FINAL WORD
“
IN THE COMING MONTHS,
OPERATORS MUST ENSURE THEY
ARE EVOLVING NETWORKS IN A
PROGRESSIVE WAY, MAKING THE
MOST OF NETWORK AUTOMATION
TO CREATE MORE FLEXIBLE
NETWORK ARCHITECTURES
THAT CAN BE RUN WITH MINIMAL
HUMAN INTERVENTION.
Combined, this presents a stark challenge to
networks across a varied range of markets;
it is a challenge our industry has risen to
admirably but one we can expect to endure.
We have now passed the initial surge in
network use. We are seeing demand peaks
stabilise as citizens across the world adjust
to a new normal, completely reliant on
connectivity. But the restrictions we are facing
have fundamentally redefined the world’s
expectations of networks. Operators should
prepare for significantly elevated levels of
demand and crucially, uncertainty around
usage patterns for some time to come.
At Nokia, we have worked closely with
operators to help them respond swiftly
to the first phase by reducing congestion
through network optimisation and upgrades,
and together, we are now looking to the next
phase. We see two key priorities for operators
as we adjust to the changes this pandemic
has brought:
Scale. The COVID-19 lockdown restrictions
will continue to place extreme demands
on new areas of the network, particularly
indoor and residential locations. Adding
capacity in these new ‘hot zones’ through
spectrum expansion and additional sites
will help prepare for the uncertainty we face
moving forward, where inbuilt scalability
and flexibility will be key in both access
and transport networks. In MEA, temporary
spectrum allocations have been granted by
local regulatory in many countries to support
operators to cope with traffic surge and
better serve the local community.
populations across the world, unserved
or underserved by broadband. Fixed
Wireless Access solutions, built over LTE
or 5G, are providing an effective way to
expand broadband access to reach these
communities in the short-term.
Stimulate. The priority so far in this crisis
has been to respond quickly and decisively
to urgent challenges. However, the steps
Mohamed Samir, Vice President of Global
Services for Middle East and Africa, Nokia
we take today will help pave the way
towards our 5G future and towards eventual
economic recovery. In the coming months,
operators must ensure they are evolving
networks in a progressive way, making the
most of network automation to create more
flexible network architectures that can be
run with minimal human intervention.
Telecoms will play a key role in accelerating
the global Digital Transformation and the
advance of 5G, providing a catalyst for the
world’s Fourth Industrial Revolution and
enabling advanced e-health, e-commerce,
e-learning, cloud robotics and more. If we
invest now, we can further strengthen our
infrastructure, economies and societies to
cope in the best way possible with whatever
challenges future decades may bring.
Despite the uncertainty ahead, there is
one thing we can be sure of – as we move
towards a 5G world, our networks will
become even more critical to everyday life.
5G networks are likely to underpin practically
all critical functions of government and
industry. Ensuring resilience will be of the
utmost importance; it could quite literally be
a matter of life and death.
To support and enable this, we will
need to draw on the skills and efforts of
the extraordinary teams who have helped
us weather the current crisis – field
engineers and operations teams who have
worked 24/7 to secure and strengthen our
vital infrastructure.
We must thank our people and invest in them,
because as advanced as our technology gets,
it will only ever be as good as the people
creating and supporting it. •
The COVID-19 restrictions have also
highlighted the challenges faced by
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