Telecom is changing; technologies like 5G, vRAN, and Open-RAN promise to make communications faster, cheaper, more efficient, and more robust, providing services and capabilities that customers and operators could until now only dream of. But advanced telecom isn't just a technology story. For operators, it's also - if not primarily - a financial story. The software-based nature of 5G, vRAN and Open-RAN - where code is divorced from hardware - provides operators with much more flexibility when offering services to their customers.
When operators add the cloud and interoperability to the mix - offering services to their customers using online dashboards that enable the deployment of services automatically - they have a system that can significantly reduce operating expenses (OPEX). With automated management systems, operators can deliver services exactly as needed with minimum effort, reducing costs for customers and saving money themselves. With software-defined automated networking, network functions can be deployed as software and thus managed, controlled and configured.
The result is unprecedented flexibility when it comes to serving customers and developing new revenue streams, which will enable operators to better balance their outlays and income. The capital infrastructure expenditure (CAPEX) cost of deploying 5G networks (and densifying 4G networks to ensure compatibility) is substantial - even if the equipment is materially less expensive than equipment used in 4G and earlier networks and capital expenditures over the coming years will reflect that. With virtualized, automated cloud-based networking systems, operators can balance that investment in upgrading their infrastructure to support new technologies, in addition to reduced operating expenses.
For example, virtualized automated management systems allow operators to utilize only the network bandwidth they need. Operators serving business customers will be able to reduce their use of bandwidth, for instance, because businesses aren't as active on the weekend. They can redirect those resources to other customers, such as a sports stadium where a major event is taking place - and demand for bandwidth is likely to soar as fans send out videos of the event to social media. And even if “overtime” - more resources and bandwidth - is needed, operators can consume and deploy just the resources they need. Using these advanced, software-based technologies, operators can leverage their resources to ensure that customers get exactly what they need, when they need it.
Automated virtualized management, combined with the addition of cloud and interoperability, thus constitutes a major change for operators – who in the past would have had to buy and hold extra bandwidth, “just in case” they needed it. With new management systems and flexible operability, operators only buy the bandwidth they need and with a mix of cloud-based operability, customers get what they want. That's an OPEX (and CAPEX) savings, all around.
The new world of telecom has its challenges, but one thing is clear: the advantages of 5G, vRAN and Open-RAN extend far beyond better and more flexible tech; they can help operators make more money, in ways they never imagined they could. While capital infrastructure investments will continue, and operating expenses are not going anywhere, 5G's software-based flexibility, and more predominantly the use of vRAN and Open-RAN, will enable operators to optimize both their CAPEX and OPEX. Services will be cloud-based, and much more efficient, easy to deploy, and cheaper to operate - and for many operators, that opportunity can't come too soon.
