Broadband Service Providers Identify Major Hurdles in the Transition to Autonomous Networks, New Report Finds

• Almost all of 100+ broadband network decision makers say AI is critical or important to their autonomous networking strategies.
• Inconsistent data from multiple systems seen as a leading barrier to optimum AI performance.
• Cross industry standards help by reducing technical and operational frictions, says the Broadband Forum.

FREMONT, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Broadband service providers are readying their networks for AI-driven autonomy in order to deliver better broadband services. However, technical and operational hurdles remain in their way, says a new report. The research highlights poor device compatibility and inconsistent data as key challenges that must be addressed before broadband networks can become autonomous.

The report reveals strong commitment to autonomous networking, with 94% of service providers planning to use software-defined networking (SDN) as part of their autonomous networking journey and 92% describing AI/ML integration as critical or important to these strategies. However, poor and inconsistent data from multiple systems was identified by 83% of service providers as a major barrier to deploying AI successfully in their networks.

“A software‑driven foundation gives networks the ability to execute an instruction on its own, while AI provides the intelligence to let it make decisions and adapt to changing conditions automatically,” said Broadband Forum CEO, Craig Thomas.

“Broadband networks are increasingly assembled from hardware, software, cloud platforms and management systems supplied by different vendors, while automation relies on data and control interfaces that need to work consistently across them. Standards make this complex environment easier to integrate and operate at scale by reducing the technical and operational friction that makes those changes harder to implement,” Thomas continued.

Service providers said that predictive maintenance was the main area where they were or were planning to use AI and ML (90%), followed by anomaly detection (72%) and automated fault resolution (69%). The main use cases for AI deployment were customer experience optimization (87%) and service assurance (85%).

“AI needs to understand what that data means and how everything is connected before it can make the right automated decisions,” said Incognito Software Systems Head of Product, Craig Sinasac. “Standards support that evolution by creating consistent definitions, identifiers, and models that describe how network resources relate to the services they deliver and the events that affect them,” he commented.

Device compatibility also remains a major hurdle in the adoption of a software-driven foundation that AI and autonomy depend on, with 78% of respondents citing poor interoperability between vendors as a major barrier. This is further complicated by the need to integrate new SDN platforms with legacy infrastructure, including DSL, cable/HFC and multiple generations of fiber equipment. As a result, 90% of respondents identify integration with existing systems as a key challenge.

“While standards can reduce the friction of integrating and scaling automation for service providers, their involvement must go beyond writing specifications,” said Radisys Senior Product Manager Connect Modular Broadband, Robert Soukup. “Taking part in reference implementations, interoperability testing, and proof-of-concept programs enables service providers and vendors to validate common approaches against real network lifecycles and feedback practical deployment experience back into the standard.”

Download the full report here: https://www.broadband-forum.org/news-and-insights/reports-2/beyond-software-defined-networking-what-it-takes-to-make-broadband-networks-autonomous/

About the report

The ‘Beyond Software-Defined Networking: What it takes to make broadband networks autonomous’ report from the Broadband Forum presents findings from a global survey of 100 broadband network decision makers and specialists at fixed broadband service providers. It was created in conjunction with STL Partners and is sponsored by Radisys and Incognito Software Systems.

About the Broadband Forum

The Broadband Forum is an industry-driven global standards development organization helping operators, application providers, and vendors deliver better, services-led broadband.

As the industry-recognized center of competence, the Broadband Forum provides an accessible, efficient, and effective community where all broadband stakeholders can collaborate on, develop, and promote open standards and open software. This provides the basis for deployable solutions for the global broadband industry.

The Broadband Forum publishes interoperable standards and open software, has launched certification programs, and promotes industry education. These best practices and models can be adopted to help realize an effective broadband ecosystem that drives a thriving, services-led broadband industry based on global collaboration, open standards, and open source, maximizing value for all stakeholders.

For more information, visit https://www.broadband-forum.org/. For the latest updates, follow Broadband Forum on LinkedIn, Twitter, and YouTube.