Contributed Article

by IFS

If your company is considering adding electric vehicles (EVs) to service fleets, whether to save some green or be more green, you can now do so confidently with the help of disruptive technology.

As large telco operators with thousands of service trucks and vans look to incorporate electric vehicles into their fleets in the coming years, how can they manage all the intricacies of keeping an EV charged and on schedule?

While the benefits of EVs are great, allowing telecom organizations to reduce fuel costs and fulfill sustainability missions, the challenge of managing EVs in time-sensitive, intricate, and SLA-driven daily schedules have prevented companies from making the shift. As any EV car owner knows, you must plan your driving routes to ensure that you have access to charging stations and account for the battery recharging time. Now, multiply those requirements by thousands or tens of thousands of service vans and trucks, and you see the challenge.

This is why software designed using artificial intelligence and machine learning that optimises the planning and scheduling of field technicians is being updated to include EV fleet optimisation. As they are known in the field service management (FSM) software market, these scheduling optimization engines are popular amongst telco operators with large field workforces and service vehicle fleets. The solutions enable operators to efficiently plan and manage daily field engineer and long-range project schedules, ensuring that all consumer appointments are handled on-time and service level agreements with business customers are met. In essence, they can ensure that the right field technician with the right parts and skills is always sent to the right place at the right time.

Because these software solutions are infused with AI and machine learning, they can use powerful algorithms to process complex mathematical equations in a matter of minutes. For example, some of the most powerful optimisation engines can intelligently schedule 500,000 field service activities in under an hour. In other words, far faster than any human dispatcher can and without any error.

The benefits include reduced technician travel time by as much as 50% and higher first-time fix rates, all of which translates into lower labor costs, lower fuel costs, lower carbon emissions, and improved customer experiences. So, why not extend the intelligence of these workforce optimisation solutions to include fleets of electric service vehicles? That’s exactly what software vendors like IFS are doing.

Now, in addition to data inputs like customer service level agreements, daily appointment schedules, required drive time between locations, and even field engineer work breaks and time off, this planning software can consider everything needed to keep an EV on the road, including location of charge points, type, capacity, speed of charge and range. The software automatically plans EV charging requirements along with daily technician schedules, and it is nuanced enough to only use EVs in urban areas with more charging stations or for certain journeys that are shorter distances. The next wave of innovation will be supporting IoT-connected EVs that will have real-time battery usage tracking.

If your company is considering switching service fleets over to include EVs, you now can do so confidently. You can even prepare for that future with IFS’ embedded predictive planning tool that allows you to test how your business could cope with a wide range of scenarios including adding EVs into your fleet. It lets you easily visualize your simulated impact on resources, KPIs, and work demand.

IFS is proud to be pioneering innovation in electric vehicle fleet optimization, helping telco operators reduce operational costs, meet corporate sustainability goals, simplify ESG compliance and reporting, and drive efficiencies towards net zero carbon emissions.

Want to learn more about EV fleet and workforce scheduling optimisation from IFS? Meet the team in the IFS Café outside the Keynote Theatre at Connected Britain 2023.

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The trial was undertaken at the AZ centre in Bangkok 

Chinese firm ZTE has partnered with Advanced Info Service (AIS), Thailand’s leading mobile operator, to launch the world’s first dynamic RIS (Reconfigurable Intelligent Surface) trial in a mmWave network. 

RIS is a multi-antenna technology that uses electromagnetic metamaterials to extend base station coverage by intelligently reflecting or transmitting wireless signals. This results in improved coverage with both low costs and low carbon emissions.  

By incorporating dynamic functionality, ZTE’s dynamic RIS technology achieves beam sweeping and user tracking. 

In the trial, ZTE used the RIS product in the AIS mmWave network with 400MHz of bandwidth. 

According to ZTE, users in the trial were able to maintain a consistent downlink rate of over 1.6Gbps, and an uplink peak rate of over 260Mbps, in an office room larger than 400 square metres. 

mmWave frequencies can provide 5G networks with high speeds and capacities, but they also present challenges, such as a shorter range and poorer signal propagation. Dynamic RIS technology could be a potential solution to these issues, allowing mmWave to be considerable expanded without the need for as many additional base stations. 

“Our collaboration with ZTE has provided us with the opportunity to explore the application of RIS technology in mmWave communications, leading to groundbreaking achievements. We believe that this technology will accelerate the arrival of the 5G-A era and deliver unprecedented communication experiences to users,” said Wasit Wattanasap, Head of Nationwide Operations and Support at AIS. 

ZTE claims that the trial represents an important milestone in the mmWave communication field, which has the potential to revolutionise the global communications industry for the future of areas such as smart cities and Internet of Things (IoT). 

Want to keep up to date with all of the latest international telecoms news? Sign up for Total Telecom’s daily newsletter   

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BT is set to deploy technology from Infovista, a French network lifecycle automation specialist, in an effort to improve “operational efficiency and customer satisfaction” 

As part of the deal, Infovista will utilise their existing solution, the Ativa™ Suite, to improve troubleshooting with intelligent pattern discovery, correlation, analysis, and alarm generation. 

