Service assurance in the 5G era

Reinventing the role of communications service providers (CSPs) in the 5G era requires reimagining operational and business support systems (OSS/BSS), which includes embracing automation and AI in service assurance. In this time of network investment, assurance must focus not only on performance management and fault monitoring of existing infrastructure, but also on helping to optimally plan 5G rollouts. In an ideal world, network investments would focus on improving customer experience, while reducing costs and honing operational efficiency, and any improvements in the network should be easily measured in tangible benefits. In the real world, however, layers of complexities prevent CSPs from precisely identifying network events relevant to specific customer experience KPIs. In the 5G era it should become possible for operators to filter the pertinent information from the noise, understand the consequences and take action to optimize operations, all in a highly automated fashion. Read this report to understand:

• Why data is critical for service assurance and how orchestration relies on it
• Why assurance is especially important in 5G networks
• What CSPs should look for in evaluating service assurance systems
• How standards such as the TM Forum Open APIs and the Open Digital Architecture guard against data silos
• Why assurance must be proactive
• How assurance can improve CX
• Why fulfilment and assurance go hand in hand, and why they require a “single source of truth”
• The role for automation, AI and machine learning in service assurance