inform.tmforum.org

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Author: Catherine Haslam, Senior AnalystEditor: Dawn Bushaus, Managing Editor

Contents3 | The big picture

6 | Section 1: The responsents speak – Only two 5G business cases are clear

15 | Section 2: Technology pillars for flexibility

22 | Section 3: OSS/BSS must change

31 | Section 4: Turning services into revenue

38 | Section 5: 5G business model impact

41 | Section 6: Make it happen – Strategies for realizing the promises of 5G

43 | Additional features & resources

69 | Research & Media team

70 | Open Digital Architecture

e big picture

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5G is a technology, or more accurately a collection of technologies, not a service or a revenuestream. For 5G to live up to its hype and improve the bottom line for communications serviceproviders (CSPs), technology must be turned into services, and services into revenue.

This requires major changes to operational and businesssupport systems (OSS/BSS). However, the servicerequirements and the business models supporting many5G use cases are new and unproven. Such lack of claritymakes it difficult for CSPs to identify and prioritize thechanges, but they must do so.

It is important, therefore, that CSPs concentrate onadopting processes and architectural principles, such asautomation and openness, which scale across use casesand leverage the features that make 5G different from itspredecessors.

e promise of 5G5G is different from previous generations of mobiletechnology. This is an often-made claim, one that is equallyoften followed by statements of technical prowess:

Download speeds up to 1,000 times faster than 4G

Latency around 1 millisecond, compared to 4G’s 50-100 milliseconds

Step changes in capacity due to the higher frequencyand larger bandwidth of 5G spectrum which cansignificantly reduce the cost per megabit and supportmillions of connections per square kilometer

Enhanced power consumption that improves basestation energy efficiency by 30% to 60%

Reliability of service enhancements based on 5 nines’availability

Failing to modernize OSS/BSS couldresult in an immediate and negativeimpact on revenue, with up to 67% ofpotential revenue at risk."

“

e big picture

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There is no doubt that these are indeed significantimprovements and that such functionality can enhanceusers' experiences, such as with online virtual realitygaming. New and improved use cases ranging fromlogistics to autonomous cars and digital health also arepossible.

However, such functionality makes 5G better but notsubstantively different. After all, doing more, faster, betterand for less, is what each previous generation of mobiletechnology has promised to deliver. Indeed, based on thisalone, one could argue that the shift from circuit to packetdata was far more transformative than moving from 4G to5G.

It’s all about flexibility5G’s headline-grabbing performance numbers areimpressive, but that level of performance isn’t needed formany (perhaps most) applications. Experiences of sharingan image on Instagram or shopping online will not benoticeably improved by 5G working at its highest possibleperformance levels compared to 4G. Neither do theapplications that require the highest level of one technicalparameter like throughput necessarily require a similarlyhigh level of availability or extremely low latency. Beingable to deliver on such a wide variety of requirements,concurrently and at scale is key.

Can’t 4G do that?Another common mantra, usually from cynical mobileindustry commentators, is that there are no 5G use casesthat couldn’t be delivered using 4G. Certainly, when onebreaks down the extensive list of 5G use cases, those thatcan only work on 5G are few and relate to services thatrequire high speeds, ultra-low latency and are ultra-reliable,such as remote surgery.

Indeed, CSPs could use 4G for many use cases but they’renot, and here’s why:

• Delivering services with quality of service (QoS)guarantees can impact negatively on other servicesincluding core services

• QoS for specific services is hard to deliver, monitor andmaintain, and service level agreements (SLAs) aren’tenforceable

• The cost base means services will be price-prohibitive

• There is no business case because it takes a hugeamount of effort, particularly in building and modifyingsupport systems, to deliver services for a specific usecase; furthermore, the potential market for that use caseis often unknown and limited

As a technology, 4G can support many of the performanceparameters needed for use cases associated with 5G.However, it cannot support multiples of them quickly andefficiently at the same time. That is what 5G must do. 5Gradio access and core network technology supports this,but significant changes and developments in OSS and BSSare necessary to turn the promise into revenue-generatingservices.

e real promise of 5G is that it givesCSPs their first realistic opportunity todifferentiate the service levels they deliverto different customers. It is transformativebecause of the flexibility it offers."

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e big picture

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What’s new?In our 2017 Trend Analysis report 5G: Is platform the killer use case? we explained the importance of platform businessmodels to 5G success. In this report we broaden the scope to identify how dependent 5G success is on operationaltransformation. We surveyed 71 respondents from 53 unique CSPs and 73 respondents from 41 suppliers:

Read the report to understand:

• Why 5G is different

• Which services and use cases CSPs are prioritizing fortheir 5G rollouts

• How important key developments such as networkfunctions virtualization, software-defined networking andnetwork slicing are to 5G-driven revenue growth

• How dependent 5G-driven revenue growth is onoperational and business support systems (OSS/BSS),and how well these dependencies are understood

• Why automation and open APIs are essential to developnew use cases and increase revenue

• How TM Forum Catalyst projects are providing ablueprint for the OSS/BSS transformation needed tounlock 5G revenue

TM Forum, 2018

Who are the 5G survey respondents?

mobile operators

23%converged operators

61%

4%

10%

71

cable operator

respondents from 53 unique companies 73 respondents from

41 supplier companies

fixed operators

CSPs Suppliers

Network software supplier

11%

OSS/BSS supplier

23%

36%Systems integrators & consultants

Network hardware supplier

11%

Section 1: e respondents speakOnly two 5G business cases are clear

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Who?53 CSPs and 41 suppliersFor this report we surveyed 71 respondents from 53 unique communications service providers (CSPs) and 73 respondentsfrom 41 supplier companies. CSP respondents included CTOs, CIOs, corporate and strategy VPs, chief systems architects,network architects, and managers in engineering, performance and operations, product development, and governance. Interms of job function, they were fairly evenly split between the network and IT sides of the business. Supplier respondentsincluded chief marketing officers, chief data scientists, heads of 5G and solution architects.

8%North America

11%Latin America/

Caribbean

19%Europe and/or Russia

30%Middle East

and/or Africa

30%Asia-Pacific

2%Global

CSPs: Where?

Section 1

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31%Fewer than

5 million

Number of subscribers

1%100 million to

150 million

10%25 million to

50 million

37%5 million to

25 million

6%50 million to

100 million

15%More than

150 million

Size of CSP

11%Network hardware supplier

11%Network function software supplier

23%OSS/BSS supplier

14%Systems

integrator

22%Consultant

19%Other

Type of supplier

10%Fixed operator

4%Cable operator

61%Converged operator (some combination of mobile, fixed voice and data, and TV)

23%Mobile operator

2%Other

Type of CSP

Section 1

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What are the use cases for 5G?In their 2017 report 5G business potential, Ericsson and Arthur D. Little predict that 5G will drive 13.6% annual revenuegrowth for CSPs from 2016 to 2026 for a total opportunity of around $1.6 trillion. This is an optimistic view and manyCSPs would be delighted with growth amounting to just a third of that prediction, as the global market for communicationsservices is currently running at around 1.5%. However, the work is useful because it provides a starting point to breakdown the 5G revenue opportunity and start building businesses cases.

5G use case discussions are framed by three main scenarios:

What are the use cases for 5G?

TM Forum, 2018 (source for data: International Telecommunication Union)

Self-driving car

Voice

Smart city cameras

Enhanced mobile broadbandCapacity enhancement

Low latencyUltra-high reliability & low latency

Massive IoTMassive connec vity

Sensor networks

Mission-critical broadband

Industrial & vehicular automation

Augmented reality

Work & play in the cloud

3D video - 4K screens

Gigabytes in a second

Section 1

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Sizing the opportunityThe Ericsson report breaks out fixed wireless access (FWA)from eMBB to create a fourth category and combinesmMTC and uRLLC for revenue sizing purposes.

To many CSPs this is positive news because theyunderstand the business cases for FWA and improvingmobile broadband. Both have a precedent in 4G, whichprovides a level of certainty for CSPs and their investors.Similarly, the data to build an FWA business case isrelatively easy to find, especially for triple- and quad-playoperators.

For all other applications, however, there are far morequestions than answers, and CSPs have referred tobuilding business cases in quicksand. As the technologylead for one global service provider explains:

e state of play5G is an increasingly important part of CSPs’ strategicplanning. In our 2017 Trend Analysis report 5G: Is platformthe killer use case?, no respondents were actively deploying5G. This was expected as the standards hadn’t beenagreed, but less predictable were the 6% of mobileoperators that had no plans to deploy 5G. Today thatnumber has fallen to 4%, and nearly 10% of respondentssaid their companies are actively deploying 5G technology.

Projected 5G revenue in 2026 $1.6 trillion

TM Forum, 2018 (source for data: Ericsson)

38%

55%

7%

mMTC and URLLC

eMBB

FWA

It’s really hard to monetize massive MTCand ultra-reliable and low latency usecases. If operators cannot monetize usecases, they will not invest in this sector.”

“Where are CSPs with their 5G strategies?

32%

TM Forum, 2018

41%

2017

2018

12%

6%

9%

41%

9%

28%

14%

4%

4%

We are monitoring developments

We are deploying 5G technology today

We are participating in 5G trials/proofs of concepts

We will wait until all standards are finalized to deploy 5G technology

We are a mobile operator but have no plans to deploy 5G

We are not a mobile operator, so 5G is not applicable

Section 1

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Perhaps more meaningfully, 44% of CSPs surveyed intendto launch 5G in within the next two years, but theseresponses demonstrate that while 5G momentum andexpectations are building, it still has a long way to gobefore it is close to mainstream.

Prioritizing deploymentInitially the speed of deployment is being dictated by:

Pent up demand for ultra-high-speed consumer broadbandboth fully mobile and in the home

How capacity constrained mobile operators are

Or, in other words, exactly the same drivers behind 3G and4G, with the addition of 5G being a very real alternative tofixed broadband solutions to the home, businesses andpublic locations. In our survey, CSPs and suppliers agreedon the primacy of eMBB, but the most noticeabledifference in suppliers’ and CSPs' responses is the higherranking given by CSPs to FWA.

CSP �metable for 5G deployment

TM Forum, 2018

13%

31%

14%

28%

8%

6%

In the next 12 months

In 1-2 years

In 2-3 years

In 3-5 years

Our plans aren’t set/don’t know

We don’t intend to launch 5G

Section 1

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1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

How are CSPs and suppliers priori�zing 5G deployment?

TM Forum, 2018

CSPs Suppliers

Improved mobile broadband coverage

Fixed wireless access

Smart city

Remote control of devices

Connected vehicles

Smart grid

Factory automa on/sensor

connec vity

Digital health

Immersive augmented reality

Improved mobile broadband coverage

Fixed wireless access

Smart city

Remote control of devices

Connected vehicles

Smart grid

Factory automa on/sensor

connec vity

Digital health

Immersive augmented reality

Ultra-high defini on video

Ultra-high defini on video

Section 1

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Analyzing the driversThere is no doubt that FWA is the driving force behind the North American push towards early 5G deployment. Of the28% of CSP respondents who said their companies are conducting trials, 65% are focused on eMBB and FWA and 30% onFWA only.

The lower ranking from vendors is likely a result of representation of different types of suppliers in our survey and theimportance of their services to each of the 5G service groupings than a reflection of a difference in understanding. Whileall vendor groups agree on the primacy of improved mobile broadband coverage there are considerable variations in all theother service options. This is inevitable as the suppliers of different types of equipment will only be talking to theircustomers about the services that relate to the products and services the vendor offers.

OSS/BSS vendors represent the largest vendor group in our survey and their prioritization is both different and revealingas it provides insight into the service groupings that CSPs are considering which rely most on changes to OSS/BSS (seeSection 3). Therefore, connected vehicle, smart city and ultra-high definition video are high priorities, and all servicegroupings bar one come above FWA (see infographic below). This becomes important as we start to drill down into the 5Gbusiness case and its reliance on service groupings that are made possible by 5G but will only become a reality withoperational change.

1 2 3 4 5

678910

OSS/BSS supplier priori�za�on of 5G applica�ons

TM Forum, 2018

Improved mobile broadband

coverage

Fixed wireless access

Smart city

Remote control of devices

Connected vehicles Smart grid

Factory automation/sensor

connectivity

Digital healthImmersive augmented

reality

Ultra-high definition

video

Section 1

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Barriers to 5G deploymentThe most important obstacles to 5G deployment are fundamental issues: Is there enough of the right spectrum, and arethe standards solid and comprehensive enough to build a new radio network? These are essential and will dictate both thewillingness and speed of 5G deployments. However, they are also table stakes: Without them you don’t play but it takesfar more to win. In this case winning equates to revenue growth.

Spectrum licensing issues

5G is not yet an agreed standard/too

soon to deploy

Lack of use cases/hard to justify a business case for deployment

Garnering support from top management

(e.g. inadequate financial commitment/aversion to risk)

Lack of a mature ecosystem of

products and services

Lack of necessary IT infrastructure

Insufficient investment funds

(i.e. there is no money available rather than an unwillingness to

spend it on 5G)

Concerns about security and/or privacy

Concerns about how to handle management

and operations

Ranking the 5G deployment challenges

TM Forum, 2018

1 2 3

4 5 6

7 8 9

Section 1

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Business case challengesThe next three most highly ranked barriers all relate to the business case, with close to 60% of respondents directly statingthat the lack of use cases and/or the difficulties in justifying a business case are very or somewhat important and just overhalf pointing to difficulties in garnering support from top management.