The new automated processes are designed to minimise fixed voice outages and service interruptions.  

Infovista claims that their technology can reduce the resolution times for CSPs by more than 66%, which will streamline customer relations processes, reducing response times to network problems by quickly identifying the root causes of disruptions.  

“CSPs are under pressure to constantly improve the quality of experience they provide, while simultaneously reducing operational costs… This use case shows how automating daily tasks can help CSPs such as BT both drive operational efficiency and improve customer experience and satisfaction,” said Franco Messori, Chief Product & Transformation Officer at Infovista. 

“BT is committed to developing and delivering next-generation services that continue to put our customers at the core of what we do and to deliver better outcomes. This means digitally transforming our own operations and using the power of automation across our network, infrastructure, services and operations,” said Reza Rahnama, BT Group’s managing director for mobile networks. 

Want to keep up to date with all of the latest international telecoms news? Sign up for Total Telecom’s daily newsletter

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A summary of all the essential financial news in the telecoms world this week

Vodafone Ukraine releases half-year results 

In the release of its half year report, the firm saw revenue reach UAH 10.4 billion ($283.3 million), a 5% year-on-year increase. 

The company increased its capital investments by 75%, spending over UAH 2 billion ($54.2 million) on repairs and winter preparations, caused by the ongoing war. 

Net profit jumped 242% to UAH 2.266 billion ($61 million)) as a result of less currency effects than the year earlier 

The subscriber base in Q2 compared with Q1 remained stable at 15.2 million customers. This is an 8% decrease year-on-year due to millions of customers being displaced by the war, resulting in fewer active mobile users .  

The firm also recently announced the acquisition of ISP Freenet, a provider of fixed broadband services. Vodafone Ukraine acquired a 90.1% stake in the firm for UAH 746 million ($20.1 million). 

 

Ciena reports sales increase 

In their third fiscal quarter, Ciena reported revenue of $1.07 billion, a 23% increase on Q3 last year, when revenue reached $868 million. 

The firm reported better than expected financial results, which they claim is due to the growing demand for their hardware from cloud computing providers. 

“We delivered excellent results for the fiscal third quarter with strength across all regions,” said Gary Smith, president and CEO of Ciena. “We are encouraged by increased customer activity that, when combined with our elevated backlog, market leadership and expanding addressable market, we believe will drive growth and market share gains going forward.” 

“It is a catch-up quarter from the supply-chain constraints of the previous year,” he continued. Because of this, however, the firm noted that revenue will not continue to grow at this pace continuously. 

On Thursday trading, shares were priced at $49.33, up 14%. 

 

5G network slicing value to hit $19 billion 

A new study from ABI research has estimated the 5G network slicing market to be worth $19.5 billion by 2028, at a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 106%. 

Current 5G slicing revenue stands at $309 million (as of 2022). 

The report found that a combination of complexities and issues with cloud-native tooling adoption will result in continued market growth though at a slower pace. 

“5G Slicing continues to promise new value creation in the industry,” said ABI Research senior analyst Don Alusha. “However, as reflected in multiple ABI Research market intelligence reports, a solid software and cloud-native foundation must be in place for that promise to materialise. That, in turn, is a prerequisite for a wider diffusion of 5G core adoption, an architecture that provides native support for 5G slicing.” 

 

Telec Networks enters into administration 

UK based telecoms infrastructure company Telec Networks has entered into administration. 

The firm, formed in 2022, is headquartered in Grimsby with operations in Ipswich and Norfolk. 

During the year until March 2022, the firm turned over more than £24 million, but cash flow was impacted by the postponement of a major contract and changes in customer payment terms.  

Within the same year, its fixed assets were valued at £1.8 million and current assets over £11 million, while net assets amounted to nearly £5 million. 

“It is unfortunate that Telec Networks has been forced to cease trading and enter Administration, due to a combination of challenging circumstances that reflect the difficult trading climate for many businesses in a number of sectors, where delays in starting contracts and late payment by clients inevitably lead to a squeeze on cash, which may be terminal if not addressed,” said managing director Andrew Watling. 

 

Intel to invest $1.2 billion in chip production 

Intel has announced future investments of $1.2 billion in chip production in Costa Rica over the next two years.  

In 2021, Intel began assembly and test operations at its Costa Rica plant, which employs over 2,000 people. The new funds will be used to upgrade these facilities to meet the demands of producing future semiconductor products.  

“The objective is for our operations to maintain the highest corporate standards and for us to continue being a key player in the growing global demand for semiconductors,” said Ileana Rojas of Intel Costa Rica in a statement. 

Last month, the US State Department partnered with the Costa Rican Government to grow the country’s semiconductor ecosystem, a move funded by the CHIPS and Science Act of 2022. 

Want to keep up to date with all of the latest international telecoms news? Sign up for Total Telecom’s daily newsletter  

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