This true synergy between Orange and Sofrecom teams has brought us to where we are today. The result of this cooperation is very positive, and Sofrecom is a major contributor to the success of this project.
One of the challenges for operators is the continuous increase in data traffic volume. Managing multi-vendor and multi-technology networks represents another challenge in the management of these increasingly complex networks.
This management is an integral part of mobile networks and must constantly follow their evolution through configuration, automation, monitoring, analysis, and troubleshooting. Intelligence is necessary, especially with the introduction of 5G, which requires complex, simultaneous management of numerous sites, cells, and elements, with significant ecological and profitability objectives. The introduction of automation tools brings optimization capabilities to network management and allows network engineers to focus on value-added tasks by freeing them from repetitive tasks.
Choice and implementation of C-SON
To learn more about the C-SON project at Orange, we interviewed Samuel MACLEOD, Network Project Manager at Orange France's DTSI.
Implementing a centralized solution endorsed and shared by all
"Orange France chose the C-SON product a few years ago to have a solution that would automate its radio optimization activities, which were still underdeveloped at the time. The objective was to evolve the processes, which were in their infancy in terms of automation and historically focused more on isolated script developments. This evolution was supported from the start by management, despite many reservations, to achieve the target that is now a reality: a centralized solution endorsed and shared by all to continue automating the configuration and radio optimization of our network.
Initially, this product, still in the improvement phase, was compared with another solution. After a strategic choice based on the tool's flexibility as a guarantee of trust in Nokia, Orange committed to using their product and, more importantly, to help it grow. This led to numerous product developments, largely proposed by Orange engineers and developed by Nokia, until a stable version was achieved by the end of 2019. With its C-SON product, Nokia provides its customers with modules to automate certain processes around the RAN. It also allows customers to develop their own modules, related to specific business actions*. Orange mainly focused on the development of C-SON in this aspect, completely independently from Nokia, to be able to constantly respond to new internal needs. We also had to work extensively on user adoption.
Indeed, implementing an automation tool that will perform activities that were previously done manually by people can reveal two major risks:
- taking over an activity from someone, who may feel deprived of their work.
- trust that the tool will perform this activity correctly in their place.
To successfully manage this technical change and organizational transformation, we relied on two consultants from Sofrecom. Thanks to their commitment and motivation, we quickly involved them in the project, making them not only participants but also drivers of it. During the numerous exchanges with employees, they proved to be important promoters of this solution, both in terms of its reliability and the fact that it allows teams to do more and engage in other activities. This true synergy between Orange and Sofrecom teams has brought us to where we are today. The result of this cooperation is very positive, and Sofrecom is a major contributor to the success of this project.
The initial activities developed focused on cell neighbor relations, which consumed a lot of time. Subsequently, we mainly prioritized modules related to 5G to demonstrate to the teams the full potential and efficiency of this technology in terms of automation, especially since we started with very few users and therefore little knowledge and mastery of what would happen, especially regarding traffic.
Benefits and user feedback
Numerous benefits have been obtained, especially from satisfied users of the solution
Through perseverance and motivation, the team managed to convince many developers to join the project to accelerate tool development. As a result, today we have reaped numerous benefits, especially from satisfied users of the solution. Our 5G SA deployment strategy is underway, the Olympics are tomorrow, and we constantly need to find solutions to address frequency changes, the arrival and removal of new sites, requests from the ARCEP... This constant agility is only possible because operational teams have this tool at their disposal, allowing them to make all these changes automatically. This tangible time benefit also allows us to calculate the ROI of the solution.
We are now working on modules that leverage Machine Learning, although we are still at the beginning, to introduce a layer of learning that is now essential to any automation project to bring even more value. For example, we can now address Green topics, particularly by optimizing the scheduled shutdown of certain frequency bands based on cellular network usage criteria. This can lead to significant additional savings!
2024 is a transition year to truly enhance our expertise in these new areas, always with the Sofrecom team.
*About fifty acts are in operation today