The close correlation between these numbers is to be expected as senior management would be derelict in their duty ifthey didn’t demand a justifiable business case. Finally, a mature ecosystem is essential to defining market share andaddressable market sizing. All of this is leading to an ever more intense search for the service or service groupings beyondeMBB and FWA that will fully justify 5G investments.

This uncertainty around return on investment is why 5G’sflexibility is so important. Individually, the business casesfor many 5G applications are either too unclear toadequately assess or they represent marginal revenueopportunities that require massive scale to deliver growthand therefore will take time to develop. This means CSPsneed to find ways to build business cases.

In the next two chapters we identify how CSPs can buildarchitectures that will provide the technical foundations forbusiness cases based on flexibility rather than single-service or limited use cases.

58%of CSP respondents said

lack of use cases is a significant barrier

56%said lack of top

management is a challenge

51%said lack of a

mature ecosystem is an issue

Building the 5G business case is tough

TM Forum, 2018

5G development vicious circle

TM Forum, 2018

Search for more valuable and

certain use cases

Variety and number of

potential use cases

Lack of support from senior

management

Lack of a mature ecosystem of products and

services

Business case uncertainty

Section 2: Technology pillars for flexibility

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Identifying the importance of flexibility in establishing the 5G business case is a long way froma roadmap that takes advantage of flexibility to deliver service differentiation and monetize5G. For that it’s necessary to understand the technology development path and themanagement and support systems that turn technology into services.

5G depends on standardsThe 5G standards process is an obvious starting point to understand the timeline for service delivery. 5G standards arenecessarily highly technical and include a raft of specifications primarily around radio frequencies (RF) and technologiesthat enhance performance such as massive multi-user multiple-input multiple-output (MU-MIMO) or millimeter wave(mmWave). However, they also lay out a development path for the technology underlying 5G use cases and thereforeprovide a baseline timetable:

December 2017

September 2018

December 2018

Release 15 – 5G New Radio

(NR) non-standalone

New 5G radio working on

LTE RAN and core network

Enables early deployment of

5G RAN for capacity, enhanced

multi-megabit and fixed

wireless access

Release 15 – 5G New Radio

(NR) standalone

Add 5G service-orientated

core network

Enables more effective support

of 5G features and flexibility

through the core (for example,

functions to handle multiple

network slices for more

effective delivery of multiple

5G uses cases)

Release 16 – phase 1 New specifications for specific

use cases including

ultra-reliable low-latency and

enhanced specifications for

low power and massive

machine type communications

Enables CSPs to better address

and differentiate for key use

case groupings

Status of 5G standards

TM Forum, 2018 (source for data: International Telecommunication Union)

Due date Standard 5G flexibility relevance Value to CSP use cases

Section 2

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More phases are planned for Release 16 through to March2020 which, together with Release 17, will ultimatelydisperse control plane functions and create a set ofservices that enable an entirely fluid, dynamic approach tolocation and scaling. The technical realization of the full 5Gvision will take several more releases over subsequentyears. The 5G vision is also reliant on the availability ofenough of the right spectrum.

In our survey 63% of respondents stated that lack ofstandards was an important barrier to 5G deployment, and69% declared availability of spectrum a significant barrier,making it the No. 1 impediment to 5G rollout. These issueswill dictate the speed of deployment. Therefore, incountries where capacity is constrained, or business casescan easily be built for fixed wireless access (FWA), CSPswill roll out 5G sooner, beginning in 2018 and becomingmore widespread in 2019. This conclusion is also backedby trials that are underway.

TM Forum, 2018 (source for data: Innovate UK)

12% directly

service-related

50% specifically focused on

network elements

35% undefined

Innovate UK’s assessment of trials

Only Over

is next generation technology willenable medical services that could savelives, from remote surgery to remote carefor the elderly,” said Vodafone UK CEONick Jeffery, speaking aer the first UKtrial of 5G at 3.4GHz in April 2018. “Itwill enhance industrial applications, fromautomated systems to robotics, helpingmanufacturers across the UK boost theirproductivity. And it will enable families toshare their experiences with loved oneswherever they are, thanks to innovationslike augmented reality.”

“

Trials proving technology, not use casesFWA is the most advanced use case globally, but still many trials are focused on understanding RF performance and thequality of service being delivered. In Europe, Orange completed a month-long FWA customer trial in Romania in July 2018and is now moving on to focus on the business. Yves Martin, Orange Romania's Chief Marketing Officer, told journaliststhat 5G could feasibly be used to connect about 10% of homes in the future.

AT&T, Sprint and Verizon are the most advanced, and their trials have included additional services such as smart home.Still, issues around signal interference from foliage are as central as service innovation.

In the UK, an Innovate UK-commissioned report, 5G Nation, identified 66 different industry-led 5G projects but few wereservice-related.

Section 2

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Big changes are requiredThis is the vision, but as Vodafone Group CTO Scott Petty says, “5G is a multi-year project,” and it is because so muchmore than the air interface must change.

The infographic below shows the major changes required. Making these changes is a massive undertaking thatfundamentally impacts many traditional operational and business support system (OSS/BSS) functions, from planning andoptimization to business and revenue assurance. To do this requires a fundamental change in the way that networks aredesigned, planned, operated and managed beginning with slicing up the network.

Virtualization is keyDeployment of network functions virtualization (NFV) andimplementation of software-defined networking (SDN) aredesigned to deliver flexibility. NFV enables networkresources to be spun-up when they are needed, allowingCSPs to move away from using over-provisioning as aquality safety net and obtain a tighter control over costs byusing network resources more efficiently. Coupled with theseparation of the control and data planes in SDN,operators have the potential to flex, adjust and control thenetwork in almost unlimited ways.

CSPs have talked about NFV and SDN for a decade, butdeployments in the mobile environment, where flexibility inthe network wasn’t a particularly useful tool, have beenlimited. 5G changes that completely with virtualizationgoing from being interesting to essential for CSPs lookingto bring the full 5G vision to life. But it’s only one morestep.

Key characteris�cs of 5G networks required to deliver flexibility

TM Forum, 2018

Virtualiza�on

NFV and SDN replace physical

functions and manual controls

Differen�a�on

Multiple network slices support

multiple differentiated

service propositions, replacing single

network proposition

Automa�on

Automated processes replace

manual ones driven by artificial

intelligence (AI) and machine

learning

End-to-end management Management happens from

network to customer with systems loosely

integrated using open APIs

OSS/BSS evolu�on Siloed or

standalone systems and

processes are replaced

Data sharing Data is shared

across all functions and processes

based on a single data pool and open

APIs for integration

TM Forum, 2018

84% of respondents said

virtualization is important to their 5G plans

59% declared it very

important

How important is virtualiza�on to 5G?

Section 2

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Network slicingLike virtualization, mobile network slicing is a conceptthat’s been around for some time, but it has new purposewith 5G. While slicing is possible on 4G networks, 5Gmakes it a much more viable and useful concept asperformance potential almost demands to be divided andtargeted. Furthermore, the new 5G core network isdesigned to support multiple slices, something that will beessential to commercializing the benefits. The new corealso enables more usable 4G slicing, which was not lost onour CSP respondents. A large majority said they plan to use4G and 5G slicing.

Slicing benefits both sides of the 5G business case byincreasing the potential for revenue creation and improvingcost efficiency. In a study conducted by BT and Ericsson,slicing delivered a 40% savings on operational expenditure(OpEx) compared to a single big network, illustrating thepotential for efficiency. However, for maximum benefitsoperators should be looking at many slices not just a few.

CSPs’ network slicing plans

TM Forum, 2018

63%

21%

16%

We will use 4G and 5G slicing

We will use 5G slicing

We do not intend to use 4G or 5G slicing

Watch a demonstration of Verizon operating drones on aslice of BT’s network:

5G’s virtuous cycle

TM Forum, 2018

New revenue potential through delivering

differentiated performance to

different customers

Lower costs through efficient

use of network resources

Section 2

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How many slices?The number of network slices operators should be aimingto support is anything but certain. Half of CSP respondentsand nearly as many supplier respondents admitted to notknowing, and this is perhaps the most telling statistic fromthis question and perhaps the entire survey.

Suppliers are slightly more bullish about the developmentof slices, with 10% anticipating slices in the thousands.Converged operators were the CSP group expecting todeploy the most slices. On the supplier slide, systemsintegrators were the most conservative, perhaps becausethey understand the complexities of supporting multipleslices but have no great vested interest in supporting theproliferation of slicing.

The conservative views of the number of network slicesCSP expect to deploy is somewhat contradicted by CSPs’and suppliers’ understanding of how many vertical marketsneed slices; all but mining and education were identified bymore than a third of respondents. This suggests that CSPsexpect to need slices to target vertical customers, andgiven the number of verticals and the vast array of possibleuse cases within those verticals, we can assume that morerather not fewer slices will be required.

Number of slices CSPs and suppliers expect to support

22%

TM Forum, 2018

13%

CSPs

Suppliers

6%3%

52%

4%

17%

7%

6%

10%

8%10%

42%

1-10

11-30

31-50

51-100

101-1000

1000+

Don’t know

Section 2

inform.tmforum.org 20

Fixed wireless access

Education

Government (including smart city)

Emergency service

Healthcare

Energy & utilities

Manufacturing

Which ver�cal sectors will require dedicated slices?

48%46%

55%68%

48%49%

10%23%

35%44%

65%61%

30%31%

Mining

55%65%

Transportation

Connected car

66%73%

48%68%

Entertainment

66%59%

TM Forum, 2018

CSPs Suppliers

Slices for use casesWhen you drill down into these verticals, a single slicewould not be enough. For example, connectivity to carswill be used for many different things (performancemonitoring, traffic flow information, insurance driver data,entertainment, dash cams live feeds, not to mentionautonomous driving), and some may require or becomemore economically viable using separate slices. The same istrue for smart city, healthcare, government andmanufacturing.

At Mobile World Congress 2018, Andreas Mueller, SeniorExpert and Project Manager, Bosch, claimed that Industry4.0 is the “killer app” for 5G, but he was equally adamantabout the need for slicing: “We need use case slices or it[5G] is useless.”

is will be the second great challenge for5G: Once the networks are deployed, howwill CSPs deliver by use case and possiblyby customer?"

“

Section 2

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Operational transformation is requiredUltimately 5G NR, virtualization and network slicingrepresent the foundations for flexibility and for deliveringthe 5G vision. However, while they solve many problemsand make service differentiation not just possible butdesirable, they also pass huge challenges and complexityonto the systems and processes responsible for operatingthem. This begins with transforming these technologiesinto services, which is examined in detail in the nextsection.

Every time service providers need todeploy a service we must ask ourselveswhat the right approach is,” she says. “Canthat service can be supported by thenetwork or added to an existing slice, ordo we need a new one?”

“

Complexity of opera�ons

5G NR

Complexity of operations

Simple service creation

Thousands more functions, features,

parameters to be monitored, measured,

optimized and managed

Virtualization Network slicing

TM Forum, 2018

For many CSPs, the per use case/per user approach toslicing is too far in the future to discuss sensibly now, butBT has invested significant time and energy intoinvestigating the potential of slices. Maria Cuevas, Head ofCore Services for the company believes that the number ofslices will grow incrementally from a few to many over timebut that not every service deployment will need a slice.

Section 3: OSS/BSS must change

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5G New Radio (NR) standards, network virtualization and network slicing are highly valuabletechnical concepts that deliver flexibility, but on their own they can’t deliver services beyondenhanced mobile broadband (eMBB) and fixed wireless access (FWA). To realize 5G’s fullpotential, communications service providers (CSPs) must change their operational andbusiness support systems (OSS/BSS).

While some CSPs and suppliers have discussed the idea ofselling slices to verticals, customers themselves are talkingabout how slicing can benefit services, such asautonomous cars, remote monitoring or emergency buttonoperation in manufacturing, lower cost connectivity for IoT,and remote video monitoring. There may be references tomanaging slices among potential vertical users, but this ismore about a user interface for the service, not slicemanagement.

Varying connectivityWhat enterprises want is to be able to vary connectivity tomeet both static and dynamic service requirements.Experience from the fixed sector illustrates that whileenterprise customers don’t want to operate connectivityservices, they do want control, which means customerdashboards and other interfaces will become increasinglyimportant.

The challenge therefore is for CSPs is to turn the flexibilityof 5G and associated technology into somethingmonetizable. This requires overcoming two majorchallenges:

Turning technology into services by taking the rawtechnical capabilities and creating the systems andfunctionality to match connectivity delivered to whatis required for specific features controlled byapplication or customer

Turning services into revenue by demonstrating theeffective matching of connectivity delivered to thatrequired through transparent monitoring and servicelevel agreements (SLAs)

Section 3

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How does OSS/BSS need to change to support 5G?

