If the network reacts after failure, it is already too late

Commercial context

Telecom networks have evolved rapidly, but operations remain reactive. Faults are typically identified and resolved after they occur, often after customers have already experienced service disruption.

Despite the availability of large volumes of telemetry data, extracting actionable insight remains a challenge. Operators spend significant time correlating alarms and managing incidents, limiting their ability to prevent issues proactively.

This reactive model carries significant cost. Operational expenditure remains high, SLA breaches are frequent, and customer experience is impacted.

The solution

The Living Networks Catalyst introduces a new model where networks operate as intelligent systems.

The solution brings together optical telemetry, microwave link quality, radio link data, topology and power data, alongside external signals such as AIS vessel tracking, weather forecasts, and seismic alerts, into a shared intelligence layer. AI capabilities are then used to detect anomalies, predict failures, and support self-recovery across multiple network domains.

A digital twin is used to validate proposed remediation before execution on the live network, helping operators test fixes safely before traffic is affected. Orchestration and provisioning then translate those validated actions into closed-loop operational responses, supporting fast failover, service continuity, and more adaptive network behavior.

The Catalyst also builds on key TM Forum assets, contributing to Open Digital Architecture with proposed enhancements for Connectivity-as-a-Service and Autonomous Network components, supporting the MCP-T framework for federated AI, extending intent-related operational use cases, and advancing intent-driven API capabilities through TMF641 and TMF628. It also aligns with TR290, TR291 and TR292 to help implement intent-based, AI-driven closed-loop operations in multi-domain environments.

Application and wider value

The impact is significant and measurable. The project targets an 80% improvement in traffic and service resilience, a 50% reduction in operational time and expense, and a 60% reduction in time to market, helping operators move closer to AN Level 4 performance.

For operators, this means lower operational cost, fewer SLA breaches, improved customer experience, and a clearer path to resilient, programmable connectivity. For the wider industry, it creates a vendor-neutral, open blueprint that can be replicated across different markets and network environments.

For the industry, it provides a scalable blueprint for achieving higher levels of autonomy.

For society, the value is especially clear during high-impact events such as earthquakes, tsunamis, and cyclones, when essential services depend on resilient connectivity. The project also supports more energy-efficient operations, helping providers improve network performance while contributing to sustainability goals.

Industry perspectives

One of the project Champions, Shingo Horiuchi, Senior Manager at NTT, comments, “This project presents an optimal strategy to reduce costs, enhance quality of experience and increase revenue by enabling autonomous networks through intent-driven communications. It provides actionable insights that ensure resilient, optimized and energy-efficient networks in a constantly changing environment.”

Delfi Gunardy, Project Lead of Living Network Phase III & Manager of Connectivity Based Platform at Telin further stated that "Living Networks Phase III is a defining milestone in Telin's autonomous network journey. We no longer talk about what AI could do, but we proved what it does, networks that predict failures, reroute traffic before a single customer notices, and turn service delivery from weeks into minutes of intent. None of this happens in isolation. Carriers and tech partners across five continents contributing real field experience, proving that autonomous network principles work in live, multi-operator environments, brought together by this project, turned field experience into open standards that any operator can adopt. That is exactly why every TM Forum member should pay attention. This Catalyst is not a vision paper; it is a replicable, open standardsblueprint for reaching Level 4 autonomy, and the operators who move first will be the ones who turn network resilience into revenue."

Maria-Gorretti Dokubo from MTN Nigeria, Marketing Lead stated that "This project directly supports our drive to improve NPS and enhance the customer experience across the network. We have leveraged this solution on the Transport layer, providing actionable insights that enable a resilient, optimized, and SLA-governed approach to managing risks and identifying opportunities in a constantly evolving environment."

Frederic Desnoes stated that "As Orange, we were able to experience resilient autonomous networks by deploying a multi-sided open digital twin platform designed by Orange (Thing’In). It was instrumental to model the 5G network and compute resiliency metrics that can be used for Intent based management. This capability was based on research works in the European MARE 6G project let by Guillaume Fraysse and Ikram Temerichtfrom Orange.”