PARTNER FEATURE: 5G network commercialization is just around the corner, and how to operate and maintain 5G network has become one of the focuses of the industry. Key features such as cloud native, SBA, and CUPS bring unlimited possibilities to 5G networks, and bring unprecedented challenges to O&M of 5G network. As the traditional manually passive O&M is unsustainable, automated and intelligent O&M mode becomes an inevitable choice. 5G cloud infrastructure, full software-based application system, and massive data, will be the best soil for cultivating artificial intelligence (AI) applications. The leading operators and vendors are cooperating to introduce AI to achieve automated intelligent O&M.

There are two key tasks to achieve network intelligence. One is to build the AI platform which is responsible to collect, store, analyze and process data, provide basic training data set and computing capability for training. The other is the landing of value scenarios. The AI platform is leveraged to develop practical applications in 5G network O&M, to solve the problem of highest ranking and maximum value during the O&M.

As the 5G pioneer, ZTE has a deep 5G technology accumulation, and continues to maintain high investment in the 5G field. It has launched joint innovation cooperation with some leading operators to explore intelligent O&M of 5G network. In terms of AI platform construction, ZTE provides partners with visual AI application development and training platform which is integrated with big data capability, traditional machine learning and deep learning algorithms, enabling traditional O&M engineer becoming AI application development engineer. The trained model from AI platform can be applied in match with inference engine to NF layer, control layer, operation and management layer. For the landing of value scenarios, by virtue of own rich communication network practice experience, and focusing on the fault processing scenario of 5G networks, ZTE provides a network orchestration management system pre-integrated with intelligent RCA, KPI exception inspection, intelligent log analysis and other intelligent applications to rapidly locate the fault.

ZTE’s intelligent RCA application debut at the MWC2019 and received high attentions from partners. It has the following features:

1.Based on massive training data set, the training result model gets higher reliability.

2.The training model has been proved in the existing network. According the processing result, the intelligent RCA helps to achieve automatic processing of 30% network alarms.

3.The improved ML algorithm achieves automatic mining of correlated rules and automatically updates the rule repository to continuously update O&M experience.

The intelligent O&M of 5G network is a long-term evolution process. The two key tasks are also a process of gradual improvement. The construction of AI platform requires the platform to have basic data processing capabilities and AI training capabilities. And, the accumulation of various network data access and training data sets is a long-term process.

The accumulation of data in turn will put new demands on platform capabilities, thus achieving a spiral rise. The landing of value scenarios will be gradually improved along with the commercialization of 5G network and the continuous enrichment of 5G vertical application scenarios. At the same time, the O&M team will gradually transform into an intelligent O&M team with AI application development capabilities.

ZTE is working together with partners to implement intelligent O&M to achieve autonomous closed-loop 5G network.