Autonomous Networks: Business and operational drivers

Any project’s business case must either increase revenue or reduce costs, or both, to a degree worthy of the time, effort and investment involved. The longer a project takes, the harder it is to predict the total investment required and the point of payback. Nor is it always possible to tell in advance where all the benefits lie or how to quantify them. Building the autonomous network (AN) is this kind of project. The reach of ANs is far and wide, touching all aspects of telecom operators’ businesses, with an uncertain outcome. ANs will provide fully automated network and ICT services for vertical industries, consumers and partners that support self-configuration, self-healing, self-optimization, and self-evolving infrastructure and operations. They comprise simplified network architectures, autonomous domains, and intelligent business and network operations, resulting in full automation of the operations lifecycle and maximum resource utilization. The four primary domains of an AN are access, edge, transport and core. Communications service providers (CSPs) may subdivide these domains as they roll out specific autonomous capabilities. ANs have the following characteristics: they are self-governing, programmable, explainable, composable, business-driven and model-driven engineering. This report draws on a targeted survey of CSPs from around the world, conducted during the first quarter of 2021. Read the report to understand:

• Where CSPs are in implementing automation
• Which issues are informing their AN strategy
• What the business drivers are for ANs
• What the operational drivers are for ANs
• The relationship between 5G and ANs
• The six-level journey to ANs