SNS says spending will increase on RAN automation by 125% from now to 2027
Open RAN automation will lead the charge
Automation can reduce emissions and Capex
SNS Telecom & IT’s recent report on radio access network (RAN) automation predicts that the cellular industry will spend about $700 million on automated open RAN software by 2027, up from under $100 million today.
The cellular industry's shift towards open interfaces, common information models, virtualization and software-driven networking, are mostly driving a move from the traditional distributed self-optimized networks (D-SON) and centralized self-optimized networks (C-SON) approach to Open RAN automation with standards-based components, SNS Telecom said in the report.
These automated open RAN networks will specifically use Near-RT (Real-Time) and Non-RT RICs (RAN Intelligent Controllers), SMO (Service Management & Orchestration) framework, xApps (Extended Applications) and rApps (RAN Applications) – that enable greater levels of RAN programmability and automation, SNS noted in the report.
"AT&T is one of the first well-established brownfield operators to initiate the commercial implementation of an Open RAN specifications-aligned automation platform for intelligent network control and programmability on a nationwide basis,” Asad Khan, research director, 5G and wireless networks at SNS Telecom and IT, told Fierce in an email.
He noted that within the framework of AT&T’s five-year $14 Billion Open RAN infrastructure deployment contract with Ericsson, AT&T is adopting the Swedish telecommunications vendor’s EIAP (Ericsson Intelligent Automation Platform) as the SMO and Non-RT RIC platform to replace two legacy C-SON solutions that currently support centralized RAN optimization as well as to orchestrate distributed RAN management systems and other network domains, including support for cross-domain, core and transport automation-related use cases. One of AT&T’s existing C-SON platforms has been developed in-house while the other one has been supplied by HCLTech.
SON swap
Old-timey readers may remember that AT&T invested early in SON platforms with an investment in Intucell Systems over a decade ago. Cisco bought Intucell and then HCLTech bought Cisco’s SON unit.
“AT&T will initiate the migration of the vast majority of cells from legacy systems to the EIAP as a common RAN management and automation platform in 2025, followed by the validation and onboarding of third-party and in-house rApps across application areas ranging from RAN resource optimization and user experience assurance to spectrum efficiency and energy savings,” Khan said.
With the transition from two legacy C-SON solutions to the Open RAN SMO and Non-RT RIC platform, AT&T initially expects to see a slight increase in the TCO as a result of operating multiple parallel systems for a period of time before the migration of all cells and network management systems. “In the long term, the mobile operator foresees significant benefits in terms of network performance, efficiency and cost savings," he added.
The Open RAN tour
In neighboring Canada, Telus has also initiated the implementation of an SMO and RIC platform along with its multi-vendor Open RAN deployment to transform up to 50% of its RAN footprint and swap out Huawei equipment from its 4G/5G network, the report said.
Similar efforts are also underway in other regions. For example, in Europe, Swisscom is deploying an SMO and Non-RT RIC platform to provide multi-technology network management and automation capabilities as part of a wider effort to future-proof its brownfield mobile network, while Deutsche Telekom is progressing with plans to develop its own vendor-independent SMO framework. Open RAN automation is also expected to be introduced as part of Vodafone Group's global tender for refreshing 170,000 cell sites.
In Asia, China Mobile has recently started deploying a RAN automation platform — and a corresponding digital twin — beginning in Henan province in the east of the country. In Japan, the report said, SoftBank is implementing a closed loop automation solution for cluster-wide RAN optimization in stadiums, event venues, and other strategic locations across Japan, which supports data collection and parameter tuning in one-to-five minute intervals as opposed to the 15-minute control cycle of traditional C-SON systems.
Despite starting back at the beginning of the 4G LTE era — way back in 2010, if you can remember such ancient times! - RAN automation can still lessen CO2 emissions, optimize performance and reduce capital expenditure on the single most expensive part of a cellular network, SNS concludes. Particularly, with new open RAN-focused automation platforms coming into play.