Operational Support System (OSS), a critical component of this business, has made considerable strides in recent years.
OSS is essential to a telecommunications company’s efficient operation, from network administration to customer support. In this article, we’ll look more closely at how OSS will affect the future of the telecom sector.
Introduction to Operational Support Systems (OSSs)
Operational support systems are a group of computer programs created to assist providers in tracking, evaluating, and managing telecom networks. As the name implies, OSS involves the software and hardware components utilized on the operations end of a telecommunications network, encompassing servers, computers, routers, and other key elements.
OSS enables telecom companies to manage various operational tasks, including network planning, arrangement, inventory, and fault management. It is a crucial part of the network design and is essential to every mobile network. OSS also enables cellphone providers to remotely oversee regular operations, maintenance issues, and activities throughout the whole network from a single control point.
All network data is recorded, captured, and presented by the system in an understandable manner. OSS is often managed by telecommunications companies’ engineers, designers, and other technical staff.
The Evolution of OSS in the Telecommunications Industry
Since the invention of telephony, the telecommunications sector has advanced significantly, and the OSS has been a key factor in this development. OSS used to be primarily concerned with supporting fundamental phone functions like call management and payment.
The concept of an “operations support system” first appeared when a communication service provider’s (CSP’s) main business was constructing and managing a complicated telecommunications network. Despite the complexity of the networks, the client services were minimal and easy to use, and the costs and operating models were also basic.
The purpose of the OSS was to increase the network’s efficiency and dependability, often through helping teams responsible for various operational facets. However, as the market changed and new technologies developed, the function of OSS grew to include a wider range of duties.
Due to the necessity to provide a wide variety of services, from data and voice to visual content and multimedia, OSS has grown more sophisticated with the introduction of mobile networks and the emergence of the internet.
In today’s digital world, the function of the OSS has expanded because the service provider’s business is significantly more sophisticated and dynamic. Nowadays, it could be more beneficial to consider the OSS’s function as an intermediary between business processes, clients, and partners and the underpinning infrastructure that powers the provision of services.
The Impact of New Technologies on OSS
The emergence of new technologies like cloud computing and AI has significantly influenced the development of OSS. OSS has become more productive and efficient thanks to the capacity to streamline many of the manual processes that human operators previously carried out.
New technologies have significantly impacted OSS programs with enhanced collaboration, improved quality, more creativity, easier access, and novel business models.
Now that new concepts and technologies are available for experimentation, developers may showcase their creations to a large audience. With support and guidance, businesses can also profit from their contributions to the open-source community.
The Need for Innovation in OSS
As the billion-dollar communications sector prepares for the fifth generation of mobile technology, the latest tech is needed to take advantage of the variety of growth prospects of 5G. This necessitates a comprehensive transformation for businesses that includes new methods for innovation and plans, a focus on the customer, agile digital business operations, and the capacity to participate in platform-based, innovative, multifaceted business models.
Managing the links between consumers, apps, and physical and virtual network equipment can be difficult. Every operator has legacy procedures, systems, and barriers that must be included or removed to advance with an end-to-end strategy for operations.
Although many tools and data resources have to be connected, traditional methods haven’t been able to provide the dynamic connectivity that operators need to supply digital services at a reasonable cost.
Operators must break down complex operations into manageable system-needs to deal with the overwhelming volume of consumers, offerings, and infrastructure. However, the operational requirements of new technologies such as SD-WAN, 5G, cloud services, and IoT were never meant to be met by legacy procedures and systems.
OSSs that connect those networks to customers and businesses must change and adapt along with network technologies. New procedures and integrated technologies better suited for creating, delivering, and supporting the volume and diversity of services that consumers expect are at the core of every OSS transformation plan.
The Future of OSS in the Telecommunications Industry
The telecommunications sector is constantly changing, which is not a brand-new phenomenon. Modernized services, network architectures, updated guidelines, and other technological advancements are currently required in the industry.
These requirements have raised the focus on using technology as a way to cut costs, accelerate the rollout of new services, boost efficiency, and lessen the environmental effect. Another cause for this shift is the launch of 5G and the resulting network intricacy, which encourages new viewpoints and innovation demands.
