Digital deployment creates a competitive edge

Digital transformation is something that we hear everyone talking about. So what does it mean from the network deployment perspective? We are in the middle of an exciting evolution that makes deployments faster with no compromise on quality and safety. In fact, results from our customer projects show that a fully digital approach can reduce time-to-market by 30%, enabling a true competitive edge. 

In essence, we are taking the burden of time-consuming, repetitive tasks away from people by digitalizing and automating the entire network deployment process – from site surveys to site engineering and implementation, and all the way to site acceptance. 

Faster and more accurate site survey and site design

Radio network deployments start with a survey of an existing site or a new location. The old way of performing a survey typically involves lots of manual steps, paperwork and opportunities for human error. For example, using tape measures by hand to figure out site dimensions and the placement of critical components with resulting paperwork later converted to Excel spreadsheets. An error in taking or recording the critical measurements would mean revisiting the site before moving on to the site design phase. When deploying thousands of sites, such revisits become immensely costly. 

With digital deployment, we conduct the survey with 360-degree digital site walk capture using drone photography, which is both faster and more accurate. We create a digital twin of the site, eliminating the human errors and thus reducing the need for site revisits. 

Our site design automation process then leverages the tailor-made digital twin, creating the best possible site design for the given location and the performance requirements. The fully digital approach ensures a smooth deployment process, and the digital twin can also be used as a reference for further upgrades of the site. 

More reliable logistics and quicker site acceptance

Managing the logistics of deploying a huge number of sites in large geographical areas can be very complex. Another dimension that adds to the complexity and requires time is arranging site inspections for completing the delivery.

With real-time monitoring of site assets, Nokia Delivery Platform helps orchestrate the critical logistics, taking the pressure off from project managers. We tackle the fast-paced and repeated actions with Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning, removing the burden from the everyday workload of our people. 

We’re also saving our customers’ time by enabling remote site acceptance, which leads to a typical acceptance taking just one day instead of three. The feedback I’m receiving from our project managers is clear: our Delivery Platform has a concrete, positive impact on their workload, helping them reduce the complexity of deployments.  

Unlock the benefits of digital deployment services today

In recent projects, we have seen the concrete benefits of our fully digital way of working. For example, we have been able to deliver deployments in 49 days instead of a typical cycle time of 80 days thanks to our first time right digital processes. In the near future, we will see deployment service rollouts taking less than half the time compared to the rollouts of today. 

A very important fact that ensures the quality of deployments is that our service experts are working closely with our R&D teams. They have deep knowledge of our latest hardware and software products and comprehensive RF expertise. Our digital delivery platform brings an additional advantage to the experts, translating directly into a tangible business benefit for our customers.

Read more about maximizing the business value of your entire network lifecycle with our unique approach that combines innovative digital platforms and service expertise. Reach out to us to share your insights on the future of deployment services and to discuss your network evolution plans.

Visit our Deployment services webpage and reach out to us to share your insights on the future of deployment services and to discuss your network evolution plans.