SoftBank works with Ericsson to automate RAN design - Mobile World Live

Japan-based mobile operator SoftBank, looking to improve radio access network (RAN) design as the process becomes more complex with the move to 5G, tested a network automation service from Ericsson which uses machine intelligence and big data analytics. The operator applied the service to dense urban clusters with multi-band complexity in the Tokai region. Ryo Manda, radio technology section manager at SoftBank, said the outcomes exceeded its expectations and it is implementing the design method in other areas. Ericsson said in a statement the foundation of the method is a thorough analysis of the actual radio network environment, for example taking cell coverage overlap, signal strength and receive diversity into consideration. The high number of possible relations between cells requires substantial computational power and state-of-the-art machine learning techniques.