Have you ever jumped out of a fifth-storey window whilst working with an OSS? Have you ever felt like you wanted to?Traditional network designs created with OSS solutions have been very much two dimensional (2D) in nature. Two-dimensional design packs have sufficed because that’s what was available. It was the best we had. However, they’ve never given a complete context about how to turn design into build in a three-dimensional world that has depth (underground networks), height (towers and poles) and height layers (multi-storey buildings).
Use of 3D visualisation in OSS
The use of 3D visualisation has come a long way since its inception, revolutionising various industries with its ability to provide comprehensive and interactive views of complex spatial data. 3D planning and visualisation technology has found its way into the realm of OSS, and had first become available in the SunVizion suite in version 17.0. Since then, its advanced 3D visualisation capabilities have emerged as a game-changer to help make collaboration between field workers and back-office staff more innate.
The rest of the OSS world will surely increase its use of three-dimensional design in future to ensure that designs aren’t guesswork to build or require outrageous workarounds to allow a network build or fix to be completed.
Why is 3D visualisation so valuable?
The importance of 3D visualisation is clearly apparent across the following:
- Enhanced Network Planning: Sophisticated network planning tools with 3D visualisation empower operators to plan and optimise their networks more effectively. The ability to view infrastructure elements, such as underground pipelines and manholes in 3D provides a more holistic understanding of the network's physical layout, topology and surrounding constraints. This valuable extra dimension of insight allows designers to make more comprehensive, data-driven decisions and efficiently plan for the deployment of infrastructure (e.g. next-generation technologies like 5G backhaul). This in turn ensures a more seamless network infrastructure build phase.
- Improved Network Visibility: The comprehensive 3D views offered by tools like SunVizion enhance situational awareness for operations staff and field workers – this is where reality and digital twin data fuse together. Field technicians equipped with SunVizion on their smartphones can access enhanced, searchable data sets to supplement their awareness of the current situation in the field. It can also act as a form of augmented reality to help field workers to identify hard to locate (or hard to interpret) infrastructure such as hidden pit lids in real-time. This feature enables faster issue resolution, reduces downtime and improves overall network maintenance and/or network build efficiency.
- Enhanced Customer Experience: With SunVizion’s 3D visualisation of infrastructure, telecom operators can overlay available data to gain a deeper understanding of their network's performance and service delivery. In an immersive 3D environment, operators can better identify potential bottlenecks and areas for improvement. This valuable information can be leveraged to enhance customer care and deliver more personalised and efficient services to end-users.
- Immersive Inventory Management: SunVizion Network Inventory, the foundation for SunVizion's 3D visualisation capabilities, plays a crucial role in capturing, storing and managing key data about the network infrastructure and its surrounds.
If your Design to Build (D2B) process makes you want to jump out of a fifth-storey window (i.e. off page five of your 2D design drawing print-outs), you may need to consider whether your OSS should enter the modern world of three dimensions. As the telecommunications landscape continues to evolve, SunVizion's commitment to storing data in 3D will provide the basis upon which other tools and future visualisation enhancements can grow.
