At MWC Barcelona 2023 today, Google Cloud has announced a new product that aims to help communications service providers (CSPs) automate and optimize their network operations. The product, called Telecom Network Automation, is a cloud-based solution that leverages Google’s expertise in Kubernetes, artificial intelligence (AI) and open source software.

Source: Google Cloud

Telecom Network Automation is based on Nephio, an open source project that Google created and led on under the Linux Foundation. Nephio enables CSPs to use common automation templates to manage their network infrastructure and functions across multiple clouds and vendors. Nephio also uses AI-powered control loops to monitor and adjust network performance based on user-defined intents.

According to Google Cloud, Telecom Network Automation can help CSPs reduce operational costs, improve service quality and accelerate time-to-market for new services. The product can also support various use cases such as 5G radio access networks (RAN), edge computing, network slicing and private networks.

One of the early adopters of Telecom Network Automation is Bell Canada, which has used it to automate its implementation of Google Distributed Cloud Edge, a platform that delivers cloud services at the edge of the network. Bell Canada said that Telecom Network Automation has helped it simplify its network management and enhance its customer experience.

Telecom Network Automation State Diagram, Source: Google Cloud

Google Cloud said that Telecom Network Automation is part of its cloud-native network modernization offering for CSPs, which also includes Anthos for Telecom, a platform that enables CSPs to run applications anywhere using containers and microservices. Google Cloud added that it is committed to collaborating with the telecom industry and supporting open standards and interoperability.

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