TM Forum, 2018

Traditional

Siloed Static Scheduled Manual

New

End-to-end Dynamic On-demand Automated

End-to-end visionDelivering services ‘end-to-end’ seems a simple idea, but in the 5G context it can be confusing. End-to-end canrefer to managing slices across radio access, transport and core networks, but that is a narrow definition. MostCSPs think about end-to-end in terms of service assurance and being able to follow a service from the user’sdevice through the network and back again.

Importantly, it’s not only about providing an end-to-end view but also end-to-end operation. Changing a setting inone function or system will impact other areas, and the data from other systems will be required to inform theactions of the first. The systems simply won’t work effectively unless they interact, which requires:

• Decoupling hardwired functions

• More loosely integrating functions by abstracting functional layers

• Using open APIs to enable quick and easy integration of coherent components

Turning technology into servicesThe vision for 5G beyond eMBB and FWA is to be able tosupply per use case/per user connectivity with differentparameters for each. Furthermore, those use case and userrequirements can be constantly changing. This creates anunprecedented number of settings and requirements thatmust be monitored, measured, analyzed and turned intoactions.

This represents a fundamental change to what OSS/BSS isrequired to do:

• Network planning and optimization, formally related butdiscrete functions, must become far more closelycoupled as planning becomes closer to a real-timefunction

• Product creation and service fulfilment (includingprovisioning) will similarly change to become moreclosely related and real-time

• Network management systems need to be re-imaginedto operate across multiple domains, physical and virtual

• Service assurance requires far more data, and that datamust flow in both directions from the network to theuser and vice versa

The impact of making these changes should not beunderestimated. Each one represents a considerablechallenge and requires new ways of thinking.

Section 3

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Functional layersIn its 5G Architecture White Paper, 3GPP defines five separate functional layers that support the operation of services on5G NR, virtualized and multi-domain networks. Each relates to a collection of functions that theoretically can becomposed on demand and in many combinations to create, activate, operate and deactivate services.

3GPP’s view of 5G opera�ons

Management and orchestration (MANO) layer

•ÊIncludes ETSI NFV MANO functions and acts as an inter-slice broker that handles cross-slice resource allocation and interacts with the service management function

•ÊTransforms consumer-facing service descriptions into resource-facing service descriptions and vice versa

Control layer•ÊAccommodates the two main controllers

•ÊTranslates decisions of the control applications into commands to the virtual and physical network functions

Multi-domain network operating system facilities

•ÊAllocates (virtual) network resources

•ÊMaintains the network state to ensure network reliability in a multi domain environment

Data layer•ÊComprises the virtual and physical network functions needed to carry and process the

user data traffic

Service layer

•ÊBSS, business-level policy and decision functions, applications and services are operated by the tenant

•ÊIncludes the end-to-end orchestration system

TM Forum, 2018 (based on 3GPP descriptions)

Section 3

inform.tmforum.org 25

Orchestration happens everywhereOrchestration is a central capability in making 5Gdifferentiation manageable, but it’s not just about networkfunctions virtualization (NFV) orchestration. Orchestrationmust happen everywhere – including in partners’ networks.Overall, orchestration will be used to:

• Manage technology – configuring physical networkfunctions and virtual network functions (for example,virtual routers, firewalls, IP Multimedia Subsystem,evolved packet core) and cloud applications

• Manage resources – both physical and virtual functionsare modeled as logical resources, which are stored incatalogs and can be orchestrated as part of a servicechain

• Orchestrate the orchestrators – this is essentially theOSS layer, where service planning, provisioning,configuration and assurance happen

• Manage customer interaction – this will be the enginebehind the portal where the customer requests newservices or makes changes to existing services

While the 3GPP defines the key components needed todeliver an end-to-end view of a network slice, the TMForum Open Digital Architecture (ODA) goes further,offering a functional architecture CSPs can use for end-to-end management and orchestration of 5G networks andother digital services and enablers. We’ll discuss this inmore detail below. You can also learn more about theForum’s approach to management and orchestration byreading these reports and the ODA white paper:

Dynamic and on-demand imperativesMany functions and systems not only have been siloed butalso are static and rely on scheduled events. Networkplanning and service provisioning are examples of processesthat will need to operate in real time to meet the flexibilityrequirements of differentiated 5G services.

Mobile network planning is a relatively manual and staticprocess. To manage and balance capacity and coverage,planners use tools to schedule adjustments to base stationdensity and power. Upgrades typically are planned in asimilarly scheduled way. This is perhaps an overly simplisticdescription, but it helps to illustrate just how different 5Gslicing will be. In a virtual environment, constantoptimization and elasticity are required to react to serviceprovisioning requirements, and planners must ensure thereare enough network resources available to manage thedemands effectively and efficiently. The lines betweenplanning and optimization blur.

Similarly, service provisioning processes today require a lotof manual intervention, which makes them complex andtime-consuming. There are three basic mobile services –voice, SMS and data – and differentiation of them, where itexists, is based on the generation of technology being used.This changes with 5G and data becomes something thatcan have many variations. Whether operators establish afinite set of service classes that are applied to differentnetwork slices or whether there will be even greaterflexibility is still to be established. Most likely servicevariations will evolve over time, but in any case majorupgrades to network and service provisioning will benecessary.

Orchestration: Get ready forthe platform revolution

TM Forum’s Open DigitalArchitecture

5G: Is platform the killeruse case?

Section 3

inform.tmforum.org 26

Automation is essentialWhat becomes obvious is that automation is essential for5G – and not just for existing processes or single processesin isolation. It is required not only for provisioning andassurance processes, for example, but also for the fullproduct lifecycle from design through to deployment anddecommissioning.

As Howard Watson, CEO of BT Technology, Service andOperations explains, 5G operations is a greenfieldenvironment that demands the creation of new automatedprocesses.

Watch Watson explain in this video from Mobile WorldCongress 2018:

e role of AI and analyticsAutomation is not just about automating process steps defined by a human; it is about fully automating the process pluschanges to and improvements of the process using artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning to create completelyclosed loops that don’t require human interaction.

Without automation, the differentiation of 5G services at scale will not be possible. However, it will require closed loopoperation to enable the level of automation needed for differentiation at the cost and speed required for a 5G vision thatincludes hundreds of slices delivering services to thousands of different enterprises.

TM Forum, 2018

Automating processes based on known steps

Applying AI based on known assumptions

Applying experience-based machine learning

Applying prediction-based machine learning

Open loop Closed loop

Section 3

inform.tmforum.org 27

Catalyst demonstrates closed loop operationsAt Digital Transformation World 2018, a TM Forum Catalyst project called CEM/OSS for hybrid networks predictive analytics &dynamic offer migration demonstrated a new, AI-based automated solution that creates closed loop operations acrossnetwork, OSS and BSS domains.

TM Forum Catalysts are rapid-fire, proof-of-concept projects connecting service providers, technology suppliers andglobal enterprises to create innovative solutions to common industry challenges. There are two key roles in theprojects: the Catalyst champion, which is the company seeking a solution to a business problem, and the participantsthat contribute their expertise to solve it.

Although not specifically related to 5G, this re-invention of OSS/BSS is illustrative of the kind of automation necessary for5G operation. The key architectural elements of the solution were to create a central analytics capability that interactswith closed loop functions for each of the three viewpoints and systems shown below. The creation of closed loops withineach of the three systems and across them is essential to ensure that information is turned into a usable capability. Theseare then linked to customer engagement management (CEM) triggers that action the capabilities.

Proof of concept focuses on telco analy�cs

TELCO ANALYTICS

CEM trigger

Video QoE triggers

CEM monitoringPerformance mgt

OSS

HYBRID NETWORKS: NFP & NFV

Dynamic catalogAuto CSR

BSS

CEM analytics

For new offer

4G traffic dataNFV KPIs

NFV KPIs

Physical infrastructure

Physical probes

Virtual infrastructure

VNF/LB/PEM

VM

NFVI

VNF-M

VIM

ETSI MANO

Orchestrator

Open APIs

Open APIs

PM offer catalog

updates

CEM monitoring to detect potential new offers Offers cloned from observed CEM analyticsOpen APIs

NFV KPIs

4G heavy usage Product order Product canvas

Order management

Service activation

Video QoE

Policy MGT Broadband traffic data NFV KPIs

TM Forum, 2018

Section 3

inform.tmforum.org 28

Watch Atos’ Samia Benrachi and Pedro Benito explainhow data analytics capabilities combine with closed loopoperations to deliver much-improved functionality acrossthree different use cases – dynamic catalog, CEMmonitoring and performance management:

Operations that bring 5G to lifeSince 5G differentiation and the OSS needed to support ithave not been implemented yet, the discussions aboutwhat’s required remain largely theoretical. To bring theconcepts to life and demonstrate what operationalflexibility can deliver when combined with 5G NR,virtualization and network slicing, two other TM ForumCatalysts used the Tour de France bicycle race as anexample to show how slices could be dynamically set upand torn down to meet the various (and changing) needs ofbroadcasters, race organizers and fans.

The 5G intelligent service operations project concentrated onservice delivery, the practicalities of working with slicesand how to build attractive service propositions, while the5G intelligent service planning and optimization projectshowed how to plan 5G networks and automateoptimization. Both were demonstrated recently at DigitalTransformation World.

The teams were able to demonstrate successfulimplementation of five different OSS/BSS use cases shownin the graphic below:

5G Catalyst use cases

TM Forum, 2018

UC1: Network slice design

UC2: Network slice activation

UC3: Reactively close loop

UC4: Proactively close loop

UC5: Customized customer experience

Improved and automated network planning to address

complex network design

Automated service creation across

multi-layer, multi-domain and multi-technology

Automatic rerouting of the service due to

quality of service violation

Proactively close loop due to predicted SLA

violation

Adapt fulfillment and billing to customer’s

specific needs

•ÊReduced time to service

•ÊEase of planning

•ÊReduced time to service

•ÊZero-touch fulfillment

•ÊReduced resolution time

•ÊAutomated healing

•ÊBetter customer experience

•ÊBetter network utilization

•ÊTransparency & efficiency

•ÊBetter customer experience

Section 3

inform.tmforum.org 29

Watch the teams discuss their Catalyst projects:

Building requirements into a complete architectureThe OSS/BSS changes required to realize the 5G vision (making processes end to end, dynamic, on-demand andautomated) are complicated, and as the Catalysts demonstrate, they are also related. Addressing them as part of a singlecoherent and workable architecture is even more complicated, but the TM Forum Open Digital Architecture (ODA) aims todo just that.

Launched in February 2018, ODA provides a common operations and IT management ‘blueprint’. It combines provencloud-computing best practices with TM Forum’s work on zero-touch orchestration operations and management; digitalecosystem management; data analytics; AI and a suite of more than 50 Open APIs.

TM Forum Open Digital Architecture: a work in progress

TM Forum, 2018

People

Organizations

Things

DE

CO

UP

LIN

G &

INT

EG

RA

TIO

N

DECOUPLING & INTEGRATION

DECOUPLING & INTEGRATION

DE

CO

UP

LIN

G &

INT

EG

RA

TIO

N

Party management

Core commerce management

Production

Intelligence management

Engagement management

Section 3

inform.tmforum.org 30

ODA requirementsODA development is necessarily iterative beginning withrequirements and setting out the architectural principles,which in addition to those outlined above include:

Security and privacy by design

Agile governance

Componentization

Intent-based management

A central role for the catalog in exposing capabilitiesand ensuring interoperability of them

Putting ODA to the testTesting the workability of the ODA is important to itsdevelopment. At Digital Transformation World, twoCatalyst projects demonstrated the important role for acommon architecture for service interoperability that relieson Open APIs.

In the Blade Runner project, Vodafone and Du used ODAinformation and data models, along with Open APIs toexchange information about their service models. This wasdemonstrated though a 5G enterprise use case usingaugmented reality to help a local engineer in a Dubai minerepair earth-moving equipment (such as from Caterpillar orJCB) by receiving instructions from an expert located at anenterprise customer’s facility in Germany.

Watch this video to learn more about the Catalyst:

The Automating network as a service Catalyst did not focusspecifically on 5G, but the team did explore and test ODAprinciples, showing how products such as Ethernet,software-defined wide area networking and a virtualfirewall running in an open source environment can beordered through a portal and then automatically activatedacross hybrid networks made up of virtualized and physicalcomponents. The team’s work is key to demonstrating thelayers of ODA, from customer management to networkresource management, and how Open APIs can be adaptedand used at each layer.

Watch Telstra’s Guy Lupo explain the Catalyst:

But where’s the money?The operational challenges that need to be overcome toturn flexibility into potential services is significant, but eventhis isn’t the end game for CSPs. They must also be able toturn differentiated services into revenue and understandthe impact of these operational transformations onrevenue potential to define their version of the 5G vision.These issues are addressed in the next section.

Section 4: Turning services into revenue

inform.tmforum.org 31

Reports of attractive 5G revenue forecasts, impressive trial results and eye-catching use casesare appearing everywhere, but clear business plans and defined routes to revenue arenoticeable primarily by their absence. That’s because there are so many options, dependenciesand uncertainties. At the very heart of that uncertainty is how exactly 5G can be monetized.What’s the business case?

