develop 5G and inch closer to 6G, it’s time to reassess these systems to determine if they’re up for the task ahead. After all, OSS is the beating heart of any telecom network. They are the tools for designing, building, operating, and maintaining the world’s communications infrastructure, but they were created and deployed in the last millennium.
Most OSS systems have been in desperate need of a massive update for years but have been pushed to the back burner. This won’t cut it anymore. The enormous complexity of the network and rise in service demand drive the need to massively scale every operational task possible. This requires automation at every level, and a new approach to how OSS systems are architected.
Sometimes, Choosing to do Nothing is the Costliest Choice of All.
In the week leading up to Christmas in December 2022, Southwest Airlines famously collapsed under the weight of its own success. Outdated operational systems were to blame. Designed in the ‘90s for simpler times, the airline’s scheduling system was finally pushed beyond its limits. The entire business ground to a halt at the height of the holiday season – leaving in its wake tens of thousands of stranded travellers, the company’s stock plummeting, a federal investigation, and a PR nightmare of epic proportions.
Airlines aren’t the only ones with an aging operational infrastructure. Telecom networks are constantly growing and evolving – which means the systems that support them must also be able to grow and evolve. Legacy systems are cost-efficient until they aren’t. Those who ignore the warning signs of outdated OSS and don’t get ahead of the problem will end up in a similar mess.
Below are five reasons now is the time for an OSS refresh:
1. Planning and Managing a More Converged Network
Analysys Mason believes that 6G will be a ‘network of networks’. In the future connectivity will not be delivered by one network, but will need a convergence of fibre, 5G/6G, Wi-Fi and satellite. This means mobile network operators, broadband providers, cloud providers, edge data centers, utility companies, and satellite providers will all need to seamlessly work together to deliver 6G services – and this will have a huge impact on how networks are designed and services are assured.
Today’s network engineers are accustomed to managing hybrid networks, but with 6G, this complexity grows exponentially as networks begin to converge not just across internal hybrid tools and systems, but across carriers and technologies.
Operators need to be equipped to deal with this complexity. Disaggregated, cloud-based architectures need to coexist with legacy, proprietary equipment and systems from multiple vendors that are still relied upon for many network and operational functions.
With one foot in the new world and one foot in the old, network engineers need OSS tools that can accommodate both – for everything from network planning, design and rollout, to day-to-day assurance and operations. For instance, there are now topology-based correlation tools that can correlate across hybrid network topologies to pinpoint the specific root cause of a service outage, and automated inventory solutions that can map each service to the network. These capabilities allow operators to reduce the challenges – and risks – associated with network transformation.
2. Automating and Optimising Network Operations
Assuring data-driven 5G and 6G services will create the need to automate at every level. Operators can’t rely on manual processes that worked in the past due to the sheer complexity and scale. AI-powered, zero-touch service provisioning, assurance and orchestration will become a cornerstone of 6G, giving the network the ability to automatically optimise its own performance through continuous observation. But we won’t get there overnight. Change needs to begin now.
By automating processes, operators can significantly reduce the opportunity for human error and do more with less, in terms of resources. Today’s networks are already so large and complex that fault management requires features like real-time auto-discovery and policy management. 6G will push this even further.
In addition, as service provider networks and technologies converge, there needs to be visibility into the quality of service at every juncture, to ensure compliance with SLAs and KPIs – and have an automated way of reporting issues when problems arise. Customer-facing dashboards for monitoring QoS are a growing trend that will continue as we move into a more converged 6G environment – especially as the services depending on connectivity become increasingly mission-critical.
Network operations teams need modern OSS tools that can keep pace with today’s – and tomorrow’s – growing demand for just-in-time services. Automation is the driving force, enabling more: more services, more innovation, more devices, and more ways to monetise. OSS systems are a critical part of this journey.
3. Creating a Network Designed for Innovation at Scale
Today’s operators are entering a period of unprecedented growth and innovation that requires scalability across every facet of their business. Disaggregated networks will be the enabler, providing the agility needed to support new services, industries, business models, and IoT applications. OSS systems must be able to scale so that operational and supply chain bottlenecks can be eliminated – and innovation can thrive.
Advancements in edge computing, Fixed Wireless Access (FWA), government infrastructure investments, and growth in private networks create enormous opportunities for both fixed and mobile operators.
The number of endpoints that can be supported by today’s 5G networks – over one million devices per square kilometer – will continue to grow with 6G, and services like network slicing and network-as-a-service will place a heavier emphasis on network quality and the ability to assure critical SLAs.
Meanwhile, hyperscale cloud providers, wireless internet service providers, tower companies, utility providers, satellite companies and others are entering the market as well, creating a ‘gold rush’ of new companies and partnerships vying to deliver the connectivity that will power the next phase of the internet. With 6G’s focus on the metaverse and experiential services, the ability to be innovative suddenly becomes more important than ever.
To remain competitive, operators require a more modern approach to managing network inventory, with real-time service assurance, and topology-based network design and management tools that will help scale service delivery, ensure the user experience, and drive innovation.
4. Deploying Fibre Faster – And Smarter
When it comes to connecting 6G access points to the wider world, Fibre has an advantage over other technologies in that it is highly secure and less prone to interception than wireless. It can even be used to create a 6G ‘sensing’ network – measuring vibration, temperature and location. By 2030, connectivity will be available where and when needed – but only there and then.
Right now there’s a race to get more fibre deployed just about everywhere. Whether it’s to create applications for the metaverse, or help close today’s digital divide in rural and underserved communities, having modern network planning tools help overcome the growing challenges of designing this critical – and costly – infrastructure.
GIS-powered network planning, design and management tools enhance the decision-making process, improve productivity, and empower the entire telecom enterprise with a true view of the network – for faster, more accurate, and cost-effective next-generation fibre network buildouts.
5. Seize New IoT Enterprise Opportunities and Business Models
Businesses of all sizes and shapes, across all industries, are in the midst of their own digital revolutions, and 6G will continue to fuel this trend. Advancements in quantum computing, artificial intelligence, sensory networks, digital twins, and blockchain will help shape what’s possible – and it will be businesses that primarily benefit from more network options, including Non-Terrestrial Networks (NTNs), Non-Public Networks (NPNs), and Time Sensitive Networks (TSN).
Successful operators will be those who have scalable systems that can rise to the challenge and deliver the new services – and SLAs – that tomorrow’s customers demand. Whether it’s low latency, ultra-reliability, extra security, five-9s availability, low power, or something else- these customised enterprise IoT connections will come with a price tag, but require a level of service assurance and monitoring unlike anything before.
The ability to closely track and monitor services in real-time and offer customers their own dashboards for true transparency, will be what sets one operator apart from another.
Next Steps
We are living in exciting times – moving towards the holistic integration of technology across society. The telecom industry is a critical piece of this puzzle, and Enghouse Networks has the OSS expertise to help.
It’s time to make a change – to Enghouse OSS.
Download our eBook to understand how operators assess whether the Operational Support Systems (OSS) they have in place are up to the task.
