"Without linking insights into subscribers’ QoE and network performance, they cannot effectively ensure that those who are contributing most to their business are truly happy and will not churn," said Doussau. "The network operations center (NOC) and service operations center (SOC) must be agile in managing network and service performance in the context of their VIP subscribers. Only then will operators be able to secure brighter futures in the complex mobile landscape.”

By having a pervasive, real-time view of the network, operators can maintain a better understanding of where to allocate crucial resources and where to prioritize network improvement and expansion. If you can’t see, you don’t know.

Getting Central with C-RAN

One approach that is gaining significant ground is C-RAN, wherein the c stands for either ‘centralized’ or ‘cloud,’ depending on how jazzy you’re feeling. Developed by Intel and China Mobile, C-RAN involves centralizing the baseband unit (BBU) of multiple cells, leaving the cell heads to serve as remote radio heads (RRH).

(Note to self: Start cover band called "Remote Radio Head.")

The benefits are many: reduced power usage at RRH sites, smaller footprint needed for RRH sites, cheaper and easier RRH installation, reduced backhaul costs. Furthermore, C-RAN works well with NFV, and that virtualization eliminates the need to provision each site based on peak capacity, resulting in reduced processing requirements and additional savings.

One of the most frequently cited challenges in C-RAN implementation is fronthaul.

Right about this time last year, Ericsson trumpeted China Mobile’s use of its fiber fronthaul solution in its C-RAN deployment. NTT DOCOMO heralded its own Advanced C-RAN earlier this year, looking forward to efficient LTE-A deployment that should result. "Advanced C-RAN represents an important contribution to the evolution of LTE and will be a key technology for the realization of 5G in the future," said Seizo Onoe, DOCOMO's Executive Vice President and Chief Technology Officer, in a statement released at the time of the launch. Softbank, KT, and SK Telecom have also engaged in C-RAN deployments.

There’s an obvious geographic trend at play here, which gets back to the fronthaul challenge of C-RAN. If you happen to have plenty of fiber at your disposal, fronthaul is no problem. Outside of Japan, Korea, and China, however, fiber is not so easy to come by.

There are, however, some workarounds, most notably Ethernet. Nokia Networks mentioned Ethernet fronthaul in a statement pertaining to the release of its telco cloud portfolio at this year’s Mobile World Congress. Ethernet fronthaul is a part of the company’s multi-layer approach. "This is the first radio cloud architecture that offers a layered approach,” said Henri Tervonen, Vice President, Mobile Broadband Architecture, Nokia Networks, “with different deployment models to optimize performance by enabling basic capacity to be built near cell sites, and with peak capacity in the data center being redirected to follow traffic demand.”