An increasing number of people are interested in emerging technologies, including the Metaverse and artificial intelligence (AI), and novel business models where quicker mobile and permanent wireless connections can compete with wired internet.
In addition, a slew of brand-new edge-based applications for next-generation core networks is emerging from OpenRAN. Due to its speedy problem-solving and introduction of new services and skills, the open-source approach to development has become increasingly valuable to telecom firms.
This is especially crucial in the quickly evolving telecom sector, where open source’s ability to scale and adapt enables businesses to negotiate obstacles more successfully and capture chances as the market changes.
OSS tools for telecom must be useful, inventive, and efficient to provide genuine value to the businesses that utilize them. Over the past few years, technical demands and telecom firms have changed significantly.
OSS tools must fulfill these requirements to guarantee successful telecom solutions and service clients. Sophisticated telecom OSSs can assist businesses in meeting the more challenging and elevated demands they place on themselves from clients.
Let’s look at some aspects of OSS that will be seen in the future:
Minimizing Time While Increasing Agility
Since new functionality requires substantial adaptation and testing, network software only gets updated every couple of months in the modern communications sector. Future OSS is anticipated to operate on a totally different set of timelines, such as:
- It should be possible to reliably implement new features or services with little to no platform or functionality change.
- New function or product onboarding, evaluation, and verification should be completely automated and cost-effective.
Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning
Automating chores, streamlining procedures, and improving decision-making will all result from the application of AI and machine learning (ML). These technologies can support customer experience administration, anomaly detection, proactive maintenance, and network optimization.
Businesses can predict the condition of their network and IT systems by growing and leveraging previous records and advanced algorithms. Following that, AI technology can track machinery and infrastructure using data-driven methodologies, forecasting its state and indicating when repairs may be necessary.
The telecommunications sector already utilizes AI and ML through hardware, cloud computing, and numerous open-source frameworks to give clients a more trustworthy and stable networking experience.
Utilizing 5G Technology
5G is expected to replace 4G as the industry standard for wireless communication over the next few years, bringing unprecedented interaction, speed, and opportunity. Mobile networks are going to have 1,000 times more capacity and as much as 100 times quicker speeds than those we currently use.
The development of OSS in the telecommunications sector will be strongly impacted by the broad implementation of 5G networks. 5G networks pose additional difficulties for OSS because of their intricate structures and a greater number of network components like small cells and large MIMO antennas.
Network slicing that allows operators to build numerous virtual networks with different characteristics on identical physical infrastructure is a major component of 5G. These network slices must be managed by OSS solutions, allocating resources effectively and adhering to each slice’s unique specifications for latency, connectivity, and dependability.
In particular, 5G offers a singular opportunity to take advantage of cutting-edge technological advancements like enormous machine-type communications for the Internet of Everything (IoE) uses and ultra-low latency technology, which creates possibilities for applications that have the potential to change the world, like self-driving cars.
Cloud-based OSS solutions
By using a cloud-based strategy, service providers and customers may ensure substrate readiness while eliminating concerns about technological incompatibility. Every factor is managed on the abstracted, simulated, and automated front. This ensures that in an “Infrastructure-as-Code” approach, substrate features are accessible as API-addressable operations.
Through the mix of hardware and software items, these cloud substrates make it possible to deploy technologies like NFV (Network Function Virtualization) and SDN (software-defined networks, leading to software-only solutions that promote creativity and efficiency.
Technical intricacy will be managed by structured and machine-operated automated systems, complementing underlying skills and needs.
Internet of Things (IoT)
The exponential increase of IoT devices and the information they produce to handle, track, and optimize the connections between these gadgets and the telecommunications infrastructure requires the development of more sophisticated and effective OSS solutions.
The capabilities, features, and communication protocols of IoT devices differ considerably. OSS solutions will be able to manage and support this wide variety of devices, ensuring smooth interoperability and connectivity across the network.
Additionally, as there are more linked IoT devices, effectively managing network resources is crucial. As a result, OSSs will efficiently allocate resources, like bandwidth and spectrum, to guarantee that all devices have the access they need while preserving the network’s general efficiency.
