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TM Forum collaboration addresses challenges of network slice monetization

Many communication service providers (CSPs) are currently considering how to offer network slicing services, but the challenges they face are not purely technical. Their ability to monetize network slices depends on adapting their systems and businesses to new ways of implementing, managing and charging for services.

07 Jul 2021
TM Forum collaboration addresses challenges of network slice monetization

TM Forum collaboration addresses challenges of network slice monetization

Network slicing offers communication service providers (CSPs) the potential to create new revenue streams, improve margins on existing revenues and lower costs. But their ability to monetize network slicing will depend heavily on how well they adapt their systems and businesses to new ways of implementing, managing and charging for services. With business goals in mind, TM Forum is working with vendors and CSPs to clear the path towards network slice monetization. Many CSPs are currently weighing how and when they will offer network slicing services, but the challenges they face are not just technical. “There are plenty of forums dedicated to implementing the technical aspects of 5G services but what we are missing is a business focus. We need to pay more attention to the business aspects of introducing new technologies and introducing network slices,” says Andrei Chekalin, Group Lead of Telecom and Standards Research, Netcracker. For this reason, Netcracker is one of the companies collaborating with TM Forum on 5G slice monetization. What is at stake is the ability for CSPs to dynamically, automatically and profitably use network slicing to introduce new 5G services and partner on application delivery.

"Network slicing as a capability creates the potential for new business and monetization models. Its important to remember that customers want solutions and services and network slicing can be seen as a capability to enable this rather than a direct technology sell," says Joann O'Brien, Vice President, Digital Ecosystems, Collaboration. "The TMF guide on network slice monetization helps to see the potential for new revenues leveraging network slicing as a capability."

A number of industry bodies have defined technical standards for orchestration and slice management, but many operational questions remain. “How do you incorporate a customer slice management function? How do you bring in closed loop assurance and fulfillment? How does device management and conflict management fit in?” asks Ari Banerjee, Senior Vice President Strategy at Netcracker Technology. “All of these are critical to making this successful because without being able to do this effectively you cannot create dynamic slices, you cannot have a slice on demand, you cannot create a whole bunch of different slices which are customized to various use cases, latency, traffic types with isolation between different customers and are duration or event based if necessary – if operators have to start from scratch every single slice every single time then there is no way they can scale their operations.” Collaborating on enterprise services Although network slicing can help CSPs deliver application-based services and charge for features such as enhanced customer experience, the greatest disruption is likely to occur in the enterprise sector. Not only will it become easier for telcos to customize and tailor enterprise services, 5G slice technologies will create new opportunities for collaboration. There are plenty of examples of how 5G network slices could open fresh revenue streams in verticals such as healthcare or manufacturing, whether it is 5G-enabled edge computing to provide real-time analytics on the factory floor, or low-latency connectivity for remote medical care. Partnerships may see telcos taking a back seat in the customer relationship. For example, a gaming company might deliver an application to the end user, while the telco orchestrates and provides 5G slices based on demand. In addition, a telco may partner on services in which it is the primary customer contact, which may require CSPs to understand a vertical sector’s use of a given application to ensure seamless customer experience. CSPs can also use network slicing to better allocate spectrum and network resources to existing services.

“It’s not always about finding new opportunities; it can also be about increasing profitability using slices and remodeling for services that have nothing specifically 5G about them,” says Abinash Vishwakarma, Lead Business Analyst, Netcracker. “The industry has not done enough to migrate existing offerings to 5G slices.”

TM Forum recently published an information guide

TM Forum recently published an information guide to network slice monetization, which explores some of the challenges CSPs face and covers how to map slicing opportunities to the TM Forum Frameworx FAB model. These include using network slices to reduce costs through resource optimization and remodeling existing offers to run on 5G slices, with problem areas indicated in red or yellow, as in the diagram below.

graphic

“If you look at the yellow areas, these are where CSPs are struggling – how can network slicing optimize the use of infinite spectrum and network resources?” asks Banerjee. “How do you dynamically augment existing services with more interesting ones that need 5G slices?” “There is always a service management play, and there is always a revenue management play,” explains Banerjee. “If you don’t have a proper operational engine, which is flexible and configurable and able to handle end-to-end complexities very seamlessly you cannot operationalize this. Operators also need a revenue management solution which can support all lines of business on a single platform providing a centralized source of information, tightly aligned with OSS, for all traditional, digital and partner-based services.” The information guide also looks at how automation will play an important role in dynamically distributing and adjusting resources to optimize their use. Not only will automation be useful for orchestrating decisions during deployment, it will also simplify management of slice SLAs that are breaching defined threshold limits. And as the number of network components grows to accommodate microservices, automation will relieve the increasingly difficult task of trying to manage them manually. None of this is easy to address. Where and when CSPs implement network slices, as well as for whom and for how long will impact network slice planning and delivery. CSPs will also have to take into account the technological maturity of the slice, with slices for eMBB services currently more advanced than those for ultra-low latency services. Network sharing between CSPs also has the potential to complicate network slice management. At the same time, TM Forum’s CSP and vendor members need to explore the business and operational issues that network slices raise within an ecosystem of multiple hardware and software suppliers and service and application partnerships. Contact Joann O’Brien to learn more about the TM Forum’s work on network slice monetization.