Spotlight on Tech

Revolutionizing Network Planning: Automating Candidate Feasibility

By
Manohar Nagar
Engineering Manager, Symplan
Rakuten Symphony
March 22, 2023
3
minute read

Imagine a situation where you need to perform the same task repeatedly without adding much value to how you derive the output. Unfortunately, you are compelled to continue with this tedious task as there seems to be no alternative!

Streamlining Network Planning

Planning a new site in telecom is a huge task. But what can be even more daunting is the process of conducting numerous surveys to identify potential locations for the site's installation. This iterative process can be cumbersome and time-consuming.

I have been working on Rakuten Symphony's RAN Commander solution since its inception; it’s very exciting to be a part of this product. The solution offers a wide range of capabilities to tackle network planning and optimization challenges, including automated processes for repetitive tasks, advanced algorithms, powerful geo-spatial tools, and much more.

Reducing Workload with Automation

During the development of our product, I had the opportunity to visit the Rakuten Headquarters in Tokyo, Japan. Through close collaboration with end users, we discovered that there were several redundant tasks, including evaluating candidates for a given site. Typically, engineers would manually run predictions for each of the 10 candidates, changing parameters in the tool for each analysis. This process could take days or even weeks, which was a costly and time-consuming endeavor.

To alleviate this burden, we explored the possibility of automating the candidate feasibility check. The outcome was a fully automated process that greatly reduced the engineers' workload, providing them with useful insights into all candidates. This automation allowed the engineers to focus more on engineering aspects rather than spend all their time simulating candidates one by one. Overall, this was a significant improvement in efficiency and productivity, making the development process smoother and more streamlined.

Revolutionizing Network Planning

This is just one example. We have added many such automation capabilities over the years, including, scheduling predictions, visualizing live network information from crowd-sourced data, competitor visualization, map tools, single click prediction generation, etc. By continuously scheduling predictions, the data is kept up-to-date and provides real-time insights into the network. This eliminates the need for multiple scripts, manual calculations, and other time-consuming tasks. With our automation tools, users can easily access the information they need to make informed decisions.

The RAN Commander solution is set to bring about a revolutionary change in the field of network planning. With its comprehensive features, it is equipped to handle all aspects of planning and optimization work with utmost efficiency. Collaborating with engineers has been instrumental in gaining valuable insights into network planning, and has significantly contributed to the development of this world-class product. I take immense pride in being associated with a solution that promises to transform the network planning landscape.

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Automation
RAN Commander
Network Automation

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