On-demand, end-to-end connectivity: unleashing dynamic network sharing for the future

Commercial context

As the scope of digital transformation continues to broaden across sectors – with countless types of organization now embracing cloud and emerging technologies – the telecommunications industry has turned to increasingly complex business models to capture opportunities among enterprise customers. Where network infrastructure spans across CSPs and hyperscalers, efficient sharing is essential to enabling cross-operator services based on cloud infrastructure – but the current convention of reserving network resources for providing services in such scenarios cannot provide either the efficiency required, nor optimize usage of the resources involved.

Resources are reserved even if they are not then used; multiple handovers and manual processes are the norm, leading in delays to customer service; there is typically no real-time scaling up or down of resources based on actual requirements; and the journeys required to change usage often involve considerable complexity. There is also currently no standard API available to simplify usage of cross-operator network resources and services, or even the exchange of information.

Solution

A unified marketplace allowing CSPs to provide cloud fabric to enterprise customers is required, allowing efficient use of shared resources between partner CSPs, hyperscalers, and OTT service providers. The Paving the way for dynamic network sharing Catalyst is aimed at precisely this outcome, by designing a new form of exchange based on dynamic network infrastructure sharing (xNFs) – enabling real-time exchange of catalogs, capacity and performance, dynamic scaling for sustainable network usage, and a standardized approach to closed-loop automation between partners.

By developing new TM Forum APIs for dynamic network planning and sharing, and enhancing existing APIs (TMF641, TMF640, TMF642 and MEF Interlude) and standards, the project will help to optimize network planning processes for CSPs, and the sharing of network resources between CSPs and industry hyperscalers through automation. CSPs can plan for sustainable, optimized network usage by using containerized network functions and dynamic scaling, while intelligent monitoring of network traffic in closed loop scenarios can provide assurance and unified experiences to customers.

Applications and wider value

“Optimizing the network planning process of telco operators and industry hyperscalers by sharing through automation will allow the operators to reduce T2M and move on to newer business models of providing new age services to customers in a sustainable manner,” explains Sreenath Gopalakrishna, Core Product & Orchestration Tools Director at British Telecom.

This innovation will indeed allow CSPs to reduce time-to-market dramatically – bringing down network planning and deployment time from months to weeks – allowing them to evolve to simpler business models and with greater confidence that they can provide sustainable services to enterprise customers on demand. It will also accelerate CSPs’ ability to offer their services as carrier neutral facilities to other CSPs and hyperscalers. To find out more about the project join us at DTW Ignite in Copenhagen between 19-21 September 2023, or get in touch with the Catalyst team directly here.