Nothing has put more pressure on the global telecommunications infrastructure than the ongoing pandemic. The related shift to remote work and entertainment from consumers has driven huge demand for data and connectivity. This is challenging for communication service providers (CSPs) as continued delivery of critical telecommunication services and fulfilling customer expectations needs augmenting of infrastructure capacities.  

However, network deployment challenges have remained significant with restricted access to the site and field crew availability. Manual processes, disjointed IT systems, and tools have their shortcomings and have contributed to delays and risks in deployment.

The digital way has proved its effectiveness in the rollout. In 2018 Nokia embarked on a digital path that has seen a metamorphic change in the way we work and deliver our services to our CSPs.
In 2021 our digital service delivery platform is used for all network deployment projects. Use of ‘Artificial Intelligence’ and ‘Machine Learning” (AI/ML) has led to increase the efficiency in the rollout. Site-level design is now faster with digital-twin-based automated tool. Project Management executionis easier with automated workflow management,  data analytics and performance dashboards. Supply chain is getting digitalized with real-time last-mile logistics and inventory tracking. Digital documentation in projects is now supported via the smartphone application. Enhanced AI/ML algorithms are used for ‘Defects recognition’, Quality, Health & Safety compliance, and site inventory.

Digital deployment is significantly bringing hard benefits to our CSP customers, for example reducing the process cycle time up to 30%, installation quality is improved by 30%, and contribute to sustainability initiatives with 25% lesser site visits saving close to 837 tons of C02 emission in a year.  As we mature our digital service delivery, the platform sees over 15 thousand users per month with over 600 thousand tasks per month with automatic workflow orchestration. Quality is assured with over 25 thousand individual field crew members enabled and certified for the work they do.

Our success of rapid rollout in India for Bharti Airtel using digital deployment is a great testimony. We were able to adhere to the deployment schedule but also exceed it and that too during the thick of pandemic-driven restrictions.
 
I would love to hear your thoughts on further evolution of deployment services. Please contact one of us for a discussion about your network evolution ambitions.