Actix helps create ‘lighter bits’ over mobile broadband airwaves

Actix capacity and cost solutions lead the way in supporting cost effective growth of mobile broadband
               
London, 5 November 2008 - Actix, the leading supplier of Network Status Management (NSM) systems to mobile networks, has revealed how new automated solutions can support the enormous growth in mobile broadband at much cost per data bit, helping create ‘lighter bits’ in the mobile broadband airwaves. 

With the advent of LTE technology, mature operators will be left with at least three overlaying Radio Access Networks (RAN) to manage - 2G, 3G and 3.9/4G networks. A large portion of the delivery cost of every bit is RAN-related, and the challenging economics of mobile broadband will enforce the need for a much sharper focus on delivery cost per data bit if operators are to remain profitable.

“Mobile carriers are under immense pressure to increase margins by lowering production costs, while still delivering the ultra-high bandwidth mobile broadband data services that consumers are coming to expect,“ said Chris Larmour, Chief Marketing Officer at Actix. “Some carriers will respond by putting early investment into 3.9G and 4G technologies to gain from more spectrally efficient wireless data services. But they may not realize that there are enormous cost savings to be had by addressing how that investment is approached, both in terms of acquiring new network assets and from examining the fragmented nature of today’s RAN operations environment. Simply repeating past deployments will cause operators to add yet another cost layer to their operations, and that’s not necessary anymore - there are much better ways to build and run networks nowadays,“ he said.

Through the use of modern solutions that help maximize the productivity of all network resources, by automating, systemizing and prioritizing network engineering processes, Actix solutions have already delivered cost savings as high as 30%, while increasing the ‘lost’ capacity returned to the network by almost an order of magnitude. In one case Actix was able to assist in accelerating the deployment of new network assets, cutting network deployment time by 75%.

“Recent studies by Informa and McKinsey & Co. show the current economics of mobile broadband are not sustainable even in the medium term,“ said Larmour. “Carriers need to find new ways to deliver more services for less cost in order to remain not just profitable, but economically viable. In this environment, more automated approaches to network design, deployment and status management will be key to keeping operational costs down, and unlocking untapped potential in the network.“