Operators can’t afford not to be on the latest softwareIt isn’t a coincidence that leading operators are on the latest net-work software, they use the power of software to bring the most out of their assets, can you afford not to upgrade? Ericsson has showed that historically, going to latest software release enhances real network performance.

Software drives network evolutionThe telecom world is constantly evolving and now spinning faster than ever. Traffic is not only increasing though, it is also changing. Comparing 2012-2013, we see that the relative video usage ratio has gone up by 15% while file sharing, for example, is down 35%.

With usage constantly growing as well as evolving, networks need to evolve too. For constant network evolution, it is not the hardware that needs to change. Rather it is the software that ensures telecom networks keep evolving to adapt to current situations and get the most out of each node.

“Software is now just as important as the hardware in a network. As network equip-ment providers drive software innovation, comprehensive release packaging - along with tools and processes for rapid software roll-out across massively scaled mobile and fixed networks - provides operators needed agility to confidently launch new capabilities while boosting network performance.”

Source: Ken Rehbehn, Principal Analyst, Yankee Group

The value of softwareLooking at commercial networks and how the average cell throughput looks, it is clear that throughput is substantially higher for networks on later software releases. WCDMA Networks on release 13 has in fact 30% higher throughput than networks on 11. Consider how usage keeps evolving, a few years ago, there was not that much focus on uplink usage. This has changed, and now uplink is used a lot for upload-ing videos and photos, just to name two examples. To meet this massive increase in uplink usage, a lot of effort has been put into securing uplink performance including for example handle interference, and we can see how uplink throughput has increased by 50% in version 13 compared to older releases.

Real performanceThe latest software release from Ericsson provides real performance improvements to users in a variety of ways. It increases app coverage and offers more capacity and higher peak speeds to users. The soft-ware release also enables an improved experience for users on the move through securing mobility as well as assuring network availability through redundancy solutions.

In Networks Software 14B, there are more than 200 new and enhanced features. Apart from the new additions, 14B also packs the power of all previous releases, ensuring real performance is achieved for end users.

Software in the fieldAll features are of course thoroughly tested during development, and once a feature reaches general availability, it means it has been tested in a commercial network on a commercial device.

Looking at our statistics from commercial networks, we maintain our promised availability of at least 99,999% regardless of technology. What really drives network evolution is innovation. Many of our features are unique, we not only adhere to standards but also go beyond them. Lastly, upgradability is part of the R&D process to guarantee a fast upgrade with confidence.

We promise and deliver proven network quality and industrialized upgradability for any size network. Traffic is growing and changing, so in order to keep pace, network evolution must be driven by software. Nowadays, a network is only as good as the software release it is running, and by staying on the latest release, operators will benefit from enhanced performance and growth.

Learn moreEricsson Networks Software 14B Ericsson Networks Software 14B videoPress releaseReal Performance campaign site

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