At the Huawei Global Mobile Broadband Forum inNovember 2017, outgoing BT CEO Gavin Pattersonsuggested that the 5G business case still needs to be built,and while Deutsche Telekom’s CTO Bruno Jacobfeuerbornagreed, he was positive it would emerge.

Watch Jacobfeuerborn discuss the business case for 5Gat Mobile World Congress 2018:

Operators have been effective in turning connectivity andtraffic volumes (minutes, messages and megabytes) intorevenue, but attempts to monetize other capabilities andservices have resulted in expensive failures, such asexperiments into app stores. This means the 5G business issurrounded by as much trepidation as excitement.

First stepsThe two most advanced 5G use cases – enhanced mobilebroadband (eMBB) and fixed wireless access (FWA) – arenot only the most technically advanced, they are also theuse cases with the most certain routes to monetization.

eMBB is promisingeMBB is a continuation of the 3G and 4G mobilebroadband evolution. It is widely expected to be sold in thesame way as its predecessors. As with 4G, 5G eMBB willprovide the opportunity for CSPs to win market share fromcompetitors. However, there is serious doubt aboutwhether CSPs will be able to charge a premium for 5G, andeven if it is possible, it will be a short-term policy.

A more significant revenue uptick is expected to comefrom the greater usage that 5G’s increased performancewill encourage. As such, eMBB in its most basic form doesnot require major changes in revenue assurance and billingsystems.

e only certainty is that one use alonecase won’t define 5G, and neither will asingle monetization model. However, newmonetization models are not somethingthat mobile operators have succeededwith in the past."

“

Section 4

inform.tmforum.org 32

Low-hanging FWA fruit5G FWA monetization is following a similar path in thefixed environment. CSPs can reach the low-hanging fruit bytargeting underserved home broadband subscribers withfiber-like performance because 5G can reach remotelocations that fiber can’t, either physically or economically.However, this can require the integration of fixed andmobile business support systems (BSS) which ischallenging, especially if the CSP doesn’t have a strongfixed business to leverage.

Qatar-based Ooredoo faced this issue when it launched ahome access fiber service. Renowned as a mobile operator,Ooredoo created an FWA service using virtual CPE.However, take-up was slow. The company knew it had aplethora of 4G customers with high home usage who couldbenefit from the service, but it didn’t have the ability toaccess network data and match it against the customerexperience to identify and target them. Fixing this type ofissue and ensuring that it doesn’t become an onerousmanual process full of delays will be an integral part ofmaximizing the 5G FWA opportunity.

5G FWA is a revenue growth opportunity that CSPs cannotignore, and in the US mobile operators are pushingtowards commercial launches in Q4 2018. VerizonChairman and CEO Lowell McAdam explained hiscompany’s strategy like this: “Our strategy is to get digitalcontent out there over the fastest pipe we can at thelowest cost and that’s why 5G makes so much sense.”

Watch McAdam discuss Verizon’s 5G strategy:

Yet fully monetizing the FWA opportunity will take morethan deploying the technology and pricing to compete withfixed alternatives. As the recent TM Forum CatalystCEM/OSS for hybrid networks predictive analytics & dynamicoffer migration showed (see Section 3), for a mobileoperator to maximize a fixed opportunity, it’s necessary notonly to integrate the fixed and mobile BSS but also tointegrate BSS and operational support systems (OSS). Onlythen can new offers be dynamically created and offered tothe customer.

Section 4

inform.tmforum.org 33

Beyond FWA and eMBBMonetizing 5G capabilities beyond eMBB and FWA is more challenging because CSPs must:

Monetize differentiation of connectivity

Build complicated service propositions with multiple partners

In the previous sections of this report, we explained the importance of connectivity differentiation in 5G anddemonstrated the amount of technical innovation and operational transformation it requires. However, this effort will notdeliver the value expected if it cannot be monetized effectively.

Our survey demonstrates that CSPs expect the connectivity properties per slice to vary to meet the requirements ofdifferent services. Yet that is the starting point, not the end game, for monetization

Included network-based services (e.g voice, messaging, data only)

Privacy levels

Coverage

Which elements will vary per network slice?

73%

70%

63%

54%

51%

46%

39%

Other QoS elements – jitter, delay, etc.

Security levels

Latency

Throughput speed

TM Forum, 2018

Section 4

inform.tmforum.org 34

What are the obstacles?Mobile operators face major challenges in turning slice variations into revenue. In our survey, CSPs and suppliers agreed onthe five most significant barriers to effective differentiated service performance on 5G.

Ranking the 5G service differen a on challenges

TM Forum, 2018

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

CSPs Suppliers

Network management and OSS integration

issues

Orchestration limitations

Lack of management

solutions

Lack of sales training/

understanding

Lack of standards

Lack of AI/machine

learning solutions

Virtualization limitations

Inability to implement

DevOps

Network management and OSS integration

issues

Integration with BSS (e.g. billing)

Lack of management

solutions

Orchestration limitations

Lack of sales training/

understanding

Virtualization limitations

Inability to implement

DevOps

Lack of AI/machine

learning solutions

Lack of standards

Integration with BSS (e.g.

billing)

Section 4

inform.tmforum.org 35

Centralized catalog is keySection 3 outlined the network management and OSSintegration issues, but it is important to highlight again therole of product creation and the ability to identifycustomers’ requirements and build services to match themusing capability settings in a centralized catalog. The abilityto add, edit and access the catalog easily and quickly willbe essential to this process.

Integration with OSS is essential and mirrors therequirements of the catalog. Flexible and reactive ratingand billing capabilities are required, which are a long wayfrom the comparatively rigid rating required by currentpricing plans. The end game will be for enterprisecustomers to build their own products using a simplegraphical user interface, but this is a long way off.

What will CSPs sell?Selling differentiated connectivity to enterprise customersis not new. CSPs offering fixed services have been doingthis for years, and many of the characteristics of fixedmanaged services sold to enterprises can be transferred tothe mobile environment, most importantly service levelagreements (SLAs).

SLAs are used for mobile enterprise services currently. Forexample, Vodafone launched global SLAs as far back as2009. However, these are primarily used for managedmobility services and relate to parameters such as the timeit takes to replace SIMs and deliver new devices and thetime it takes to notify and repair faults. They do not oftenrelate to the connectivity-related parameters identified asneeding to flex across slices.

Changing sales propositionsSLAs are a recognizable concept for both CSPs andenterprise customers. Some potential 5G customers arealready talking in those terms. For example, AndreasMueller, Senior Expert and Project Manager at Bosch, saysthat he wants end-to-end quality of service (QoS), backedby accurate and granular SLA monitoring in real time andthe potential for third-party SLA monitoring. However,questions remain about how meaningful, enforceable andmonetizable SLAs for 5G can be.

CSPs rated the lack of sales training and understandinghigher than suppliers with a majority viewing it as animportant barrier. This reflects CSPs’ experiences withenterprise and wholesale services as they’ve tried tointroduce more solutions-based selling.

Asking a customer how many E1s or T1s they want is verydifferent from establishing the service needs of thatcustomer and creating a connectivity and service packagefor them. Different product catalogs and pricingmechanisms are required as outlined above but so aredifferent skills, timescales, and contract terms andconditions. The effect of these should not beunderestimated. On-demand services require on-demandcontracts, and legal departments do not work that way.Operators will need to move to umbrella contracts thatallow for the specific details of a new SLA to be agreed.

Furthermore, the creation of the SLA product, the ratingand billing, the monitoring of services delivered, and thefeedback of the information to the customer would needto be automated in closed and related loops, similar tothose outlined in the CEM/OSS for hybrid networkspredictive analytics & dynamic offer migration Catalyst. Theover-riding principle must be end-to-end management asinformation from the network will need to beunderstandable and accessible to the customer relationshipmanagement system, and changes made or requested bythe customer will impact all the way down to optimizingthe network.

Who defines the SLA?Finally, how the service and SLA are defined and whodefines them will be heavily influenced by the route tomarket. If operators are delivering services to other CSPsor technologically savvy partners, then the SLAs are likelyto be technical and similar to those CSPs have acrossinterconnections and with their global carriers. However, ifthe customer is less focused on technology, the CSP oranother service provider in the supply chain will have toturn technical performance parameters intounderstandable key performance indicators (KPI), such asservice downtime, or a self-policing mechanism that sendsalarms to the customer if the performance requirementsaren’t being met and defines the results of failure.

TM Forum, 2018

59% of CSP respondents

said lack of sales training is an

important barrier to 5G service

differentiation

Section 4

inform.tmforum.org 36

Multiple routes to marketIn our 2017 5G report 5G: Is platform the killer use case?, wefound that while 5G isn’t an essential piece of the platformbusiness model, that business model is incredibly importantto the 5G business case.

Many of the 5G use cases from immersive augmentedreality gaming to connected vehicles, smart cities, factoryautomation and smart health, require service expertise thatsits outside the core capabilities of most CSPs. This will leadto far more complicated value chains with other servicecapabilities layered on top of connectivity, and the potentialfor service delivery and even billing via a service providerother than the CSP.

Our survey illustrates that there will be no single route tomarket for all 5G use cases and that the choice of route isyet another unknown for many of them. Connected car isone of the most advanced massive machine-typecommunications (mMTC) or ultra-reliable and low latencycommunications (uLLC) use cases. However, 33% of CSPrespondents didn’t know which route to market they wouldbe most likely to use as the primary channel. Indeed, theonly use cases where over 50% of respondents were sureof their primary route were extensions of existing services –eMBB, FWA and improved mobile broadband coverage, andin those cases the primary channel identified was direct toconsumer.

For more about the potential roles for CSPs in digitalecosystems see our Trend Analysis report Vision 2020:Future CSP business models

Survey respondents were asked to identify which channelthey expected to be the primary route to market for eachset of use cases. The following chart illustrates the averageranking for each channel and use case combination.

CSPs’ favored routes to market

TM Forum, 2018

Enhanced mobile broadband

Direct to customer Partnership

Joint venture

Multi-service and

multi-channel platform

Traditional wholesale/

resellers Don't know

Fixed wireless access

Improved mobile broadband coverage (e.g. for events, buildings, transportation)

Ultra-high definition video (4K, 8K, HDR, HFR)

Immersive augmented reality, gaming, tactile internet, etc.

Connected vehicles

Factory automation through sensor connectivity

Remote control of devices (machinery, drones, etc.)

Smart grid

Smart city

Digital health (e.g. remote surgery and examination)

1

1

1

1

1

6

5

5

5

4

4

5

5

5

4

5

1

1

1

1

1

1

2

3

2

5

3

4

4

3

3

5

6

3

3

4

2

3

3

6

5

6

5

5

4

2

3

3

2

2

2

2

2

2

2

5

6

6

5

6

4

3

4

4

3

3

Section 4

e power of partnershipsBeyond the traditional service use cases for 5G, two cleartrends are emerging:

• CSPs recognize they cannot deliver many of the usecases alone and will need others to supply services –partnerships are preferred but they don’t scale easily, sowe expect support for platforms to gather momentum

• CSPs are moving away from rigid, long-term relationshipstowards more flexible interactions as partnerships arefavored over joint ventures and multi-service/multi-channel platforms over traditional wholesale and resellerchannels

Both trends lead to a single operational demand: the abilityto add and remove partners, suppliers and channels to andfrom the CSP’s support systems quickly and easily. Thisrequires:

Standard, open APIs to onboard partners

Ability to settle revenue across multiple partners

Service assurance across the entire ecosystem

Ability to identify and counter fraud across theentire ecosystem

Potential impactIn the first four sections of this report we have identifiedmany of the known technological, operational andmonetization dependencies of 5G use cases. In the nextsection, we will look at the impact on potential revenuethose dependencies will have.

inform.tmforum.org 37

Section 5: 5G business model impact

inform.tmforum.org 38

5G is a confusing mashup of technology innovation, process re-invention and businessevolution. All these elements need to come together to realize the vision. Within these threepillars of change are steps that go together to build a coherent 5G business that first enhancesand then expands the traditional mobile business.

CSPs are embarking on the 5G development process, moving step by step to:

• Improve service performance

• Create new service capabilities

• Improve cost efficiency

• Support service differentiation

• Improve service creation efficiency

• Support service differentiation at scale

• Increase the sales channels and market reach

• Increase the range and variety of pricing options

By cross-referencing these steps against the technology, operational and business process changes that need to takeplace, it is possible to begin to build the framework of a business case.

Section 5

inform.tmforum.org 39

Saving money is a drivereMBB and FWA have business cases that while not set instone have solid foundations. There are definable revenueopportunities that CSPs can model based on their ownexperiences. Furthermore, there are clear cost efficienciesto be achieved from 5G. Depending on the extent of costsavings vary from 40% to around 90% depending on levelof virtualization.

While talking about Verizon’s plans to rollout of 5G in someUS cities by the end of the year, the company’s Chairmanand CEO Lowell McAdam stated:

5G will deliver 1MB of service for aboutone tenth of what 4G does today and thatallows us to push out into markets andapplications at a good cost that we’venever been able to do before.”

