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TM Forum's Vice President Autonomous Networks mission, Aaron Boasman-Patel, discusses how TM Forum's Autonomous Network mission accelerates telecom transformation toward intelligent, self-correcting networks through standardization, collaboration, and proven frameworks.
Aaron Boasman-Patel, TM Forum
Introducing TM Forum’s Autonomous Network Mission: The roadmap to true autonomy in telecom
The telecom industry is undergoing a seismic shift. With telco’s worldwide spend forecasted to be around $342.1billion annually (pwc - global-telecom-outlook-2023-2027) in their networks, as the industry continues the transition to 5G and upgrades fixed networks, the pressure to automate is existential. TM Forum’s Autonomous Network (AN) Mission provides the industry’s only validated roadmap to transform networks from manual, reactive systems into self-managing, intent-driven platforms.
The telecom industry stands at a pivotal crossroads. As networks become more complex-driven by 5G, edge computing, IoT, and the looming arrival of 6G, managing these vast, multi-domain, multi-vendor environments is becoming an ever-greater challenge.
TM Forum’s Autonomous Network (AN) mission emerges as the industry’s strategic response: a collaborative, standards-based effort to transform telecom networks into self-managing, intelligent, and future-proof platforms.
More than 70+ of the world’s leading telcos and ecosystem partners have signed TM Forum’s Autonomous Networks Manifesto, committing to achieving Level 4 autonomy in key domains by 2025–2027. Major players like China Mobile, MTN Group, Orange, and Telefónica are already implementing TM Forum’s frameworks and reporting significant improvements in efficiency, reliability, and customer satisfaction.
This blog will explore TM Forum’s commitment to lead the industry towards autonomy through its Autonomous Network mission:
Autonomous networks are not just a technological evolution; they are a business-critical transformation. With the majority of network spend directed at infrastructure-representing a multi-billion-dollar annual industry-the stakes are high. Automation and autonomy promise not only operational efficiency but also the ability to unlock new revenue streams and business models.
TM Forum’s Autonomous Network mission focus is on delivering tangible assets that enable providers to scale automation, standardize operations, and achieve measurable ROI through:
TM Forum’s unique approach focuses on collaboration and standardization by our members for our members. Through its Autonomous Networks programs and innovation projects, the Forum brings together CSPs, vendors, system integrators, and hyperscalers to co-create reference architectures, design patterns, and implementation toolkits across.
Autonomous network levels are crucial to understand how to transform because they chart a network’s journey from manual operations to true “zero-touch” automation, where the network can manage, optimize, and heal itself with minimal human intervention. Each step up the autonomy ladder means more processes are automated and being self-managed, each step reducing the need for manual oversight.
TM Forum’s methodology for achieving higher AN Levels is pragmatic and phased:
The cornerstone of TM Forum’s work is the definition and standardization of Autonomous Network Levels (ANLs). These levels provide a common language and measurable targets for CSPs on their journey to full autonomy but that is not enough. Which is why TM Forum AN mission provides a proven and comprehensive set of maturity models, guidance and high-value scenarios:
These use cases are not theoretical, they are being piloted globally, with operators already reporting measurable improvements in operational KPIs and business outcomes.
The TM Forum Autonomous networks mission also supports you to understand and deliver value across multiple dimensions within your business by providing:
The ability to expose network capabilities as “Network-as-a-Service” further enhances monetization opportunities, while a highly stable, self-healing network reduces risk and improves customer experience.
TM Forum is introducing an ANL assessment course that will give you the practical skills to measure and benchmark how autonomous various parts of your network and organization really are. It will also allow you to understand how to compare your AN Level with your global peers, understand the business value of these comparisons, and prototype new ways to evaluate network autonomy, so you can confidently assess where you stand and plan your next steps on the road to full automation.
The integration of generative AI and autonomous agents into network operations is accelerating. These agents-capable of both proactive and reactive behaviours, drive real time decision making, intent negotiation, and closed-loop control across single and multiple domains. The architecture for agent autonomy, including data layers and analytics, is under active development, with early use cases focusing on fault management and quality optimization.
A collaborative model invites service providers, vendors, and partners to participate in shaping the future of autonomous networks. Whether through contributing to standards, piloting use cases, or engaging in education and benchmarking, there are multiple pathways to accelerate the journey to advanced autonomy.
Autonomous networks are no longer a distant vision, they are being realized today through structured frameworks, open standards, and industry collaboration. The technical, operational, and business guidance now available is paving the way for this transformation across the global telecom sector.
Learn more: About the mission, the work we are doing and how the AN levels can transform your organization.
Keep in touch: Stay tuned for upcoming webinars, access the latest implementation guides, and participate in collaborative projects to remain at the cutting edge of autonomous network innovation, through our mission newsletter.
Join the project: Find out how to join the various AN project and start to shape the industry.
