XL Axiata accelerates deployment through Virtual Drive Test
Ericsson helped the Indonesian service provider accelerate its radio access network rollout by steering away from traditional drive-test based initial tuning and acceptance. In 2018, XL Axiata replaced drive testing with Virtual Drive Test, which leverages real traffic data from the network for a completely remote approach and achieves 60% faster site report generation – which supports a network deployment pace that keeps up with a 50% compound annual growth rate for mobile data traffic.
Cognitive Software boosting XL Axiata network experience
Watch XL Axiata’s Chief Technology Officer I Gede Darmayusa and Ericsson’s Sunil Issac explain how digital transformation would help resolve rollout roadblocks in South East Asia’s busiest city.
The need for speed
Communications service providers are racing to roll out radio access networks while ensuring a high-quality customer experience. XL Axiata – a pioneer in South East Asia when it comes to relentless exploration and adoption of new ways of working – foresaw some key challenges across its radio access network deployments in Jakarta.
The Indonesian capital is the most populous city in South East Asia (over 30 million across the metropolitan area of Jabodetabek) – and the one with the slowest road traffic (5 km/h on average). The yearly network deployment would require 120 thousand kilometers of annual drive test – across thousands of islands – with a turnover period of 5 days to prepare site acceptance reports.
Then there is the fact that 80% of mobile traffic comes from indoor use, according to global studies. XL Axiata needed a faster way of executing its radio access network rollout. It needed a method based on real traffic data that frames the network just as subscribers experience it – as opposed to one test device, limited to roads.
Every user is a drive test
In 2018, Ericsson Indonesia transformed XL Axiata’s approach to network optimization and site acceptance by introducing Virtual Drive Test. It marks a departure from traditional drive test methods which are slow, polluting, and not representative of the actual user experience.
Big data technology handles network-crowdsourced call trace data from all locations, while AI-powered geolocation analyzes every subscriber and device everywhere, with surgical precision. As part of the yearly deployment scope, around 15-20K cells were accepted, with site-level reports generated 60% faster.
Virtual Drive Test is designed to enable communication service providers to cover the entire network, in turn, enabling them to make decisions faster and with greater clarity. It enables improvements to customer experience everywhere, not just along roads but also in buildings – both business and residential.
Digital transformation is a journey, we enjoy the steps along the way
Thanks to Virtual Drive Test being deployed as part of Ericsson Cognitive Tuning software, XL Axiata has increased subscriber visibility, accelerated acceptance, reduced its CO2 emissions, and decreased costs.
In the two years since the commencement of the digital transformation in Jakarta, XL Axiata has seen:
- A 20% year-on-year increase in deployment project capacity
- 18 tons of CO2 saved annually
- An effective and subscriber-centric approach to analyze performance and sustain progress during COVID-19 lockdowns
- Uncompromised performance and quality – including the ability to proactively detect coverage holes, supplying input for increased expansion precision
The overhaul proves that sustainability and innovation go hand in hand with tangible business benefits. It is also supporting XL Axiata in its efforts to materialize the Zero Touch Operations vision by transforming other areas in partnership with Ericsson – from introducing AI at the heart of planning and optimization to paving the way for user-centricity across the network lifecycle.
