ITSF Webinar Series: How to provide service continuity during telecom network disruptions using holdover techniques

Join this webinar to learn more about 5G network synchronisation, the basics and requirements of holdover and the type of timing devices that help create the holdover needed to maintain desired service levels.

Date & Time

Tuesday 17 May 2023
San Francisco 07:30 (PDT), New York 10:30 (EDT), London 15:30 (BST), Paris 16:30 (CEST), Delhi 20:00 (IST), Singapore 22:30 (SGT)

Topic

With the continued growth of timing-critical applications such as Industry 4.0, financial trading and autonomous driving, the onus is on telecom network operators to maintain an ever-increasing level of service continuity and reliability at all times. When network disruptions or outages due to synchronisation failure occur, the negative consequences in terms of expensive fixes and loss of service quality are significant.

The good news is that we can mitigate this risk by applying a technique called ‘Holdover’. It is a mechanism used in telecommunications to maintain accurate timing and synchronisation of equipment in the event of a  loss of timing signals. Synchronisation holdover extends service availability without the intervention of operations & maintenance teams for a defined period of time, avoiding unexpected and expensive truck rolls for service providers.

Join this webinar to learn more about 5G network synchronisation, the basics and requirements of holdover and the type of timing devices that help create the holdover needed to maintain desired service levels.

Part 1: How do network disruptions affect operators and how do they use holdover techniques to mitigate risks

From a network operator perspective, holdover is an important concept, as it enables operators to manage capacity and continue to provide a high-quality service experience to customers, even in the face of disruptions and challenges. Starting off this webinar we explain how network disruptions affect operators in terms of service levels and operational costs and how they apply holdover techniques to help them mitigate these risks.

Part 2: Case Study - How to design a synchronisation system that can cope with a loss of signal

Ramana Reddy, Technical Director for Platform Timing, Rakuten
A typical synchronisation system consists of a primary reference clock (such as a GPS or atomic clock) or a clock derived from the network using protocol or physical methods that provides a highly accurate timing reference to network elements. However, in the event of a loss of the primary reference clock signal due to external factors like GPS signal outage or loss of connection to the network primary reference clock, synchronisation holdover comes into play and the internal oscillator needs to provide sufficient accuracy until the primary reference clock signal is restored. Rakuten’s  Ramana Reddy will explain how synchronisation systems can cope in the event of a loss of signal and provide a recent study of a successful holdover design.

Part 3: How the latest oscillator advancements are creating clocks with a holdover of up to 24 hours

Ullas Kumar, Applications Specialist, Rakon
Ullas will round off this webinar by explaining the characteristics of good holdover clocks and how the latest technological advancements in ASIC design, thermo-mechanical improvements and resonator design are preventing these clocks from frequency drift over time and achieving up to 24-hour holdover at a significantly lower cost than atomic clocks. 

Live Q&A

Azeez Ashiru, Field Applications Engineer, Rakon - Panel Moderator

Speakers

Ramana Reddy - Technical Director for Platform Timing, Rakuten Symphony

Ramana Reddy has extensive experience in the telecommunications industry, particularly in timing and synchronisation of O-RAN. Ramana is currently Director for Platform Timing within Rakuten Symphony and is responsible for Timing & Sync solutions over cloud-based platforms for the C-RAN/O-RAN-based telecommunications market. Rakuten Symphony is part of the Rakuten Group, a Japanese multinational providing global B2B services for the mobile telecommunications industry and enabling next-generation, cloud-based, international mobile services. Ramana has been extensively involved in rolling out O-RAN for mobile operators using Rakuten Symphony O-RAN solutions. He is a member of the WSTS steering committee and has given numerous talks on O-RAN timing and synchronisation. He is also an active member of O-RAN Working Groups 4 and 9. He began his career in the Indian Space Research Organisation as a Scientist and worked with IBM and QLogic before joining Juniper Networks. At Juniper, he worked on Synchronisation, Platform and QoS for mobile backhaul and metro ethernet routing/switching products. He has several patents in the synchronisation field.

Ullas Kumar - Applications Specialist, Rakon
Ullas is a Telecom Systems Engineer with the Business Development Team in Rakon, Singapore. Prior to joining Rakon, he worked in telecom synchronisation for nearly 25 years specialising in traditional and packet synchronisation techniques. He has presented papers on various forums, published technical articles and represents Rakon at multiple standardisation bodies. He holds a Master’s degree in Electronics Design and Technology (Telecom) from the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore and an MBA from the National University of Singapore.

Azeez Ashiru - Global Account Manager / Field Application Engineer, Rakon

Moderating this webinar panel is Azeez Ashiru, global account manager and field application engineer for Rakon, based in the United Kingdom. Azeez has a high level of technical expertise in Frequency Control Products (FCP), R&D, Electronics, Test Equipment, Microcontrollers, and Radio Frequency (RF). He has a Bachelor’s degree in Electronic Engineering from the Manukau Institute of Technology and a post-graduate diploma in Engineering Research from the Auckland University of Technology.