Autonomous networks driving the progress of telecom sector

The telecommunications industry has built a global infrastructure that enables the seamless dissemination of information — in voice, text, audio and video — across the world. It serves as a key engine for technological innovation, industrial upgrading and social transformation. Autonomous networks (ANs), as a key driver of new quality productive forces for the telecom sector, are today the pinnacle of automation and intelligence, advancing the industry's progress and fostering sustainable growth.

First proposed by the TM Forum in 2019, ANs are expected to provide self-configuration, self-optimization and self-healing functions, and zero-wait, zero-touch and zero-trouble experiences for customers. By integrating emerging general-purpose technologies such as artificial intelligence, digital twins and big data, ANs enable intelligent management and optimization across the entire network lifecycle, reshaping the way value is created — from "device — and management-oriented" to "customer-, business — and service-oriented" results.

The TM Forum has defined the AN levels model, from level 0 to level 5, to help communications service providers (CSPs) assess their current capabilities and guide future development.