By Cyber Era NG Special Correspondent

If 2023 was marked by the achievement of performance parity or better between Open RAN and traditional networks, then 2024 promises to be the year of automation.

In August this year Vodafone began to accelerate the installation of Open RAN equipment for 2,500 sites in the UK. This was after the company confirmed that the performance of Open RAN exceeded that of the legacy equipment in most of its test areas.

Automated Customer Benefits

Now Vodafone is turning its sights to towards an autonomous future. In traditional networks, the radio resource management and optimisation are dominated by a few vendors, limiting innovation and competitiveness. In Open RAN, Vodafone can work with a wide range of suppliers with the aim of kicking off 2024 with results showing the benefits of enhanced automation to customers and operators as RAN delivery is reduced to minutes.

By working with vendors like Amdocs, Atrinet, Dell Technologies, Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE), IBM, Juniper, Qualcomm, Samsung, VMware and Wind River on industry-leading trials, Vodafone aims to replace many of today’s time-consuming manual processes with zero touch operations. This will make it faster and cheaper to drop in new software upgrades and install new 5G features for customers. 

Zero-Touch Deployment

One such feature is E2E Distributed Zero Touch Deployment which Vodafone hopes will bring new sites and services online, for example network slicing within a few minutes (a 75% improvement in time over today). This would allow Vodafone engineers at one of its network management centres to quicky provide a dedicated slice of 5G to emergency services or ramp up capacity around a sports stadium on match day.

Also, thanks to intelligent algorithms, an automatically optimised network means a reduction in energy consumption and a network that can increase and decrease capacity based on usage. So if the network notices less people are using it at night, it will lower its power. It also means better spectrum management that minimises signal interference, which results in better coverage for the customers.

SMO – pulling the strings

At the heart of this technological gain is the Service Management and Orchestration (SMO) platform. Developed by industry body the O-RAN ALLIANCE, it incorporates intelligent automation to simplify the deployment, and maintenance of many network sites pieced together with multiple vendor equipment.

Later this year, Vodafone will begin testing SMO capabilities across Europe, including in Germany, Italy and the UK. This is part of wider movement which will see a fully functional SMO pulling the imaginary strings of thousands of 5G mobiles sites to control and unify lifecycle management of their hardware and software, as well as monitoring and analytics.

With Open RAN, unlike traditional networks, Vodafone can access an application programming interface (API) that allows software to talk to each other using part of the SMO architecture called the RAN Intelligent Controller (RIC). It controls and optimises the radio access network functions – the final link between the network and customer devices, machines, and vehicles – supporting both near real-time (Near-RT RIC) edge computing applications requiring response times of under 10 milliseconds, and less urgent functions using non-RT RIC.

Ready by early 2024

Combined, these will spur the creation of a wide multi-vendor ecosystem of applications which will enable new operational and usage opportunities, plus AI and ML capabilities, that are key to enabling an autonomous network. Vodafone is pushing to prepare the SMO for commercial readiness by early 2024 and is currently working on several proof of concepts with different vendors to evaluate the current RIC maturity and to work on future improvements.

The trials, involving the vendors mentioned previously, are based on four key areas; end-to-end zero touch deployment, multi-layer operations, automated O-Cloud Operations and RIC based energy saving.

One-click deployment

It’s not inconceivable that with advances in open interfaces and automation, businesses and consumers will be able to order network services on-demand from Vodafone with just one-click.

Bringing greater speed, reliability and security to our business customers with 5G MPN

In the world of manufacturing, the use of connected technology is already well underway.

Advanced machines, autonomous vehicles and robots are connected to the cloud, allowing organisations to use data analytics to manage them, the production process and other activities across the factory floor. This saves both time and money.

With 5G, we can bring even greater automation, flexibility, and speed to these operations. When this is paired with a mobile private network (MPN), business customers get added control and enhanced security as business data is kept off of public networks.

Intelligence at the heart

For the Vitoria-Gasteiz Campus of the Basque Technology Park in Spain, our 5G MPN service brings ultra-fast broadband to employees and customers. Guaranteeing service levels with high speeds and minimum latency in an uninterrupted and reliable way, while maintaining high levels of security through exclusive and controlled access.

Multiple devices can also connect across the business park without any loss in service. This is a key requirement given the high number of machines used in the industrial environment and the 169 companies housed in the park.

The park has established itself as a knowledge transfer centre for both public and private organisations, and so the solution will support technological research and testing of all the capabilities of a 5G mobile private network, taking full advantage of the park’s offerings and promotion of new technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI), the Internet of Things (IoT) and robotics.

It is the first commercial deployment of MPN with a 5G Standalone core, meaning it does not rely on 4G network controls, but solely uses a 5G core network. Therefore, benefitting from even greater speeds, reliability, and security.

For advanced applications, such as autonomous vehicles, precision robotics and automated factories, this is vital. For example, an autonomous crane moving heavy machinery around a dock could cause serious damage should it lose connection mid-task.

Boosting innovation for our business customers in Ireland

Working with Irish Manufacturing Research (IMR), we’re helping Irish manufacturers experiment with these types of networks and adopt innovative industrial technologies.

A government-funded research and technology organisation, with research labs and industrial pilot lines in its advanced manufacturing centre in Mullingar, IMR offers collaboration in four thematic areas – digitisation, robotics and automation, design for manufacturing, and sustainable manufacturing.

Using our 5G, with mobile private network and edge computing capabilities, we are helping IMR keep data processing and computing closer to its site, delivering better security, and keeping all its assets intelligently connected.

For example, its shop floor assets are now always connected, providing real-time monitoring and insights. This prevents failures and reduces unplanned downtime.

Experimenting with new technology

Through this partnership, we now have a platform for the development of a wide variety of 5G use cases. With our guidance, Irish Manufacturing Research customers can leverage this new environment and develop their own 5G solutions, proving their concepts before making any investment decisions.

Our 5G tele-robotics solution is one example. It means IMR can enjoy the benefits of remote operation even in hazardous environments, as blended control enables superhuman levels of precision to ease the burden on robot operators.

Dynamic training

Gaining more visibility was just the first step. Our Mixed Reality solution also helped IMR introduce the concept of guided maintenance tasks and quality checks, accompanied by training, which can support new employees to perform new tasks with confidence.

It also makes knowledge transfer easier between employees.

For example, working with Ford in the UK, we sped up its move to electric vehicles by providing instant access to experts off-site to ensure best practice and to reskill its workforce.

Mixed Reality allows on-demand replay and, if needed, Ford’s engineering team have the option to seek real-time instructions from specialists via headsets such as Microsoft HoloLens, for help diagnosing and fixing problems.