Rakuten Mobile has launched a new carrier-grade, cloud-based radio network planning solution called RCP NEO, which is powered by technology from Infovista.
The platform supports radio network planning, optimisation and modelling and is being used to enable the rapid roll-out of Rakuten Mobile’s end-to-end cloud-native 5G mobile network across Japan. The ‘on-demand’ radio network planning solution will allow Rakuten Mobile’s engineering teams to utilize advanced planning and design features, which Infovista says will slash the time and cost of network deployment.
The solution is based on Infovista’s Planet software and runs entirely on Linux. All microservices are delivered as Docker containers offering high availability and scalability and enabling ready integration into orchestration and automation provided by RCP. The platform allows Rakuten Mobile to manage its planning database, automatically generate coverage, interference, throughput and other analysis and, in turn, enable capabilities such as auto-commissioning of sites and automation of other workflows.
Commenting on the development, Rakuten Mobile’s Chief Technology Officer (CTO) Tareq Amin, said: “Rakuten Mobile’s new 5G network in Japan is a cloud-native mobile network with the flexibility to fulfil the true promise of 5G…As such, it is critical that our RF design, planning and operational platforms are built using the same concepts. Our work with Infovista has delivered an open solution that will allow us to scale and automate many of the critical capabilities we need to deliver on our vision.”
Yann Le Helloco, Infovista’s Chief Technology Officer (CTO), said: “Turning our radio planning solution into a cloud-native application offers a way to quickly scale out and automate many of the critical functions to roll out 5G networks and to assist with the ongoing operational requirements for both operators and enterprise customers that may deploy their own private 5G networks.”