Action Week: Catalyst winners focus on AI

AIOps autonomous service assurance

This project demonstrates how AI can drive and transform network service assurance by building predictive, closed loop processes. Service assurance is a foundational process for CSPs because it enables them to meet guarantees of service quality and helps them maximize network performance and customer experience while at the same time reducing costs.

The Catalyst demonstrated six use cases including customer experience assurance, fault prediction for multiple types of network technology including 5G, autonomous control desk and NFV service assurance. Champions of the project include China Telecom, Cosmote, LG U+, HKT (PCCW Global), Smart Communications and TIM with participants BOCO Inter-Telecom, Comarch, Intracom Telecom and Huawei.

“The challenge – and it is a real, live challenge – is how to combine the different use cases, different technologies, different contexts and different solutions,” said Luca Varvello, ICT Senior Consultant at Huawei and a leader of the project, “and how to orchestrate them together to ensure consistency.”

The team achieved this by using the AIOps Service Management Framework which has been developed by TM Forum members to prepare IT operations to operate AI at scale and eventually become fully autonomous.

Watch the team’s demonstration to learn more:

AI empowered 5G intelligent operations

This proof of concept demonstrates how to use AI to boost efficiency; improve customer experience and energy consumption; and reduce OpEx. China Mobile, one of the founders of the TM Forum Autonomous Networks (AN) Project, is the champion of the proof of concept with support from participants AsiaInfo, BOCO Inter-Telecoms, Huawei and Nokia.

The project is important because it demonstrates how to use AI in a controlled way to maintain a live, commercial network – in this case, China Mobile’s.

“The biggest success of the first phase of the Catalyst is practicing the application of AI in the real network and for network planning,” said Yao Yuan, Project Manager at China Mobile and leader of the Catalyst project. “It has given us a chance to better understand AI and helped us figure out models. AI is a great but not an easy technology, and sometimes training the AI is as difficult as raising a baby.”

The team was instrumental in creating two TM Forum white papers about autonomous networks.

Watch the team’s demonstration to learn more:

Strong synergy

“Both of the teams have very strong synergy in their corresponding collaboration activities and their scope of work in the Catalyst,” says Shengfan Hou, Senior Manager of Catalyst Development at TM Forum, adding that each team has contributed best practices to the TM Forum Open Digital Framework.

For example, the AI empowered 5G intelligent operations team contributed to the maturity of several AIOps management assets, while the AIOps team contributed heavily to development and revision of the Autonomous Network Business Architecture and Technical Architecture.

To find out how you can get involved in the Catalyst Program, please contact Shengfan directly.