Emerging 5G SA Technology and GenAI Boost Network Operations and Service Assurance

Key Takeaways:

– 5G SA is revolutionizing IT advancements with its innovative applications, services, and solutions.
– Three crucial business needs for 5G SA advancement are AIOps service orchestration, observability across domains and customers.
– GenAI is enhancing IT operations, particularly in the realm of customer experience and network operations.
– The future looks promising with GenAI, offering straightforward code generation capabilities for real-time network adjustments.
– Two key GenAI impacts on service assurance are demonstrations of complex self-healing abilities and proper data navigation.

The ascendance of 5G Standalone (5G SA) as a gateway to new innovative applications, services, and solutions is undeniable. The Global System for Mobile Communications Association (GSMA) notes that out of 261 commercial 5G services, 5G SA networks provide 47 while 89 more are in the pipeline. This reflects 5G SA’s massive influence on recent IT advancements.

The Role of AIOps in 5G SA Advancement

For 5G SA development to sustain, it requires certain business elements. One such aspect is the integration of assurance as part of the AIOps service orchestration. It is vital to maintain end-to-end service orchestration processes to fulfil a customer’s demand for a new service. Such processes range from handling orders to service design, resource provisioning, and assurance.

The assurance system must interact with service orchestration to inform the new service about various factors, such as the chaining together of network functions and the Key Quality Indicators (KQIs) to be monitored. Emerging models tackle these requirements and predict potential threats to ensure the health of KQIs.

Observability across Domains and Vertical Stacks

Another pivotal demand associated with 5G SA is the need for observability, spanning not only within domains but also across vertical stacks. A survey by Spirent’s 2024 Market Drivers confirms the need for service assurance. This is particularly significant considering the establishment of 5G mobile cores and the blurring lines between enterprise IT and traditional telco networks due to 5G.

Vendors are gradually exhibiting their ability to ensure assurance both horizontally and vertically. They can identify the root cause of service issues related to underlying resource issues in the cloud infrastructure.

Observability across Customers

The third business requirement corresponds to improved network resilience over the past few years, particularly through virtualization and automation. These improvements along with new 5G SA services prepares the path for a service assurance and customer experience-oriented observability focus. The use of AI and Machine Learning models help manage the growing data and implement features like automated root cause analysis and anomaly detection.

The Positive Influence of GenAI

Generative AI (GenAI) is now impacting IT operations positively in numerous ways. According to a survey by TM Forum, 87% of respondents reported a positive influence of GenAI on customer experience, making it the early frontrunner. Close to this, 85% of respondents foresee high potential for GenAI to impact network operations.

Future Predictions

Beyond 2024, GenAI’s contribution to the network is likely to be significant. For instance, it may provide simple code and script generation capabilities allowing swift, real-time network changes. It could also generate text for managing and updating network-related documentation.

Key Developments

Two key predicted impacts of GenAI on service assurance that warrant attention in 2025 are the exhibition of complex self-healing capabilities and ensuring that service assurance data is directed correctly. For telcos, these advancements are critical for supporting dynamic networks. However, the realization of these benefits requires active assurance using AIOps models, time-series databases, and distributed architectures. Moreover, meeting enterprise customer requirements surrounding new services will need telcos to integrate their data and operations across diverse systems. With the right blend of assurance, inventory, and external third-party data, businesses can gain visibility and support for new services.