“

5G business model impact

TM Forum, 2018

5G New Radio

Improves service

performance

Creates new service

capabilities

Improves cost

efficiency

Supports service

differentiation

Improves efficiency of

service creation

Supports service

differentiation at scale

Increases sales

channels

Increases pricing options

Network virtualization

Network slicing

End-to-end OSS/BSS

Dynamic network management

Automated provisioning processes

Automated service creation

On-demand service creation

Dynamic SLA creation

Ecosystem extension

Section 5

inform.tmforum.org 40

IT is the businessThe 5G business case is complicated, full of dependenciesand unknowns, and no single use case is likely to justify theexpense of nationwide 5G deployments. While CSPs andgovernments work with partners to demonstrate thefeasibility and potential value to vertical enterprisecustomers, operators should also concentrate on ensuringthat the capabilities that are being considered for onevertical or partner can be used for others, and that allcapabilities can scale quickly.

As TM Forum CEO Nik Willetts stated during his keynotepresentation at Digital Transformation World:

For 5G use cases that require dynamic service creation anddelivery across complex ecosystems, this couldn’t be moretrue.

Watch Willetts’ keynote presentation:

IT is no longer the back-office cost centerof our business. Today IT is the business.”“

Finding new revenueThe business case for OpEx reduction is one that resonateswell with investors as the risks involved are controlled.However, for operators to make a return on the billionsthey are investing in 5G, they know they must also findnew sources of revenue.

According to the second edition of Ericsson’s The 5GBusiness Potential report, there will be a $619 billion 5Gopportunity in 2026 based on the new mMTC and uLLCscenarios. It further breaks down the total addressablemarket allocating:

• 33% available if the operator provides connectivity andprovisioning

• 54% if the operator takes on an enabler role

• 13% if the operator creates the services eitherthemselves or through collaborations

Applying the operational dependencies we have identifiedin this report against the known requirements of use casesfrom digital vertical markets clarifies the amount to whichthese 5G use cases depend on OSS/BSS transformation. Inorder to calculate the impact of OSS/BSS operations on5G revenue potential across 12 verticals, we modeled thelikely demand for differentiated services, the likely demandfor dynamic variance of differentiated services and thelikely demand for ecosystem enablement. Based on ouranalysis, it is possible to calculate that:

TM Forum, 2018

67% of total revenue from

use cases beyond eMBB and FWA is

dependent on OSS/BSS

transformation

63% of connectivity-related revenue for these use cases is dependent on

OSS/BSS transformation

72% of revenue from service

enablement and creation is dependent

on OSS/BSS transformation

Section 6: Make it happenStrategies for realizing the promises of 5G

inform.tmforum.org 41

5G offers many new, exciting opportunities and a mind-boggling number of options,dependencies and unknowns. Building business plans is a tough challenge, and any attemptmust focus on transforming operational and business support systems (OSS/BSS) as well asthe underlying technology building blocks and eye-catching use cases. Without the right ITstructures and design principles in place, 5G will continue to be confusing and is likely todisappoint both potential enterprise customers and communications service providers (CSPs)hoping for growth. Following are steps for operators to include in their 5G planning processesto bring the full 5G vision to life.

Plan in stages across divisionsVery few of 5G’s full capabilities will be part of earlydeployments, so setting realistic expectations is important.CSPs should take a step-by-step approach involvingtechnology, operations and business divisions to identifythe key operational changes required to offer all kinds of5G use cases, not just the technical ones. Differentiatedservice capabilities will require sophisticated businessplanning. Operators should build phased plans and ensurethat the base technology and operational processes will bein place to deliver service offerings to market on time andthat they will scale.

ink horizontally as well as verticallySingle use cases are unlikely to deliver the return oninvestment CSPs are looking for. Flexibility is 5G’s greatdifferentiator. Operators should build business cases basedon multiple use cases using a single flexible infrastructure,such as that defined in the TM Forum Open DigitalArchitecture.

Introduce automation from the startDeveloping services quickly and at scale is inherent inmany 5G service offerings. Manual processes will not beable to keep up with the service demand, nor takeadvantage of the efficiency potential of virtualizednetworks.

Adopt AIDeploy artificial intelligence to replace human and policy-driven processes and move from reactive to proactive. Thisis likely to require a combination of traditional networkengineering knowledge as well as advanced codingcapabilities. These are rarely found in the same individualsand CSPs must identify how they will bring these skill setstogether.

Section 6

inform.tmforum.org 42

Use a common approach to dataCSPs must adopt a common approach to data across all ITdomains. Data from the network will be used to informcustomers, and information from the customer will impacton the network and everything in between. Data must bemade easily available and usable across IT. Use standardAPIs, such as TM Forum’s Open APIs, to enable efficientsharing and access to data.

Operate end-to-endOSS/BSS boundaries and IT operations silos must bebroken down. Even the most effective siloed operationcannot guarantee the successful creation, operation andsettlement of differentiated 5G services. Single processesmust be replaced by a series of related process loops asillustrated in the 5G intelligent service operations and 5Gintelligent service planning and optimization Catalysts. CSPsmust coordinate orchestration and management to addressthis.

Start creating SLAs earlyService level agreements will be a very important part ofselling differentiated 5G services and the majority ofcurrent SLAs and their supporting business and legalprocesses will not meet the future requirements of 5G.Solving these issues and particularly establishing flexiblelegal contracts will be essential and will take considerabletime to develop.

Include the sales team in productdevelopmentSelling differentiated services is very different from sellingbasic connectivity. Learn from the experiences of fixedenterprise and wholesale businesses to understand howbest to train sales staff and equip them with the necessarytools.

Understand risks and rewards in yourmarketEvery market is different and will offer differentopportunities. Understanding the needs of the end userwill be important in building a successful 5G business plan.

Get involved!TM Forum’s Collaboration Community and CatalystProgram are addressing many of the challenges related toplatforms, monetizing the Internet of Everything and 5Gnetwork slicing. TM Forum Catalysts act as an acceleratorto complement the R&D efforts of the companies involvedby bringing them together to address specific business andtechnology challenges. The companies work closely onprojects lasting from three to six months, culminating inlive demonstrations at TM Forum’s events. To find outmore or to get involved, contact Andy Tiller.

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Additional features & resources44 | How to tap into the 5G monetization opportunity

47 | Assuring quality of service and network slices is key in 5G networks

53 | Delivering on 5G and digital transformation

58 | 5G and cloud: Accelerating new growth opportunities for communicationsservice providers

63 | TM Forum toolkit for digital transformation

65 | Frameworx

How to tap into the 5Gmonetization opportunity

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5G is much more than unprecedented speed. Its architecturewill profoundly transform the way we experience our homesand cities, how we drive and the way we access healthcare.And it will provide augmented and virtual content in a waythat will forever expand the boundaries of our reality.

Architected for MonetizationAs service providers gear up to tap into the 5Gopportunity, the key performance elements that will beleveraged for monetization include:

• Enhanced mobile broadband, which provides fiber-likeexperiences over a wireless radio link, enabling key usecases such as ultra-high definition video, including 3Drendering and fixed-wireless broadband.

• Ultra-reliable, low latency communications, whichincludes use cases that demand extremely low latency,such as AR, VR and gaming, as well as vehicle-to-vehiclecommunications and remote surgery, which have theextra requirement of reliability in order to ensure safety,capitalizing on the advancing mobile edge computingparadigm.

• Massive connectivity, which enables virtually everythingto be connected in an IoT driven world, with more thanone million device connections per square kilometre.With the accelerated proliferation of Industry 4.0, thereare many commercial applications that will benefit (andwhich can be monetized). Smart cities will also benefitfrom the increase in densification of connectivity,essentially powering the connected life of their citizens.

However, although performance is a key element of 5G’smonetization potential, perhaps the key aspect is thearchitectural characteristics of the 5G network will enableservice providers to not only optimize performance, buttruly tap into the tremendous monetization opportunities.In fact, more than previous generations of networks, 5Ghas been architected to monetize the digital economy andmove service providers from providing access to the digital

ecosystem, but also to shape and extract value from thedigital economy. For this, three main characteristic of 5Gwill aid service providers most in their monetizationstrategies.

Virtualization: The software-driven network will enable anew service delivery model that delivers unprecedentedspeed. A fully virtualized network will therefore enableservice providers to be more aggressive with servicelaunches and adopt a “fail-fast” business approach due tothe flexibility, agility, scalability, cost optimization and shorttime to market.

Network slicing: This entails partitioning a single networkinfrastructure into multiple virtual occurrences to extendthe capabilities of the network. Slicing enables serviceproviders to optimize multiple parameters of the servicedelivery, such as bandwidth and latency, for a specific typeof service per slice, (e.g. video on demand or connectedhome), without impacting overall network performance.Network slices can be monetized as “Network Slice as aService”, which can be bundled into offers for enterprisecustomers or as a quality differentiator for consumerservices.

Edge computing: This enables service providers to moveapplications and services to the network’s edge,decentralizing them from central data centers to edge datacenters. This way, many value-added services that requireultra-low latency can deliver on their performancerequirements and be monetized accordingly. Edgecomputing can be monetized via partner and enterpriseapplications and consumer-targeted value-added servicesthat are hosted on the network edge.

Anthony Goonetilleke,Group President -

Entertainment, Media &Technology at Amdocs

Amdocs

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Getting the right business modelAn equally crucial aspect to 5G monetization is having aclear business case for their operators’ offerings. But tobuild such business cases, operators must first gain a clearunderstanding of the business models available to them.Every business model will require an understanding of whatuse cases the service will leverage, as well as how it will bemonetized.

This is more difficult than it may seem, and we canillustrate the difficulty with an example. Virtual Reality isoften cited as a killer use case for 5G. But to effectivelymonetize VR service providers must go further and askthemselves where the money will come from. Onepossibility is that consumers will pay operators for VRdevices and applications and perhaps even quality ofservice. Another is that VR device manufacturers will payservice providers to tailor a slice of their network for theservice and for hosting applications at the network edge,with the low latency and enhanced broadband capabilitiesthey require to deliver a superior experience. A simplisticmodel that may seem a good fit for the subscriptioneconomy would be providing a holistic VR service - minustoday’s hefty price tag, which can easily jump over $1,000for a headset and the compute power to run it.

So the road from use case to monetization must movethrough a clear understanding of the business models wewill apply to monetize those use cases and the impressivecapabilities of 5G. We can identify three main 5GMonetization business models:

Business-to-consumer (B2C): This model will focus onofferings that leverage the 5G network to strengthenservice offerings to end customers, such as fixed-wirelessand content, and will also include increasing bundling ofpartner services. Monetization elements of these offeringsinclude QoS-based data, goods and subscriptions, such ascontent, media and partners.

Business-to-business (B2B): This is a large area ofpotential growth for service providers with opportunities tomonetize embedded connectivity, managed connectivityand virtual network functions such as security. Serviceproviders will have the opportunity to expand theirrelationships with enterprise to facilitate intelligentoperations and automation as well as the potential tointegrate partner solutions in their offerings. They can alsoleverage advanced use cases such as AR-guided technicalsupport.

Business-to-business-to-any (B2B2X): This may be thebiggest potential growth area for operators. The flexible,virtual nature of 5G networks will enable service providersto equip application developers and device manufacturerswith embedded connectivity and virtual network functionsas a services, in order to power their products. Thisprovides service providers with the opportunity to offerwholesale services that leverage open platforms forcustomers to onboard themselves, equip themselves withservices and then settle with the operator easily andefficiently.

Five “must-haves” of monetizationsystemsOpportunity abounds for service providers to monetizetheir 5G networks, and with a clear view to the businessmodels and monetization models of their services they canbuild more predictive and compelling business cases fortheir business. It now remains to discuss the capabilitiesrequired of monetization systems to actually realize thepotential of these new business and monetization models.5G Monetization systems will have to evolve to meet therequirements of the 5G ecosystem, not least in these keyareas:

Monetization-specific features and capabilities:monetization systems will need to charge customers fornew types of events like API calls, edge computingcapacity, network slicing capabilities; QoS tiers, andofferings related to network as a service

Service launch acceleration capabilities: with new virtualnetworks, operators will be able to to adopt a fail-fastmode of operations, and their monetization systems mustsupport that model with real-time configuration of newservices and features, fast and easy price planconfiguration, and be able to automatically sequencelaunch activities

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About AmdocsAmdocs is a leading software & services provider to the world’s most successful communications and media companies. Asour customers reinvent themselves, we enable their digital and network transformation through innovative solutions,delivery expertise and intelligent operations.

Amdocs and its 25,000 employees serve customers in over 85 countries. Listed on the NASDAQ Global Select Market,Amdocs had revenue of $3.9 billion in fiscal 2017. Find out more about Amdocs at www.amdocs.com.

Amdocs customers are at the forefront of 5G innovation and deployment, and as such Amdocs is there to help themeffectively launch and monetize 5G services. We have developed advanced capabilities that bridge the gap between 5Guse cases and the monetization models service providers must have in order to maximize the return on this significantinvestment. Our solution breaks down the IT/Network barrier with a full suite of 5G enabled BSS capabilities as well asour market leading Network Orchestration solution. This system enables the creation, management and monetization of allproduct configurations that are made possible by the 5G ecosystem and 5G network slicing.

