• Symworld™ RAN Commander solution for mobile network planning and optimization now in general availability to accelerate 5G network expansion and densification planning.
• Crowdsourced data, machine learning and automation used to scale planning processes, predict subscriber experiences, and control costs.
• Eliminates legacy silos and operational delays with integrated planning and optimization, delivering lower TCO via common capabilities from the Symworld™ Platform.
• Symworld RAN Commander is developed by Rakuten Symphony Intelligent Operations Business Division.

TOKYO – Rakuten Symphony, Inc, today announced general availability of its Symworld™ RAN Commander solution for automated 5G mobile network planning and optimisation. RAN Commander has proven to boost Radio Access Network (RAN) productivity planning by 4x[1] to overcome limitations of conventional planning and optimisation methods.

The ever-increasing number of connected devices demands real-time, data-driven planning to ensure high performance and accuracy of premium coverage. In the 5G era, operators recognise an urgent need to scale processes through automation, improve and speed decision-making with a far richer set of network and subscriber data, and minimise timelines and budgets for expensive, complex integration projects.

“Network planning and optimisation has always been fragmented, with different teams responsible for different parts of the process. Symworld™ RAN Commander offers an integrated approach to RF planning and optimisation on a single platform, enabling planning and optimisation teams to collaborate closely with advanced tools and technologies as they design, deploy and optimise networks in a more coordinated and efficient manner,” says Narendra Narayana, President, Intelligent Operations Business Unit, Rakuten Symphony.

Symworld™ RAN Commander is a one-stop solution for all aspects of network planning and optimisation, consolidating legacy PC-based tools, licenses, and data into one managed cloud native platform operation. This eliminates all problems with license management, single user tool installation and scattered confidential data. All calculations and simulations are performed in the cloud, eliminating local processing delays, while offering a customisable approach to network expansion, 5G profitability and business transformation.

Symworld™ RAN Commander empowers telecom operators with complete visibility and awareness of the live network, subscriber intelligence and traffic distribution, enabling targeted investments and actions for maximum returns at every phase of an operator’s network rollout journey. Rakuten Symphony’s vendor-agnostic solution uses real-time network data, which drives the planning process and facilitates optimization algorithms for accurate and reliable network planning, allowing operators to make effective and informed business decisions.

The Symworld™ RAN Commander suite comprises:

• RAN Designer to dynamically plan a large-scale greenfield network or optimise expansion and configuration of existing networks for maximum performance via a user-friendly interface.
• RAN Optimizer for network monitoring and optimisation via a powerful geospatial interface with single-click visualization of network health, fault, configuration, and performance, aggregated from highest to lowest granularity of geography and node. It also offers optimization capabilities with algorithms to identify and mitigate network coverage, capacity and interference issues.

Rakuten Symphony recently briefed customers on the Symworld™ RAN Commander, providing an overview of key features, capabilities, and deployment considerations. A replay of the interactive webinar, which includes a product demonstration and Q&A, is available here.

Like all Rakuten Symphony Intelligent Operations solutions, the Symworld™ RAN Commander suite leverages the scalable, cloud native Symworld™ Platform to streamline the complex mesh of support systems and custom integrations that all operators have accumulated. This helps telecom operators scale faster as cloud sets the pace for speed, innovation, and network expectations. Symworld™ Platform allows for seamless integration between products within the RAN Commander suite and other Symworld™ applications to leverage the power of data for improved planning and optimisation.

[1] Based on average industry benchmark of 200-300 sites managed per radio engineer; Rakuten Mobile engineers in Japan use RAN Commander to manage 900 sites on average.