“Self-organizing networks (SON) remain baked in LTE, but as an evolutionary 3GGP technology, SON will continue to evolve, offering more and more advanced features. So deploying SON for 3G optimization – with the zero-touch network as the long-term goal – is something that’s natural and logical for many operators,” notes Stéphane Téral, principal analyst for mobile infrastructure and carrier economics at Infonetics Research.
A few notes from the report:
- In a large majority of cases, 3G network optimization, rather than LTE alone, is a key driver for using SON
- Over 80% of mobile operators worldwide are using SON for 3G/HSPA/HSPA+ optimization
- Centralized SON (C-SON) is predominant in optimization schemes
- The burgeoning SON segment of the market tripled in 2012
- Infonetics forecasts optimization and SON software to grow to nearly $5 billion by 2017.