Cybersecurity
Cybersecurity is a crucial component of the telecommunications sector to ensure the safety and confidentiality of networks, customer information, and communication networks. It is crucial for OSS solutions to include cutting-edge security capabilities and offer real-time tracking, identification of threats, and response mechanisms because as the industry changes, so do the risks it confronts.
It is essential to guarantee the confidentiality, accessibility, and integrity of data sent across communication channels. Future OSSs will offer complete encryption alongside safe data transmission procedures, preserving user information and resisting eavesdropping, hacking of data, and other cyber dangers.
Additionally, OSSs must control network access by devices, users, and applications through authentication and authorization. This includes installing strong authentication systems, like multi-factor authentication (MFA), to stop unauthorized access and safeguard sensitive data.
Trends in the Market That Will Affect OSS
CSPs should take advantage of the increased network capabilities brought on by the 5G era and advance into vertical industries more so than their conventional consumer markets. They will require operations support systems that allow the following to transition to AI-powered operations:
- More and faster time to reach customers and cash for new services
- Brand-new company models, particularly those that integrate with enterprise vertical partners. Different “as a Service” commercial model structures will be included.
- Enterprise partners will accept commercial Service Level Agreements (SLAs), which are quickly implemented and supported.
Examples of OSS Being Used In the Telecommunications Industry
Several of the top mobile networks are currently employing open-source technology. For instance, BT UK is using sophisticated automation frameworks to handle Kubernetes, OpenStack, and SDN installation and management within their networking cloud infrastructures.
Virgin Media O2 recently revealed its implementation of Charmed OSM, an initial release of a free and open-source initiative held by the European standards body. It will speed up virtual and container network function demands and service orchestration using a general open-source vNFM/NFVO structure.
These are just a few instances of how open-source technology is being widely used in cutting-edge carrier networks worldwide.
Enhancing Customer Experience through OSS
Improving the customer experience is a key priority for telecom firms, and OSS is essential to attaining this goal. Telecom companies can improve consumer satisfaction by streamlining their business processes, enhancing network performance, and utilizing OSS technologies.
In the telecom industry, effective OSSs can help optimize processes and maintain exceptionally low customer churn rates. While all telecom businesses prioritize acquiring new clients, maintaining existing clients is frequently more crucial. Keeping clients helps a business maintain a support base, strengthen finances, and increase word-of-mouth.
Customer churn in telecom firms is decreased by customer activation with the use of OSS tools. It enables development and a concentration on offering high-quality services.
The correct OSS technologies improve billing accuracy, reduce service calls, offer greater value than other tools, and give insight into prospective markets. Sophisticated OSS solutions can also use analytics and client information to develop services and offers specifically catered to each individual’s preferences, usage habits, and needs.
Personalization can involve tailored programs, marketing promotions, or value-added services that target particular consumer groups, making the experience more interesting and fulfilling like TTG’s NORTH-I, PM solution.
Additionally, telecom providers can dynamically identify and resolve customer concerns before they worsen through the integration of OSS with customer support systems. This may entail giving tailored troubleshooting advice based on observed problems or proactively informing customers about service disruptions, resulting in quicker problem resolution durations and more customer satisfaction.
Telecom companies can use OSS to build more flexible and agile systems that can quickly adapt to changes in customer needs and demands. OSS allows telecom companies to modify and customize the software to fit their specific requirements and use cases, allowing them to provide better customer experiences.
OSS also enables faster innovation by allowing telecom companies to collaborate with a broader community of developers and users. This community can provide valuable feedback and contributions to improve software, leading to more rapid development and innovation.
Final Thoughts
In conclusion, the development of OSS in the telecommunications sector will be influenced by a variety of factors, including technological progress, shifting business needs, and the need for better effectiveness and customer service. Service suppliers and vendors will need to modify their OSS solutions to meet these new trends and difficulties to remain competitive.
Visualizing an avenue in the future that incorporates automation and making the greatest use of resources using the range of OSS solutions for telecom enterprises available today is simple. As a result, customer loss is reduced, CSRs are able to do more, and the staff isn’t overworked.
These systems’ advanced analytics enable everyone, starting from those taking service calls to those working in the real world, to be better prepared. The operations of telecom businesses will therefore improve, and their reach will expand by leveraging OSS.
