China Tower: Efficiency improvements in maintenance operations
Publication Type
Case
Publication Date
2-2026
Abstract
China Tower Co., Ltd. (China Tower) is China’s largest provider of telecommunications tower infrastructure services and plays a critical role in the country’s 5G network deployment. As 5G base stations proliferated, the Harbin Branch of China Tower faced rising maintenance costs and increasing operational complexity, particularly in managing power outages under tight time constraints.
After discontinuing outsourced maintenance and adopting centralised scheduling, the Harbin Branch piloted a smart maintenance platform in Nangang District of Harbin City. The pilot demonstrated promising improvements in outage response and cost efficiency. In June 2022, Mingyao Chen, Vice President of the Harbin Branch, faced a key managerial decision: whether, and how, to expand the smart maintenance platform to other districts across Harbin City. The case invites students to evaluate the trade-offs involved in scaling a data-driven operational system, considering organisational readiness, governance design, and operational risk.
Students will be able to analyse - operational challenges of maintaining large-scale infrastructure under uncertainty; trade-offs of decision-making and algorithm-driven optimisation; challenges in scaling a digital operations platform; rollout strategies that balance efficiency gains with operational risk and governance considerations. The case is suitable for undergraduate and graduate courses in Operations Management, Business Analytics, and Strategy.
Keyword(s)
Infrastructure, trade-offs, uncertainty, algorithm-driven optimisation, operational risk
Discipline
Asian Studies | Business Administration, Management, and Operations | Operations Research, Systems Engineering and Industrial Engineering
Research Areas
Operations Management
Data Source
Field Research
Industry
Telcom
Geographic Coverage
China
Temporal Coverage
2022
Education Level
Executive Education; Postgraduate; Undergraduate
Publisher
Singapore Management University
Case ID
SMU-25-0040
Additional URL
https://ccx-shop.smu.edu.sg/products/china-tower-efficiency-improvements-in-maintenance-operations?variant=44107131125802
Comments
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