TM Forum Unveils High‑Reliability Autonomous Network Package at Bangkok Masterclass — A Practical Push for Carrier Cores

Launch in Bangkok: TM Forum rolls out a high‑reliability AN package

At a Masterclass in Bangkok this week, industry group TM Forum introduced a new package of tools and guidance it calls a high‑reliability autonomous networks (AN) solution for telecom core networks. The announcement was framed as a practical step toward making next‑generation network automation both dependable and easier to weave into existing operations.

Speakers at the event said the package is not a single product from one vendor. Instead, it is a collection of blueprints, test profiles and interface definitions meant to help operators and suppliers deliver automation that meets the uptime and failover expectations of carrier cores. The move aims to reduce integration work and speed up pilots that test automation under real‑world pressure.

What TM Forum is and why reliable autonomous networks matter for core systems

TM Forum is a well‑known industry forum that brings together operators, vendors and systems integrators to agree on common standards for telecom operations. Over decades it has produced APIs, data models and test suites that many service providers use to manage networks and billing systems.

Autonomous networks (AN) are networks that use software to run tasks traditionally done by humans — things like routing traffic, fixing faults, and adapting capacity. For consumer apps, some automation can be forgiving. For a carrier’s core network, which carries phone calls, financial transactions and critical internet traffic, automation must be extremely reliable.

That level of trust means the automation must behave predictably under stress, recover fast from failures, and play well with many vendors’ equipment. That’s why TM Forum’s focus on “high‑reliability” is important: it signals an attempt to bring carrier‑grade standards to the automation toolbox.

Inside the package: building blocks, standards and the reliability goals it targets

The package is a mix of tangible and procedural elements. TM Forum laid out several components designed to be used together:

• Reference architectures that show how automation modules fit in a carrier core, from policy engines to orchestration layers.
• Open APIs and data models aligned with TM Forum’s existing catalog so systems can exchange information using agreed formats.
• Test suites and conformance profiles that simulate failures and measure system reactions, so operators can verify behavior before live deployment.
• Sample use cases and runbooks for common core scenarios such as failover, state synchronization and latency‑sensitive routing.
• Guidance on telemetry, observability and remedial automation loops so teams can detect and fix issues quickly.

Interoperability is a clear aim: the package encourages vendors to support the same APIs and test profiles so operators can mix and match equipment without rebuilding automation every time. The Masterclass emphasized measurable reliability: carriers expect automation in the core to meet carrier‑grade targets — often described in industry terms such as very high availability and rapid failover — and the TM Forum package builds tests to provoke and measure those behaviors.

TM Forum also flagged the role of AI and model‑based control, but it framed those tools as helpers rather than magic fixes. The package leans on predictable, verifiable behaviors and repeatable tests rather than opaque models that can be hard to validate in live networks.

Practical impact for operators and suppliers: easier pilots, but real integration work remains

For operators, the package promises two practical benefits. First, it should shorten the time it takes to move from proof‑of‑concept to pilot by giving clear test steps and reference designs. Second, it aims to lower the technical risk of deploying automation in sensitive parts of the network by forcing vendors to prove behavior under stress.

For vendors and systems integrators, the roadmap is both an opportunity and a challenge. Vendors that adopt the interfaces and pass the conformance tests gain a stronger pitch to carriers who want predictable outcomes. But supporting a full set of TM Forum‑aligned APIs and test profiles requires engineering work, and legacy hardware or software may not fit easily into the new patterns.

In short, the package reduces some unknowns but does not erase the hard parts of network transformation: migrating stateful core functions, reworking operational processes, and coordinating multi‑vendor upgrades.

Voices from the Masterclass and the ecosystem’s first reactions

Organizers and speakers framed the package as a pragmatic step. Michael Wang, a lead speaker at the event, stressed that the goal was to “make automation auditable and predictable” for critical network functions. He described the package as a toolkit to help operators test whether automation meets the availability and recovery levels they require.

Operators in the room welcomed the clarity. Several delegates told the Masterclass they were relieved to see focused test cases for failover and state consistency, rather than vague claims about “intelligent” automation. Vendors voiced cautious optimism: they appreciated a standard target to aim for but noted that passing conformance tests is only the start of real deployments.

Next steps, pilots and the risks to watch

TM Forum said the package will move into wider community testing and that interoperability events and pilot programs are planned over the coming months. Operators expecting quick plug‑and‑play results should temper expectations: pilots will be needed to adapt the blueprints to each carrier’s unique core setup.

Key risks remain visible. Technical hurdles include integrating with legacy systems, maintaining synchronized state across distributed functions, and ensuring security when automation can modify core routing or policies. Organizational risks matter too: teams must adjust processes and incident handoffs when software takes on tasks previously handled by people. Finally, regulatory or compliance needs in some markets could force stronger controls or audit trails than the package currently specifies.

The TM Forum package takes a measured, engineering‑first approach. It won’t make every core network autonomously flawless overnight, but it does give operators and suppliers a shared playbook to move forward. That matters: if the telecom industry is to hand critical decisions to software, it needs reliable ways to prove that the software will behave when things go wrong.

Sources

• prnewswire.com