In today’s fast-paced telecommunications environment, operators face more than just the challenge of maximizing return on investment (ROI); they must do it at the right time and place. A solid ROI is crucial, but achieving it efficiently and smartly has become a critical factor for success, particularly with investments in technologies like 5G and edge cloud.
At YUVO, our Smart CapEx approach leverages all the available network data (configuration, control plane, and user plane data) through our Network Intelligence tool to enable timely decisions that ensure a consistent ROI, while still modernizing infrastructure.
The Smart CapEx Process
Our Smart CapEx solution begins with exploratory data analysis, ensuring that all data points across cells and KPIs are complete. During this exploration, we often encounter the following issues:
- Limited Scope: Historical data is often insufficient.
- Outliers: Spikes in data can skew results.
- Missing Data: Some KPIs may lack complete information.
- Inorganic Shifts: Unexplained changes in data may arise, affecting forecasts.
Once identified, we address these issues in different ways:
For missing or null data, if the gaps are small, we apply polynomial interpolation to fill them by using natural variations in the real data. If the amount of missing data is too large, we may exclude the affected cells or KPIs from further processing to maintain data integrity.
Inorganic shifts in the data, such as abrupt changes that could stem from configuration adjustments or specific network conditions, require close collaboration with the customer to understand their cause. To address these shifts, we scale the historical data pre-shift to normalize it and drop unreliable data points. We then re-fill any missing data using tools like the FEDOT library's ModelGapFiller component.
Data Spikes are another common challenge that can distort predictions. To mitigate their impact, we apply convolutional smoothing techniques. This reduces the noise in the data and helps the forecasting models perform more accurately.
Our Smart CapEx solution is built on two key components: a predictive system and a prescriptive system.
Predictive System
The predictive component analyzes historical data to forecast future network demands. It takes into account trends, seasonality, and external factors, allowing for more accurate long-term projections.
- Trend Analysis: Identifies consistent growth patterns, such as a 5% annual increase in traffic that might indicate the need for additional capacity within six months.
- Seasonality: Takes into account temporary spikes in usage, like a 20% rise in data demand during holidays or tourist seasons.
- External Factors: Accounts for market disruptions, events, and other external variables that may influence network usage.
The model's accuracy improves over time as it learns to recognize patterns in the historical data. During training, it adjusts internal weights and parameters to minimize errors between predicted and actual outcomes, continuously refining its ability to provide reliable forecasts.
Selecting the right model is crucial, as no single model fits all scenarios. YUVO's Smart CapEx solution automates this process by allowing multiple models to compete, selecting the one that best fits the unique data patterns of each network site. This ensures that operators receive the most reliable forecast for every specific network element.
Prescriptive System
After forecasting future demands, the prescriptive system helps operators determine the best course of action by solving a mathematical optimization problem. Its goal is to maximize objectives such as return on investment (ROI) or network performance while adhering to operational and investment constraints like budget limits, regulatory requirements, and capacity constraints.
Given the complexity and number of possible investment decisions, our optimization models help operators navigate these decisions, recommending optimal scenarios.
Integrated Dashboards for Actionable Insights
Our Smart CapEx solution provides three key dashboards, each tailored to different aspects of the decision-making process:
- Executive Dashboard: Offers a high-level overview of network performance and investment opportunities, including both real and forecasted revenue per cell. This dashboard integrates geographical information, allowing users to easily pinpoint areas with better investment potential.
Figure 1 - YUVO Smart CapEx - Executive Dashboard
- Technical Dashboard: Provides detailed insights at a granular level, including real-time and forecasted data on metrics such as average and peak utilization, connected users, and data volume.
Figure 2 - YUVO Smart CapEx - Technical Dashboard
- Financial Dashboard: Identifies top and underperforming sites and cells, highlighting recommended actions for improving ROI.
Figure 3 - YUVO Smart CapEx – Financial Dashboard
With YUVO’s Smart CapEx solution at their disposal, telecom operators can leverage cutting-edge technology to make smarter infrastructure decisions, ensuring high ROI while advancing their network capabilities.
