Amdocs is leveraging its acquisitions of Actix and Celcite for a new self-optimizing networks (SON) product that also integrates customer value data from Amdocs' existing BSS/OSS solutions.
"Amdocs SON, the flagship offering of our new Amdocs network solutions business, reflects our expanded focus on the network software domain," said Rebecca Prudhomme, vice president of product and solutions marketing at Amdocs.
She noted that the acquisitions of Actix and Celcite, and their complementary product and services offerings, have given Amdocs a large installed base of existing customers. Amdocs' centralized SON solution is vendor neutral and supports 2G and 3G as well as LTE.
Four mobile service providers in Latin America are deploying the Amdocs SON solution, including TIM Brasil, which is rolling it out in select Brazilian cities hosting the World Cup soccer games.
Amdocs claims real-world deployments of its SON products have resulted in up to a 20 percent reduction in dropped voice calls and up to a 10 percent increase in data throughput.
The growing complexity of mobile networks is driving the market for SON solutions, which automate the optimization of radio access networks (RANs). Though SON is generally associated with LTE, more than 80 percent of mobile operators worldwide are using SON for 3G/HSPA/HSPA+ optimization, according to Infonetics Research.
The deployment of small cells and Wi-Fi offloading is expected to further increase the need for network optimization automation.
Some operators have targeted SON at dense user populations, such as major sporting and cultural events, while others have taken a blanket approach to deploy SON nationally and get a base level improvement going, said Neil Coleman, who was formerly with Actix until it was acquired in September 2013 by Amdocs, where is he now marketing director in the Amdocs network solutions group.
Coleman said SON is in the early adopter/early majority phase in terms of market rollout. Interest in SON runs across the board, he said, adding that a "very significant number" of operators, led by Tier 1 operators with congested networks, are looking into the technology.
Infonetics forecasts the market for optimization and SON software will grow to nearly $5 billion by 2017. Major deployments at AT&T (NYSE:T) and KDDI in Japan have helped drive the market.
For more:
- see this Amdocs release
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