STOCKHOLM, SWEDEN: Ericsson has strengthened its Network Services portfolio with the Intelligent Deployment solution – an agile, digital and modular suite of tools and services that enables communications service providers to roll out, expand, and upgrade networks based on their specific needs and those of their customers.

With technology advancing rapidly, networks are becoming more complex and diverse. This places an increasing demand for a network deployment best suited to the needs of service providers, with quick return on investments and future-proof.

With this in mind, Ericsson has redesigned network rollout for the 5G age with Intelligent Deployment. As the building block for optimum network life cycle management, it connects network design, installation, integration, acceptance, maintenance and services evolution.

The solution comprises enablers such as artificial intelligence (AI), automation and a data-driven cloud-based architecture that support different functionalities service providers can use such as Intelligent Site Engineering, Intelligent Integration and Remote Access.

Intelligent Deployment will deliver the right network at the right time and use network data for continuous development and improvement. Data-driven and digitalized processes allow service providers to make network management decisions quicker and more effectively to meet market and user expectations. The integration of AI will ensure evolution of the network with the changing times.

Nello Califano, Head of Strategy and Portfolio Management, Ericsson Business Area Networks, says: “With our Intelligent Deployment solution, we are vastly improving the way we deploy networks, making it more agile, flexible and responsive to customer needs. This means we can deliver parts of our portfolio to service providers based on their specific requirements. We use extensive data insights to offer new services as well as pre-empt problems when introducing intelligent monitoring of the network even after end of deployment. By investing more in our network services, we create better solutions for our customers.”

The solution includes outcome-based (buying professional services), subscription-based (buying access to standalone capabilities or to the entire offering), or a mix of both as and when needed for the entire intelligent deployment process or specifically for network deployment services.

This enables service providers to secure higher accuracy, transparency and cost efficiency from site survey to acceptance, more flexibility change management and faster time to market.

Intelligent Deployment is built on trust and data integrity, affording service providers an end-to-end information process, guiding the workflow at every stage of their services. At the same time, it will ensure the security and safety of data, providing user-friendly solutions and adopting any legal restrictions of the country where they operate.

In the UK, Vodafone is using Ericsson’s Intelligent Deployment solutions to speed up network upgrades. Drones and Lidar-based 3D technology are collecting high-definition imagery and data across 70 sites to deliver more digitalized and efficient network deployment.