Sophia Antipolis, France – Autonomous Networks (AN) are considered one of the most important evolutions to enable Digital Transformation, offering new service opportunities and significant cost saving in network operation. It is one of the most attractive environments where to leverage Artificial Intelligence in the Network and activities around Autonomous Networks have gained momentum in Standards and ICT Industry.

This new ETSI whitepaper, entitled “Unlocking Digital Transformation with Autonomous Networks”, highlights different works on autonomous networks, which are implemented by at least nine different ETSI groups, mixing a large range of expertise. This document was developed by the Operational Co-ordination Group on Autonomous Networks (OCG AN) which monitors and looks to coordinate the ETSI's work on autonomous networks. The aim is to present the status of AN standardisation in ETSI, to point out achieved results, relevant trends and core topics, and to highlight the benefits of autonomous networks.

The White Paper provides an overview of individual components and architectures for autonomous networks, as well as key metrics and quality criteria for fulfilling the functional requirements. Chapter 3 gives a synthesis of the work of each group, outlining the most significant results achieved while a table in Chapter 4 reports their progress and focus organised by topics. These activities include:

• Architecture / framework
• Cognition
• Analytics and intelligence (including AI topics)
• Knowledge representation
• Knowledge management
• Governance interface
• Self-X properties
• Intent-driven management
• Policy Control Management Framework(s)
• AN services, functions and resources Life-cycle management
• Closed control loop automation
• Proofs of Concept
• ANs federation and Inter-AN coordination
• APIs and data models
• Robustness, trustworthiness, traceability
• Security/privacy
• Testing framework and methodology
• Metrics and KPIs

The transition towards cognitive Autonomous Networks becomes an urgent necessity to unlock the business potential of 5G and beyond. The transition will be gradual, with the ultimate goal to enable service delivery with agility and speed and ensure the economic sustainability of the very diverse set of services offered by Digital Service Providers.

ETSI is playing a leading role in the definition, study, specification, and demonstration of the extensive enabling technologies and aspects related to Autonomous networks.

Download the whitepaper: “Unlocking Digital Transformation with Autonomous Networks”