Nokia SON to shore up EE networks

EE, the UK’s biggest mobile operator, has deployed Nokia’s Self-Organizing Networks software to enhance network management and service quality.

Wei Shi

June 2, 2021

2 Min Read
Nokia SON to shore up EE networks

EE, the UK’s biggest mobile operator, has deployed Nokia’s Self-Organizing Networks software to enhance network management and service quality.

Nokia also claims that the new deal confirms its position as the biggest supplier to BT, EE’s parent company.

Also included in the deal with EE is a Software Development Kit (SDK), with which EE can create its own custom SON solutions. This is important for operators like EE that have legacy networks supplied by multiple vendors.

Executives from both parties celebrated the deal with endorsement. “We see immense opportunities for the ways in which Self-Organizing Networks can support our mobile network to deliver the best experience possible for our customers,” Steve Holmes, RAN Design Director of BT, said in a press release. “Networks are complex ecosystems, with different vendors, technologies, and layers; automating some processes helps to overcome these difficulties. The result will be networks with enhanced customer reliability and service as well as reduced energy consumption. We see our strengthening partnership with Nokia as key to realizing these objectives,” he continued.

Mark Atkinson, SVP, Radio Access Networks PLM at Nokia, said in the same press release that “as mobile networks become more complex, maintaining high network quality and reliability through intelligent automation is paramount. As BT prepares to further its 5G deployment, Nokia SON streamlines automation needs, allowing network issues to be resolved effortlessly and to maintain reliable service without the need for outside contractors.”

Self-Organizing Networks (SON) is a type of software, often with many modules, that can automate different processes in network configuration, management, and optimisation. A typical example is the intelligent management of handover between cells when the connected device (e.g. a smartphone) is on the move to minimise dropped calls, and, increasingly important, broken data connection.

This becomes more critical to user experience with 5G when the coverage of each cell is smaller than in 4G, which makes handover more frequent. But this is just one example of what SON is about. Nokia claims its SON suites include modules for self-configuring (e.g. site creations), self-optimizing (e.g. optimized parameters and coverage usage), and self-healing (e.g. automated fault resolution).

About the Author

Wei Shi

Wei leads the Telecoms.com Intelligence function. His responsibilities include managing and producing premium content for Telecoms.com Intelligence, undertaking special projects, and supporting internal and external partners. Wei’s research and writing have followed the heartbeat of the telecoms industry. His recent long form publications cover topics ranging from 5G and beyond, edge computing, and digital transformation, to artificial intelligence, telco cloud, and 5G devices. Wei also regularly contributes to the Telecoms.com news site and other group titles when he puts on his technology journalist hat. Wei has two decades’ experience in the telecoms ecosystem in Asia and Europe, both on the corporate side and on the professional service side. His former employers include Nokia and Strategy Analytics. Wei is a graduate of The London School of Economics. He speaks English, French, and Chinese, and has a working knowledge of Finnish and German. He is based in Telecom.com’s London office.

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