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2021: 5G, IoT and Virtualization to Drive Demand for More Bandwidth and Digital Twins

2021: 5G, IoT and Virtualization to Drive Demand for More Bandwidth and Digital Twins Image Credit: Ryzhi/Bigstockphoto.com

COVID-19 has heightened the need for digital transformation and is accelerating its mainstream adoption to support IoT, virtualization, campus networks and the rollout of 5G. To ensure success in the aftermath of the global pandemic and remain competitive in a digital world, telecoms must increase bandwidth to support large-scale remote workforces, implement hybrid infrastructure management for greater visibility into digital infrastructure, integrate GIS capabilities to improve operational efficiency, and utilize digital twins with the proper integration framework in place for equipment planning as well as service designing and assurance.

#1: Mobile RAN Rollouts Pick Up Steam

Increasing bandwidth was already on most telecoms’ radars. The dramatic and widespread rise in remote work will intensify the push to enable stable network connections of a massively distributed workforce. Telecoms will ramp up their investments in Mobile RAN rollouts, as the volume of employees working from home offices will likely be an enduring characteristic of our “new normal”. This, coupled with new 5G network rollouts to support higher bandwidth, make the situation even more challenging.

#2: Digital Twins Go Mainstream

The next wave of network and service demands will be driven by increasing IoT deployments and 5G rollouts. A digital twin, which is a digital replication, representation, or visualization of a real-world entity, can address the increased complexity these changes will bring. IDC projects that by 2022, 40 percent of IoT platform vendors will integrate simulation platforms, systems, and capabilities to create digital twins. For telecoms, a digital twin makes it possible to model and simulate their complex networks. With this ability they can automate existing network optimization processes and increase the agility for these processes. Planning and capacity management processes are good examples.

Bernd Pruessing,
Director,
Business Line
Networks, FNT

As the network becomes more complicated due to new technologies being introduced to support demands for 5G, IoT and increasing bandwidth, the utility of a digital twin becomes more apparent. The ability to run simulations and see the impact of changes before they take effect and play with various scenarios before selecting the best one for any given situation are both game changers made possible by a digital twin. In the context of the pandemic and the changes businesses must make to adapt, the ability to properly pre-plan becomes crucial.

#3: Renewed Emphasis on Reconciliation Requirements

Particularly in the context of digital twins, reconciliation must be on point. A digital twin is a replication that is synchronized with the original. Synchronization is important because a copy only has value if it is an exact duplication. That means strict protocols must be in place to ensure the data that comprises the digital twin of the hybrid infrastructure is automatically updated when change occurs. The best way to accomplish this is with a unified data model that documents and manages all infrastructure data, regardless of where it resides in the organization. The right integration framework also plays a crucial role in reconciliation. Such a strategy includes an open architecture for inventory management that facilitates reconciling data from the multiple vendors, technologies and services that make up today’s complex hybrid environments.

#4: GIS Becomes a Consequential Cable Management Feature

GIS capability is an important enabler of easier, faster, and more reliable cable network infrastructure management. 5G requires new fiber rollouts, and bandwidth demands of business and residential customers requires FTTx rollouts. Location-based visualization and analysis of network resource data takes on critical importance for enabling both. GIS capabilities dramatically improve operational efficiency and decision-making. Integrating GIS capabilities with a comprehensive cable and outside plant management tool significantly improves a telecom’s ability to manage today’s complex, geographically dispersed, and expanding networks. The pandemic underscores the criticality of being able to easily adapt to a changing environment. Proper pre-planning, supported by all pertinent data, becomes a top priority.

#5: Hybrid Infrastructure Management (HIM) Takes Center Stage

The evolution to a hybrid digital infrastructure is a logical outcome of the evolving demands placed on today’s data centers. They are delivering more and more new services, must be increasingly flexible, and ensure greater capacity than ever before - all while operating in concert with the existing telecommunication network infrastructure. The combination of technologies employed makes for a diverse and heterogenous infrastructure. Virtualization and edge data centers are key components for the functioning of new customer services. Keeping networks operational and reliable requires evolving how they are managed. Physical and virtual assets, logical connections, and dependencies all must be managed holistically.

5G also plays an important role in the move to hybrid digital infrastructure. Data centers are an essential component, especially edge data centers, which are becoming more prevalent to support new applications that require low latency. 5G will support the uptake of edge computing, driving compute and storage closer to end users.

Author

Bernd Pruessing is the Senior Solutions Consultant at FNT Software, with 25 years of experience in the telecommunications industry and over 12 years of experience in resource management, planning, and SDN and NFV orchestration. With a strong technical background, Bernd drives new ideas to valuable products and solutions and brings them to customers and partners.

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