We are no longer limited to monetizing voice, text and data – the next frontier is monetizing the experience!

Partner platform features: in order to maximize thepotential of their business models – particularly B2B2X –monetization systems must be open for fast, self-servicepartner onboarding, with exposed APIs for automation, andstandardized APIs for accelerating service launch

Infrastructure features: monetization systems must bevirtualized, automated, cloud-native, micro-services based,DevOps driven, and always on in order to be able to matchthe virtualized and sliced nature of the 5G network.

Intelligence: certainly not least, monetization systems mustintegrate artificial intelligence, machine learning, and bigdata analytics for greater segmentation granularity, theability to identify high value target market segments andconducting accurate business opportunity evaluations

Download - Monetizing the Next Generation Mobile Network

Assuring Quality ofService and network slicesis key in 5G networks

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An introduction to MYCOM OSI’s 5G assurancecapabilities demonstrated through TM Forum 5GCatalyst proof of concepts by Ian Meakin, GlobalHead of Marketing, MYCOM OSI

Along with headline capabilities of massive improvementsin speed, capacity and latency, a key benefit of 5G is theability to deliver dedicated and differentiated Quality ofService (QoS) to different groups of users and applicationsover the same network infrastructure, using dynamic ondemand network slicing. With use cases broadlycategorized in to eMBB (enhanced Mobile Broadband),uRLLC (ultra-Reliable and Low Latency Communications)and mMTC (massive Machine Type Communications), CSPscan monetize 5G by means of new and better digital andIoT services as well as offer differentiated QoS/SLA tiers.They can also reduce costs by reducing network capacitydimensioning overheads to meet undifferentiated QoSrequirements.

To realize these 5G benefits, assurance of QoS andnetwork slices is critical.

MYCOM OSI is a leading provider of service assurance toTier 1 CSPs including at one of the top 5 largest CSPsglobally and at the world’s first telco cloud(NFV/SDN/Cloud) network. It is at the forefront of 5Gservice assurance, has participated in three TM Forum 5GCatalysts and manages the 5G test network of the UK’s 5GInnovation Centre at the University of Surrey. It’s cloudnative Experience Assurance and Analytics™ (EAA) solutionhelps automate network and service operations today andis ready and future-proofed to help CSPs in their digitaltransformation journey to NFV/SDN and 5G. MYCOM OSIwon the 2018 TM Forum Excellence Award forOperational Transformation and Agility.

5G networks move from the lab to thereal world5G networks have taken their first steps out of trials andlabs into reality with innovative use cases demonstratedduring the winter Olympics in South Korea early in 2018and operators planning to launch some commercialservices this year.

And recently the ‘how’ of deploying and assuring dynamic,self-orchestrating 5G networks has been explored andsuccessfully demonstrated in two TM Forum 5G Catalystproof of concepts. They used the world famous Tour deFrance cycle race to demonstrate the real world benefitsand value of 5G and new technologies available, such asinnovative immersive subscriber experiences, fast andreliable connectivity for broadcasters and efficientautomated, Artificial Intelligence (AI)-driven operations forCSPs. One of the proof of concepts built on a previous TMForum Catalyst that demonstrated 5G assurance for asmart connected factory and connected cars.

CSPs can monetize 5G by means of newand better digital and IoT services as wellas offer differentiated QoS/SLA tiers. eycan also reduce costs by reducing thedegree of over-provisioning of networksto meet undifferentiated QoSrequirements. To realize these 5Gbenefits, assurance of QoS and networkslices are critical.”

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5G Proof of Concept Scenario – theTour de FranceProviding connectivity for the Tour de France – tobroadcast 6,300 hours of video to 190 countries on 100channels – is a huge challenge. The massive span and scaleof the event requires a new network to be created on eachof the 21 days of the race, as the race moves along3,535km of often hostile terrain, making traditionalplanning obsolete. With 5G technology, CSPs can deliver anew range of enriched experiences and capabilities thatexisting networks cannot offer whilst greatly simplifying thecomplex task of connecting the race to the 12 million on-the-ground spectators and millions of broadcast viewersaround the world.

The TM Forum 5G Catalyst proof of concepts ‘5GIntelligent Service Planning and Optimization’ and ‘5GIntelligent Service Operations’ demonstrated new

experiences and capabilities that have the potential to beapplied to other major sporting events and future networksin general, including:

Immersive fan experience with on demand 4K videostreaming from multiple cameras, real time 3600 VR/ARand real time rider statistics from IoT sensors for anunprecedented sports fan experience

Dynamic network planning, optimization and operation of amoving network using drones, edge computing, networkslices, closed loop automation and AI to predict cyclist,spectator and network behavior

Dynamic network slice management and closed loopassurance to guarantee quality of slice-based services,including on demand 4K video to individual subscribers,rider telemetry, IoT-provided statistics, drone-basedcameras and emergency services

MYCOM OSI Catalyst Video Demonstrations

2017:5G Service Operations -Real Time Service Assurance

2018: 5G Intelligent ServicePlanning & Optimization

2018: 5G Intelligent ServiceOperations

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Network slicing is a key 5G capability thatoffers significant business opportunitiesfor CSPs to deliver new digital and IoTservices within new business models, butthis is wholly dependent on guaranteeingthe QoS for each slice”, commentedMounir Ladki, President and CTO ofMYCOM OSI. “e challenge is how toassure QoS and SLAs whilst managing thecomplexity of highly dynamic, real time,on demand network slices and the TMForum 5G Catalysts demonstrated howwe address these challenges with ourautomated closed loop assurancesolution.”

“MYCOM OSI's contributionIn the Catalysts, MYCOM OSI’s Experience Assurance andAnalytics™ (EAA) solution provided closed loop,automated, real time assurance to guarantee QoS and SLAsfor multiple 5G network slices with different service qualityrequirements. Such slices included eMBB for broadcastervideo, subscriber video and telemetry slices and uRLLC forrider telemetry and emergency services slices. These 5Gnetwork slices were dynamically created in response torider, spectator and network behavior, either reactively orproactively through predictions based on AI/MachineLearning (ML) to anticipate demand.

MYCOM OSI demonstrated how its closed loop assuranceuses policy-based and KPI-driven automation thatintegrates AI/ML-based predictive and prescriptiveanalytics to ensure that QoS and SLAs are continuouslydelivered in dynamic 5G network slices.

The capabilities include automated root cause analysisacross all domains and from network through service,customer and device. To demonstrate simplification andspeed of integration with any ecosystem, MYCOM OSIEAA solution integrated with 5G RAN and core networks,Service Orchestrators, Domain Orchestrators and ServicePlatforms using TOSCA and TM Forum Open APIs,including TMF 628 and TMF 642.

“Network slicing is a key 5G capability that offerssignificant business opportunities for CSPs to deliver newdigital and IoT services within new business models, butthis is wholly dependent on guaranteeing the QoS for eachslice”, commented Mounir Ladki, President and CTO ofMYCOM OSI. “The challenge is how to assure QoS andSLAs whilst managing the complexity of highly dynamic,real time, on demand network slices and the TM Forum 5GCatalysts demonstrated how we address these challengeswith our automated closed loop assurance solution.”

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‘5G Intelligent Service Planning and Optimization’ CatalystThe ‘5G Intelligent Service Planning and Optimization’ Catalyst, championed by AT&T, BT, NTT, Orange, and Telecom Italia,demonstrated how a movable 5G network that enables new immersive experiences can be dynamically planned,optimized, integrated and assured during the Tour de France. It showed dynamic service creation and planning along withreactive and proactive closed loop automation in conjunction with AI to provide optimal experience. Ecosystemparticipants included Aria Networks, Ericsson, MYCOM OSI and Wipro.

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‘5G Intelligent Service Operations’ CatalystThe ‘5G Intelligent Service Operations’ Catalyst, championed by AT&T, BT, KDDI Research, NTT, Orange, Telecom Italia,Telenor and Vodafone, demonstrated how CSPs can enable new revenue streams by managing and launching 5G slice-based services, including 4K video streaming, drone-based broadcasting and IoT–provided statistics at events like the Tourde France. The catalyst showcased end-to-end slice management, dynamic service orchestration, reactive and proactiveassurance and policy management that assure SLAs and customer experience using multi-level closed loop automation.Ecosystem participants included MYCOM OSI, Netcracker, Tech Mahindra and TEOCO.

The ‘5G Intelligent Service Operations’ proof of concept built on the previous TM Forum Catalyst ‘5G Service Operations –Real Time Service Assurance’ in which MYCOM OSI participated. In this MYCOM OSI demonstrated agile closed loopautomation of operations to deliver 5G assurance, whilst continuously optimizing infrastructure utilization and meetingQoS/SLA commitments using two use cases – a connected smart factory with IoT sensors and robots and connected cars– deployed on a common 5G RAN and Core infrastructure.

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About MYCOM OSIMYCOM OSI provides award-winning Assurance, Automation & Analytics solutions that enable digital transformation ofTier-1 CSPs by helping evolve to Network Virtualization, deliver Digital/IoT services, optimize Customer Experience andautomate Digital NOC/SOCs. The cloud native Experience Assurance and Analytics™ (EAA) solution integrates DigitalService Quality Management, Performance Management, Fault Management, Automation/Orchestration and Analytics. It isavailable on private and public clouds as a subscription service, and is deployed in the word’s first end-to-end NFV/SDNtelco cloud. MYCOM OSI has 8/10 largest global CSPs as customers. Headquartered in London with 250+ staffworldwide, it has been 100% focused on telecom networks for 25+ years. Visit www.mycom-osi.com

Experience Assurance and Analytics™(EAA) solutionMYCOM OSI’s EAA solution is the industry’s first cloudnative assurance and automation solution to be deployedon private and public clouds under a subscription model atleading CSPs and provides:

• Single, integrated assurance suite that manages end-to-end network and service quality across all hybrid (virtualand physical) Telco (3G/4G RAN, Backhaul/transmission,Core, Messaging) and IT (Cloud/Datacenter/Application)network domains

• Proactive and real-time surveillance with automatedbottom-up service impact and top-down root causeanalyses

• Dynamic service on-boarding and lifecycle managementthrough catalog-driven service modelling with automateddiscovery, monitoring, visualization, alerting and analysisfor virtual and physical infrastructure components

• Unified inventory, dynamic topology with auto-discovery,and integration with streaming, real- time and non-real-time data frameworks including data lakes and KafkaUniversal Data Bus

• Closed loop assurance, with policy- and analytics-drivenauto-recovery and self-healing support integrating to

orchestration engines (Service and Domain),Inventory/Configuration Management, IT ServiceManagement

• Closed loop automated network management usingassurance data that governs the end-to-end network andcoordinates local orchestrators (virtual) and configurationmanagement (physical)

• Ecosystem and framework-agnostic interoperability toNFV, SDN, virtualization and telco cloud architectures,vendors and open source technologies (OSM, ONAP)through industry standard open APIs (such as ETSI, TMFOpen APIs and TOSCA)

• Elastic scaling, high availability and operational agility via aself-orchestrated and cloud native platform, deployableon private and public clouds, utilizing microservices,containers, industry-standard cloud technology andDevOps continuous integration and continuousdeployment.

As we enter the exciting era of 5G, there are manyopportunities and challenges to be addressed around usecases, services, business, technology and operations butQoS is central and critical to the promise of 5G andMYCOM OSI looks forward to continuing to work with itscustomers, partners and industry colleagues to bring furtherinnovation in this area.

Visit 2017 “5G Service Operations –Real time Service Assurance”

Visit 2018 “5G Intelligent ServicePlanning and Optimization”

Visit 2017 “5G Intelligent Service Operations”

Delivering on 5G andDigital Transformation

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By Edward J. Finegold,Director – Strategy,

Netcracker

Many service providers face both digital transformationand the transition from 4G to 5G simultaneously. Global-scale transformation initiatives are underway. As usecases for 5G services take shape, new requirements forBSS and OSS are becoming apparent.

Many of these new requirements apply to both digitaltransformation and 5G:

• Real time provisioning and service assurance.

• Multi-tenant, cloud-based online charging.

• Multi-domain and multi-partner enhancements to BSS.

• Highly scalable, distributed, real-time orchestration.

• Real-time QoS management with closed-loop andanalytics-driven service assurance.

• End-to-end management of hybrid virtual and physicalnetworks across access, aggregation & coreinfrastructure including 4G, 5G and fixed networks.

• Real-time network slicing and sharing across wireless andfixed infrastructure.

3 Practical Use Case ExamplesLooking closely at three practical use cases – two near term, one longer term – clarifies how these new OSS and BSSrequirements relate to commercializing and delivering new services. Common goals for both digital transformation and 5Ginclude increasing speed to market; adopting DevOps practices; gaining more zero-touch automation; and monetizing newbusiness models and partner structures.

