The Real Key to Transforming MNOs’ 5G Business Cases – End-to-End Automation of the Discovery, Management and Commissioning of Network Assets and Services

An enlightening white paper titled ‘Open, disaggregated networks will transform MNOs’ 5G business cases’ published in May by noted Analysys Mason analysts Roberto Kompany and Caroline Gabriel reveals that 85% of the 60 mobile operators interviewed deem the use of “disaggregated, multi-vendor, best-of-breed  network systems to be either essential or important to making their next generation, end-to-end networks commercially and technically successful.” A key takeaway from this survey, according to Ray Le Maistre editor in chief of Telecom TV, is that “the disaggregated networking genie is out of the bottle and it’s not going back in.”

Sponsored by the Telecom Infra Project, the survey makes several salient points – but misses out on the most important enabling technology that will tie everything together – automated end-to-end network discovery, management and commissioning.

Survey salient points:  To make the business case for 5G – cost reduction and service flexibility – a radical new approach to network architecture is required. And that means cloud-based systems, multi-vendor implementations, disaggregation, virtualization, open platforms, and legacy migration.

But according to the survey the complexity of deploying and managing the vRAN is the second biggest barrier to adoption behind the uncertain ROI, resulting from hidden integration costs, support for legacy systems, and immature technologies.

Unstated salient point: For the open, disaggregated network to really succeed in transforming the 5G business model, it will require fully automated end-to-end discovery, visibility, management, analysis, and fast restoration of all multi-vendor network assets and services.

This is the role that Atrinet has taken on, participating in TIP and collaborating with operators and vendors through other initiatives. Through its NetACE network asset and service management solution, the industry will be able to realize the transformation promise of the open, disaggregated network: cost reduction and service flexibility.

For more details , please contact nir.cohen@atrinet.com.