“Operators are realising that small cells provide one of the most effective ways of delivering the increased data capacity required to satisfy the traffic demands of modern smartphones. However, operators are becoming aware that the introduction of small cells increases network complexity that needs a different type of management compared to traditional macrocells,” said Dimitris Mavrakis, Principal Analyst at Informa Telecoms & Media. “Once they’re live on the network, operators need detailed information on how their small cells are performing, exactly where they have been deployed and where else they are needed.”
To address growing network complexity Actix has added small cell capability to its flagship ActixOne platform providing operators with a single solution for small cell and macro network visualization and optimization. Actix maps out live small cells, showing their exact location, the amount of data traffic being offloaded, and the subscribers using them.
During the rollout phase, Actix Customer Experience Analytics shows exactly where small cells need to be deployed, highlighting network demand, both indoors and out, and the devices and subscribers responsible. Network planning teams can prioritize areas then select the appropriate technology to address the problem. Integration with customer care systems means customer complaints can be tracked against dropped calls identifying locations and subscribers that would benefit from small cell deployments.
Bill McHale, Actix CEO, commented: “Actix is at the forefront of operators' efforts to keep control of the emerging heterogeneous network. Our solutions are designed to give operators a detailed picture of exactly what is happening on their network so adding the ability to track small cells is essential. Managers can now see the immediate impact of deploying small cells, down to the number of users and how much data they've taken off the macro network. As a result, multiple stakeholders within a mobile operator, such as customer care, marketing and strategy departments can make more informed decisions around their network.”