Netcracker

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Use Case 1: Fixed Wireless Access (FWA)5G fixed wireless services can combine broadband access, fixed line features and mobility services. To support them, manyservice providers will need to gain a single customer view that cuts across fixed, mobile and wireless domains. Systems andprocesses need to recognize customers in both wireless and fixed-wireless modes. Real-time, location-aware rating andcharging are needed to measure and charge for consumption particularly to enable more on-demand, consumption-basedservices like dynamic network slices.

Hybrid service orchestration across virtual and physical networks becomes necessary as 5G rolls out and networksincorporate more NFV-enabled components and services. To achieve zero-touch automation and end to end servicemanagement, self-sufficient domain orchestration is needed. This is critical to bring network slicing to market across fixedand wireless infrastructure. Use of mobile edge computing (MEC) may also become a differentiator as well as a means toevolve to a virtualized core that can scale elastically and enable greater degrees of dynamic, end to end services on-demand.

Self Sufficient Domain Orchestration

In this short video, Ari Banerjee explains Orchestration’sevolving role

Use Case 2: Fixed-like Enterprise Services (FLES)Fixed-like enterprise services provide another practical,near term 5G use case. The basic requirements forengaging digital enterprises are common in many waysregardless of access infrastructure. Self-service accessthrough an omnichannel, digital portal for account,

customer and service management is also table stakes. Tooffer services, however, a digital marketplace is needed tobuild and sell enterprise offerings. As a strategic partner indigital transformation, Netcracker has developed a digitalmarketplace with a robust service catalog. It delivers fullycommercialized multi-partner services, leveraging theNetcracker Ecosystem 2.0 initiative, to drastically reducetime to market for business services.

5G has the potential to offer advantages to enterprises likecustom, dynamic network slicing. This important capability,however, requires dynamic QoS management; QoS-awarereal-time charging; and hybrid network and serviceorchestration across physical and virtual networks.Delivering network slicing to market is assistedsubstantially with an approach that includes a repository ofpre-defined network slice configurations; a design studio tocreate slice-based services quickly using those pre-definedassets; and zero-touch domain orchestration capability thatcan automatically instantiate those network slice offerings.

Netcracker

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5G Infrastructure-as-a-service

In this video, Sue White provides an expert discussion onhow zero-touch domain orchestration is delivered.

Use Case 3: 5G Infrastructure as a ServiceFast forward and consider a 5G infrastructure as a Serviceexample. It flips the service model inside out because itinvolves more multi-party and mulit-tenant relationshipsand introduces an entirely digital consumption model. Inthis use case, 5G infrastructure is exposed to 3rd partiesthrough APIs while slice-based wholesale offerings arepresented in a catalog. Online charging is made availablevia API to third-parties, which in turn requires a multi-tenant OCS architecture approach.

5G infrastructure as a Service also entails dynamic networkand service capabilities, but some different applications.For example, dynamic, wholesale network slicing becomespossible where offerings can be presented in a catalog andinstantiated on-demand. Slice-aware hybrid orchestrationremains a requirement as well as dynamic QoSmanagement for slice-based services, but 3rd party accessto manage infrastructure becomes necessary. In thisenvironment, real-time charging must not only be exposedfor API-based consumption, but also used to charge andcompensate 3rd party users and partners for dynamic andautomated infrastructure usage.

Netcracker

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Service Providers Take ActionFor service providers, success in adopting these new 5G-enabling capabilities often relies on experienced teams thathave delivered them and can provide the hands on servicesand knowledge involved in taking on digital transformation;service and network virtualization; the 4G to 5G transition;and both BSS and OSS transformation. There are clearexamples of successful transformations like thesehappening across the global communications industry.Netcracker is frequently selected as a strategic partner tohelp service providers deliver them with a combination ofindustry-leading solutions; seasoned and professionaldelivery teams; and world-class domain experts.

Telefonica Rolls Out New Security Services and Full StackPlatform in 12 WeeksTelefonica is among the industry’s leaders given its groupwide transformation effort that spans continents andhundreds of millions of subscribers. In one example,Telefonica Business Solutions leveraged theNEC/Netcracker Network as a Service (NaaS) platform tolaunch new enterprise services in 12 weeks. Telefonica wasable to launch a digital marketplace of fully commercializedVNF-based services and value added, cloud applications.Operations automation for hybrid virtual-physical networkenvironments was also achieved to enable end-to-endservice orchestration. And DevOps was adopted tocontinue to drive ongoing service introduction post-launch.Within roughly 3 months, Telefonica had delivered a newsecurity offering to market for enterprise customers and ispositioned to bring subsequent services to market fasterand more digitally for business customers.

Bouygues Telecom Converges Revenue Management for Mobileand Fixed ServicesReflecting the industry-wide trend towards convergence,Bouygues Telecom is working with Netcracker to convergeits revenue management capabilities across its fixed andmobile service offerings and subscriber bases. BouyguesTelecom works to provide its customers with the mostinnovative, user-friendly digital services. Rationalizing corerevenue management infrastructure provides a basis fortransforming how a service provider creates and deliversproducts, engages customers and collects revenue. It also isa precursor to enabling 5G’s fixed-mobile model.

5G Intelligent Service Operations Catalyst Delivers DynamicNetwork SlicingA recent winner of the TM Forum’s Outstanding CatalystCommunications Award, the 5G Intelligent ServiceOperations Catalyst was service provider-led, with AT&T,Orange, Telecom Italia, KDDI Research, Telenor, BT, NTTCommunications and Vodafone all involved. It focused ongenerating new revenue streams by deploying andmanaging slice-based 5G services, such as 4K videostreaming. Taking on a complex use case, the catalyst teamdemonstrated a solution example based on covering theTour de France with drones for endless camera angles andsensors for a range of rider telemetry and location data.This service example requires multiple network slices,including high-bandwidth drone broadcasting and ultra-lowlatency drone control. Using NEC/Netcracker’s advancedService Orchestration, network slices of any type could bedeployed dynamically but aged and managed with lifecycleautomation.

Etisalat Drives Cloud Transformation and Rolls Out vCPEIn the course of a substantial transformation program,Etisalat implemented NEC/Netcracker’s full-stack NaaSsolution to accelerate time to market for new services,introduce new levels of automation and advance its cloudtransformation initiative. Etisalat is the first service providerin the Middle East and Africa regions to go to market withconsumer and business vCPE offerings. Additonally,NEC/Netcracker’s NFV Orchestration solution will help toenable Etisalat’s new cloud-based network to supportservices across 5G, IoT and smart cities; scale seamlessly;and to manage dynamic network services and virtualresources.

Vodafone Adopts Automated Domain Orchestration for Zero-Touch Cloud ServicesVodafone has taken on a well-publicized cloudtransformation in which NEC/Netcracker will provideautomated domain orchestration capabilities in order toenable Vodafone to deliver zero-touch cloud services. Animportant goal is to enable dynamic, closed-loop operationsthat also leverage automated lifecycle management.Vodafone aims to reduce time to market for new servicesand is also working to streamline and automate operationalprocess across operating companies to increase serviceefficiency and flexibility.

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Delivering 5G & TransformationThe dual challenge of delivering on digital transformation and 5G requires partners who have proven approaches andsolutions across people, process and technology. As the worldwide leader in BSS, OSS and SDN/NFV, Netcracker isengaged with service providers around the globe to deliver successful digital transformations during the transition from 4Gto 5G. Please visit Netcracker’s website for third party research that assesses our solutions and to help you deliver on yourdigital and 5G initiatives.

Netcracker differentiators

About NetcrackerFor more information on Netcracker and NEC/Netcracker solutions and services, please contact us at:sales@netcracker.com

5G and Cloud: Accelerating NewGrowth Opportunities forCommunications Service Providers

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Communications service providers (CSPs) are undergoing aradical change to better meet the expectations and digitalneeds of their customers. They are fundamentally changing thecustomer experience, rethinking digital business models, andevolving their networks with 5G and Cloud technologies todeliver new digital experiences to enterprises and consumers.In the telecommunications and media sector alone, digitalservices are a $2.3 Trillion opportunity. (1)

The digital economy is blurring industry boundaries and creating disruptive business models. CSPs have moved into themedia, entertainment, automotive, finance, and energy sectors (see Figure 1). AT&T, Verizon and Bell Canada haveacquired media and entertainment companies to become major content providers. Orange has set up a 100% mobile-onlybank and O2 is offering vehicle insurance-as-a-service. Softbank is offering Internet of Things (IoT) services such as homeenergy usage monitoring, while NTT DoCoMo is delivering mobile payment, environmental, and drone services.

Oracle is working with global CSPs and enterprises today to build digital-intelligent, connected partner ecosystems acrossvertical industries and consumer segments. In the future, 5G ecosystems will bring together the mobile connectivity,service and device management, and monetization expertise of CSPs with vertical-specific devices, applications andindustry know-how of partners as shown in Table 1.

(1) Unlocking $100 Trillion for Business and Society from Digital Transformation, World Economic Forum, January 2017.

Oracle

Table 1: Intelligent, Connected PartnerEcosystems and 5G ServicesSmart CitySmart city services are connecting traffic, public safety,weather, parking, and smart cars and applying cloud-basedanalytics and Artificial Intelligence to data to become moreefficient, safe and enjoyable. These services are beingdelivered by an ecosystem of CSPs, cities, securityproviders and automotive companies. In the future,dedicated 5G network ‘slices’ will advance smart cities withreal-time uncompressed video surveillance and mobileenvironmental drones (high data rates/priority/QoS, lowlatency) as well as simpler smart-meter readings (low daterates/priority/quality of service, higher latency).

Smart HomePartnerships among CSPs, entertainment providers, utilitiesand home maintenance and appliance suppliers will enablesmart home services such as streaming events withinteractive augmented and virtual reality, and consumerrobotics that control cleaning, utility usage, outdoormaintenance, and security surveillance.

HealthcareHealthcare institutions, first responders, medical devicemanufacturers and CSPs are coming together to offerconnected health – monitoring wearables that analyze andtransmit data to health centers and first responders toimprove care. With a dedicated 5G network slice, theseservices will be delivered with high reliability/priority/QoSand low latency.

Industry AutomationManufacturers, agricultural industries, device and sensorproviders and CSPs are providing real-time connecteddevice monitoring and control on and off-site to improveoperations and security. For example, automated sensor-driven harvesters are using data-drive machine learning tooptimize crop yields based on environmental conditions.

FinanceFinancial institutions, software providers, systemsintegrators and CSPs are joining forces to provide secure,mobile, real-time currency, payments and bankingtransactions using new cloud-based Blockchain and AItechnologies.

These new business models require an innovative,integrated 5G and Cloud platform that can:

• Scale, manage, secure, analyze and monetize billions oftransactions and zettabytes of complex data generatedby digital services and content

• Manage billions of devices and machines as more peopleand ‘things’ become connected and communicate witheach other

• Leverage service based architectures and dynamicnetwork slices to meet specific application requirementsfor connectivity, security, scalability, reliability,compliance, geography, and data management

• Simplify, secure and automate network and cloudfunctions and operational processes

They also require a digital business engine that can:

• Monetize digital services and customer data using a widearray of usage, subscription, transaction, advertisingsponsorship, and network slice-as-a-service models

• Enable complex partner ecosystems with shared cloud,network and commercial infrastructure and systems

• Span future 5G services with differing quality of service(QoS), scalability and latency requirements from ultra-reliable low latency communications (URLLC) for highpriority public safety services to enhanced mobilebroadband (eMBB) for High Definition video to massivemachine-type communications (mMTC) for smart meters

• Apply new cloud-based Artificial Intelligence (AI),Machine Learning (ML), Security and Blockchaininnovations to deliver personalized customer experiencesacross all channels

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Oracle

Integrated 5G and cloud platform5G networks will be vastly different than earlier mobile network generations. Gone is the one-size-fits-all approach tonetwork infrastructure. 5G brings a service based architecture, IT-centric cloud services, and an exciting new ability topersonalize network ‘slices’ to match the specific requirements of industry vertical applications and customer segments asshown in Figure 2. This will allow CSPs to launch and evolve custom-fit network slices-as-a-service rapidly to generatenew revenue growth while lowering capital and operating costs.

Network slicing uses the principles of modern cloudarchitecture to slice a physical network into multiple,independent virtual networks that can meet service-specific requirements for network priority, latency, datarates, quality of service and other parameters. TheNetwork Slice Selection Function (NSSF) in the 5G NextGeneration Core (NGC) is required to select a slice type fora given user as well as determine the appropriate sliceinstance based on interactions with slice life cyclemanagement systems that monitor factors such as loadlevels. Oracle is developing these capabilities with flexibledeployment options to make it easier for CSPs to launchand scale specialized network slice services such as thosedescribed in Table 1 above, and bring a unique valueproposition to their partner ecosystems.

The 5G NGC’s Service Based Architecture (SBA) is basedon IT principles such as HTTP2 signaling, a statelessRepresentational State Transfer (REST) framework, and theability to decompose mobile network functions into smallerunits. SBA provides CSPs with improved service agility,network extensibility, and integration with cloudapplications. Oracle is working with standards bodies todayto address SBA challenges such as signaling and trafficmanagement, interworking, and cloud service integrationto ensure secure and reliable CSP services.

