Cell Site Infrastructure Management – how passive infrastructure affects customer experience

• Mobile base stations  – part of radio access network
• Microwave links –  part of transmission or backhaul network
• Routers and switches  – part of data communication network
• Generators, power systems, batteries, autonomous photo-voltaic systems, stabilizers, petrol tanks  – part of power network
• Air conditioning, heat and smoke sensors – part of environment control network
• Doors, windows – part of physical access network

 

Manage Multiple Technologies – Although complex operations such as network optimization or provisioning is not within the scope of an Intelligent Site Infrastructure Management system, its significance comes from the integrated monitoring capability of diverse technologies, including power, environmental and telecom.

Down Time equals Customer Churn – The reliability and availability of each site is critical as it hugely affects the customer experience. Down time of a site e.g. due to power will result to hundreds of customers not being able to connect to the mobile network which is one of the biggest disappointments in a world that relies on mobile networks to socialize, work and have fun. Not being able to connect means that these customers are more prone to change carrier, i.e. customer churn.

Real Time Processing – Mobile operators running a large network typically receive thousands of failure notifications every year. These need to be prioritized and dispatched in real time in order to achieve fast problem resolution. Monitoring an Intelligent Site, allows proactive management as issues with power and environment can be detected or even predicted before they result to base station down time.

 

 

An Intelligent Site management solution structure typically follows the concept of three independent supervising subsystems.

The Base Station Subsystem, consists of all peripheral monitoring equipment like controllers, sensors, telecom devices etc. which are installed at each base station.

The Communication Subsystem, consists of communication devices that realize the connection between the Base Station Subsystem with the Management Subsystem.

The Management Subsystem, constituted of hardware and software located at a centralized solution from where the supervision of the Base Stations is performed.

 

• Monitor and remote control main power, fuses, switches etc. of the electrical board.
• Monitor and remote control surge suppressors, power supply units, photovoltaic systems etc.
• Monitor and remote control A/C systems , sensors etc.
• Monitor and remote control security and access with alarms
• Monitor telecom equipment availability
• Communicate over ethernet and GSM/GPRS/3G/4G etc.
• Monitor high priority alarms and dispatch to Technician or Contractor for corrective actions
• Connect to the remote site and monitor in real time the state of the site
• Perform remote corrective actions
• Perform remote preventive maintenance operations.

 

Purchase Detailed Specs

The benefits of an Intelligent Site implementation are many, but can summarized as following:

• Utilization of all remote monitoring capabilities of Base Station equipment – with an Intelligent Site solution all available external alarms are possible to be transferred and utilized. Connecting new alarms does not require to disconnect other less significant alarms, and connecting new alarms is easy and fast.
• Unified Management – managing power, environmental and telecom equipment from a single platform reduces costs and complexity. Using multiple management solutions, each for every technology domain is not a cost efficient solution, as it requires more personnel to supervise the network and of course unnecessary investment in hardware and software.
• Remote Handling – with an Intelligent Site solution, an operate can maintain the base station sites without paying the costs of visits. Even in harsh environment conditions troubleshooting and corrective actions are possible. Proactive maintenance is made possible, e.g. remote discharging of batteries can be performed regularly that greatly extends their life and minimizes costs.