Nokia: 5G will require substantially more operations automation than past networks
Nokia said it’s showing up to MWC 2020 with a whole suite of supplier-agnostic network management tools to deliver better automation for 5G networks. The tools, designed to provide communication service providers (CSPs) with automated and scalable software for managing 5G networks, offer solutions for troubleshooting, administration, software management and configuration management.
Nokia explained that 5G networks add new layers of technical complexity, requiring CSPs to have a more intelligent management system to deal because the number of physical and virtual network events will increase, placing significant workloads on network operation centers.
“With 5G forcing traditional functions, like revenue management and customer care, to the cloud and helping drive software deeper into the network, CSPs need a modern approach to performing network operations that is automated, more efficient and scalable,” said Ron Haberman, chief technology officer at Nokia Software.
While network management systems used for past networks — 2G/3G/4G networks — have been mostly driven manually, 5G, in order to achieve what it has consistently promised to achieve—higher efficiently, lower latency, network slicing — will require substantially more operations automation than past networks, according to Nokia.
Managing the volume of network slices alone will create a need for better automation, as the process of offering parts of network capacity tailored to different subscriber and application needs will prove to be an incredibly complex task.
The Nokia Network Operations Master is built on the company’s cloud-native Common Software Foundation, and the company claims it will deliver scalability, built-in resiliency and zero-downtime upgrades, as well as hardware- and supplier-agnostic, easy-to-deploy applications.
The announcement follows close behind Nokia’s 5G deal with Orange France to evolve the operator’s mobile access network towards 5G technology. Nokia will provide a large part of Orange’s coverage in France with a range of products and services from its end-to-end 5G portfolio, including Single Radio Access Network (SRAN) technology, advanced automation tools, a network management solution and associated professional services.
