On the Reliability of 4G/5G Mobile Telecommunication Networks from the Perspective of Operation & Maintenance

SUMMARY & CONCLUSIONSSummary: Underneath the rising of 5G, communication service providers (CPSs) across the globe are now facing a long-term decline in profitability. There is a very present demand from CPSs to identify the novel and effective strategies to cut the O&M cost. In response to this challenge, this work first presents the history of the telecommunication and the evolution of the mobile telecommunication networks, then analyzes the contemporary O&M practice in a typical CSP. By summarizing the experience from electric power network O&M and reliability, we propose a methodology framework for the optimization of a reliability-centered maintenance plan for advanced mobile telecommunication networks with the objective to minimize the overall maintenance cost.Conclusions: The presented analyses and discussions support the proposed framework. To the knowledge of the authors, it is the first attempt in the telecommunication domain to develop an action guideline for the O&M activity planning with the emphasis on network reliability.