A modular 5G Policy Control Function (PCF) that can beshared across multiple network slices or deployed within aspecific slice plays a critical role by enabling network policydecisions such as network slice selection, QoS, networkaccess selection, and mobility management, as well asdevice, application, charging, and analytics-based policies.Autonomous Databases will also be critical to managestructured and unstructured data within the 5G network.

The integration of 5G and Cloud offers numerousadvantages to CSPs. For example, Oracle’s AI, ML andBlockchain cloud applications can be integrated with 5G toimprove network management and operations as well ascreate and evolve services from intelligent device data.

Cloud computing can also improve coordination betweenthe NSSF and enterprise cloud applications. It expands theNSSF’s ability to select appropriate slices, and instantiate orremove network slices based on applications and devices inuse. For example, a hospital may require a specific networkslice for remote medical procedures in an emergency. Theslice could be torn down once the emergency is resolved.

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Oracle

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Innovative monetization infrastructure for digital businessA modern service and network orchestration layer will be required for CSPs and enterprises to profitably monetize 5G andCloud services as shown in Figure 3. This layer efficiently instantiates, scales and orchestrates new network slice-basedofferings that can combine existing physical and new 5G virtual network functions.

Digital business models will be many and varied, encompassing subscription, consumption, and sponsored approaches.Some examples of future 5G service offerings include:

• Rental style “product as a service” offers: pay by distance/time/area

• Smart home packages: monthly subscription plus communications usage charges)

• Smart city packages: monthly parking subscription with a fixed amount of included hours and location information onavailable spaces, free outdoor Wi-Fi service with advertising

• Industrial automation packages: subscription plus additional communications and 3D printing utilization fees

• Enhanced mobile broadband offers: subscription plus additional charges for streaming/cloud/AR services

CSP monetization infrastructure will need to scale to support extreme levels of usage-based charging transactions acrossmultiple network slices. The 5G Charging Function supports both online and offline charging. Integrated online chargingand policy will be essential for CSPs to provide customers with a real-time experience that places them in control of theirservices and spending. 4G LTE and LTE-Advanced services are expected to co-exist alongside 5G services for many years.A scalable and efficient monetization infrastructure that can support today’s advanced non-linear data charging needs,while providing a foundation for future 5G NGC charging architectures is critical.

Oracle

Mobile virtual network operators and enterprises that donot own network infrastructure are increasingly lookingtowards public cloud-based monetization for their digitalservices. Many CSPs Oracle is engaged with are alsoviewing cloud monetization as a cost efficient, agilestrategy for new digital services. Cloud based monetizationwill form part of the broader 5G technology ecosystemthat includes AI, ML and Blockchain solutions. AI can beused to gather and analyze customer and machine data,predict what customers want, manage ‘value’ transactionssecurely, and respond quickly with personalized offers. Forexample, AI can provide real-time responses to a remotevideo camera capturing a security breach or weathersensors monitoring a storm by processing the information,seeking out patterns over time and running predictiveanalytics. AI and ML can help in customer profiling andanalyzing offer conversion rates, billing and revenue trends,

content and application usage trends and network activityto evolve services. By applying AI, ML and analytics tocustomer data, digital companies can understand whatcustomers want, why they want it, and what they may wantin the future. They can also create more personalizedcontent by recommending new plans, applying newdiscount, bundling and pricing models, and delivering newservices such as on-demand programming and fleetmanagement location services. Blockchain technology canbe used to secure and guard customer and IoT data, andoffer secure identity management services that givecustomers control over their data. Many devicemanagement services can be delivered using a Blockchain-based IoT platform such as device authorization andauthentication, secure and remote tracking, andmaintenance and repair.

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About OracleOracle is a leading provider of communications and cloud solutions that help our customers connect, monetize, andengage in innovative ways to create new digital experiences. We deliver integrated communications and cloud solutionsto service providers and enterprises to accelerate their digital journey in a communications-driven world from networkevolution to digital business to customer experience. For more information, go to www.oracle.com/communications.

ConclusionThe future belongs to service providers that can capture the trillions of dollars in digital service opportunities unleashed bythe merging of 5G and Cloud technologies. By taking advantage of 5G’s service based architecture, network slicing,monetization infrastructure and cloud integration, CSPs can engage in new partner ecosystems to deliver dynamic andintelligent digital services across multiple verticals. The integration of 5G and Cloud will deliver true Network and ITconvergence. To succeed in this new digital world, CSPs will need a partner that brings Cloud and IT expertise andinnovation to 5G, with a global track record in creating new industry vertical ecosystems and applications. For furtherinformation, visit www.oracle.com/communications.

TM Forum toolkit for 5G

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Agile & Virtualized

TM Forum Digital Maturity Model

The DMM is a ‘living’ maturity modeland set of metrics to help companiesmeasure their true digital maturity.

Members can access a guidebook aswell as an Excel spreadsheet

containing the actual model. It is alsoavailable as iOS app.

Agile OSS/BSS ToolkitThis toolkit includes a complete

blueprint for a platform for managinga multi-vendor hybrid/NFV

infrastructure, which includes openAPIs, information models, best

practices and deployment guides.

Open Digital ArchitectureDeveloped collaboratively by the

world’s largest telecom operators andtheir partners, the ODA provides a

common operations and ITmanagement ‘blueprint’. It combines

proven cloud-computing bestpractices with TM Forum’s work onzero-touch orchestration operationsand management; digital ecosystemmanagement; data analytics; AI and

Open APIs.

Open & Partner Effectively

Open APIsTM Forum offers more than 50 APIsto manage services end to end andthroughout their lifecycle in a multi-

partner environment.

Digital Trust Challenges andOpportunities Standard

This technical report outlines the keyconcepts of digital trust and identifiesthe top seven digital trust challenges.

Monetizing the Internet ofEverything Guide

This information guide describes astandardized approach and a

monetization template for new,innovative services.

Customer Centricity

Customer ExperienceImplementation Suite

This set of tools consists of aguidebook, hundreds of metrics, a

maturity model, lifecycle model, ROImodel and more than 54

implementation use cases.

Big Data Analytics SolutionSuite

This set of tools includes a big datareference model, a guidebook

containing more than 65 use casesand 1700+ pre-defined metrics.

360 Degree View of aCustomer

This guidebook offers a 360-degreeview of a customer and explains how

to put customers at the center ofconsiderations and actions.

Toolkit

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Research & Media

Digital TransformationTrackerDigital TransformationTracker 2: How to fixthe cultural divide

Digital TransformationTrackerDigitalTransformationTracker 1: e raceis on

Trend Analysis ReportAI: e time isnow

Trend Analysis Report5G: Is platform thekiller use case?

Trend Analysis ReportVision 2020:Future CSPBusiness models

Quick InsightsCustomercentricity: Creatingthe digitalexperience

Quick InsightsMicroservices:Piecing together astrategy

Quick InsightsData analytics &AI: Key to end-to-end management

ebooksPlatforms: How tojoin the revolution

ebooksTM Forum OpenAPIs: Enabling azero-integrationAPI economy

Frameworx

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Frameworx OverviewFrameworx is a suite of best practices and standards that,when adopted, enable a service-oriented, highly automatedand efficient approach to business operations. Frameworxprovides hundreds of standardized Business Metrics thatallow for benchmarking, as well as a suite of interfaces andAPIs that enable integration across systems and platforms.Frameworx also includes adoption of best practices to helpcompanies implement and use the standards andmanagement best practices to ensure ongoingconformance.

Watch an overview of Frameworx:

Frameworx has been widely adopted and proven tosignificantly improve agility in IT and operations, resultingin increased margins, lower costs and optimal customerexperience. Frameworx is created and evolved by TMForum members who participate in the Forum'sCollaboration Community.

Download latest files Get training

8 things Frameworx can do for you:

1. Reduce transformation risk by delivering a provenblueprint for agile, efficient business operations

2. Innovate and reduce time-to-market with streamlinedend-to-end service management

3. Create, deliver and manage enterprise-grade servicesacross a multi-partner ecosystem

4. Improve customer experience and retention using provenprocesses, metrics and maturity models

5. Optimize business processes to deliver highly efficient,automated operations

6. Reduce integration costs and risk through standardizedinterfaces and a common information model

7. Gain independence and confidence in your procurementchoices through conformance certification andprocurement guides

8. Gain clarity by providing a common, industry-standardlanguage

Frameworx

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Business Process Framework (eTOM)The Business Process Framework (eTOM) is acomprehensive, industry-agreed, multi-layered view of thekey business processes required to run an efficient,effective and agile digital enterprise.

Watch an overview of the Business Process Framework:

6 things you can do with the Business ProcessFramework:

1. Create a common language for use across departments,systems, external partners and suppliers, reducing costand risk of system implementation, integration andprocurement

2. Adopt a standard structure, terminology andclassification scheme for business processes to simplifyinternal operations and maximize opportunities topartner within and across industries

3. Apply disciplined and consistent business processdevelopment enterprise-wide, allowing for cross-organizational re-use

4. Understand, design, develop and manage IT applicationsin terms of business process requirements soapplications will better meet business needs

5. Create consistent and high-quality end-to-end processflows, eliminating gaps and duplications

6. Identify opportunities for cost and performanceimprovement through re-use of existing processes andsystems

Download latest files Get training

Information Framework (SID)The Information Framework (SID) provides standarddefinitions for all the information that flows through theenterprise and between service providers and theirbusiness partners.

Watch an overview of the Information Framework:

5 things you can do with Information Framework:

1. Reduce integration costs by adopting standards-basedinformation models and using them in applications andinterfaces

2. Save hundreds of design hours by starting with a matureframework and 1500 entities developed and vetted bysubject matter experts

3. Speed time to market by using well-understoodintegration interfaces based on the InformationFramework, eliminating the need for data translationbetween systems

4. Avoid wasting precious development time on debateswith your team, partners, or vendors by adopting awidely proven, industry accepted, rich and extensibleinformation model

5. Mandate conformance to the Information Frameworkand save time and money during vendor evaluation andprocurementDownload latest files Get training

Frameworx

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Application Framework (TAM)The Application Framework (TAM) provides a commonlanguage and means of identification for buyers andsuppliers across all software application areas.

Watch an overview of the Application Framework

5 things you can do with the Application Framework:

1. Streamline procurement by using common definitionsand language to specify and evaluate solutions

2. Document and then rationalize your applicationinventory during transformation projects or mergers andacquisitions

3. Integrate faster and with lower costs by defining andclearly communicating the functions provided withineach application

4. Reduce custom development costs with modular,standard application requirements

5. Increase automation and efficiency with standard,deployable components

Get trainingDownload latest files

Frameworx

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Open APIsTM Forum's 50+ REST-based Open APIs have been developed collaboratively by communications service providers (CSPs),government organizations and their partners. When used internally, the Open APIs help companies transform their IT,increase operational agility and improve customer centricity. Externally they enable end-to-end seamless connectivity,interoperability and portability across complex digital ecosystems.

To date, 28 of the world’s leading CSPs and technology suppliers have signed the Open API Manifesto publiclydemonstrating their endorsement of TM Forum’s Open APIs. CSPs that adopt the Open APIs can position them as apreferred requirement in their IT requests for proposal, and technology partners can commit to using the Open APIs inrelevant product applications. Together they can unlock many growth opportunities, including dramatically improvingbusiness and IT agility, reducing the cost and complexity of operations, and reducing integration cost, risk and time for theentire supply chain.

The Open APIs are often tested, improved and extended through TM Forum’s Catalyst Program. Catalysts are proof-of-concept projects that bring together companies large and small to create innovate solutions to common challenges,demonstrating how solutions can be achieved by leveraging key TM Forum best practices and standards. Catalyst teamswork on the projects for four to six months before demonstrating them at TM Forum’s flagship events.

Access the Open APIs Learn more

Best PracticesTM Forum members have collaborated to produce an extensive library of standards, best practices, guidebooks, technicalreports and much more covering the most important topics for companies operating in the digital economy.

We have arranged these resources into toolkits by topic. Click on the link below to access the full toolkits and download*all the available resources.

*Downloads are available to employees of TM Forum member companies only. Interested in joining as a member? Clickhere.

Access the Toolkits

Research & Media Team

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© 2018. The entire contents of this publication are protected by copyright. All rights reserved. The Forum would like to thank the sponsors and advertisers who have enabledthe publication of this fully independently researched report. The views and opinions expressed by individual authors and contributors in this publication are provided in thewriters’ personal capacities and are their sole responsibility. Their publication does not imply that they represent the views or opinions of TM Forum and must neither beregarded as constituting advice on any matter whatsoever, nor be interpreted as such. The reproduction of advertisements and sponsored features in this publication does notin any way imply endorsement by TM Forum of products or services referred to therein.

Advisors:Andy Tiller, Executive VicePresident, Collaboration &Innovation

Craig Bachmann, SeniorDirector, IoE & DigitalBusiness

Ken Dilbeck, VP,Collaborative R&D

Dave Milham, ChiefArchitect, Service ProviderEngagement

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Published by:TM Forum4 Century Drive, Parsippany, NJ 07054USAwww.tmforum.orgPhone: +1 973-944-5100Fax: +1 973-944-5110ISBN: 978-1-945220-33-3

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