-
8:55 amChairman’s Opening Remarks
- Future Networks: Vision & Business Case
-
9:00 amOpening CXO Keynote PANEL: Networks of the Future: What have we achieved to date and defining the roadmap ahead
- What is the future network we are trying to achieve and what does it look like?
- 5G as a disruptor and the role of slicing and virtualisation: what are the implications for the network of the future?
- Are automation and autonomy the cornerstones for the network of the future and the future telco?
- Who are tomorrow’s customers and what are the requirements for the network of the future?
- Moving from exploration to deployment – what is the roadmap for automation and AI?
- Deployment success stories – what has worked to date and where are the major challenges and roadblocks?
-
9:45 amThe Autonomous Network: Is the promise being fulfilled?
- What does autonomy mean for networks?
- Defining the early use cases
- Business transformation: Delivering agile operations and new revenue opportunities
- Driving business automation with a customer centric, ecosystem orientated, and collaboration enabled approach
- Network automation & operations transformation:
- Driving and supporting customer facing service operations
- Delivering a simplified architecture and enablement of on-demand production
- Taking advantage of AI, big data, cloudification to provide fully automated, self-healing and self- optimizing capabilities
- Introducing intelligence into the network to build a highly autonomous smart network on demand
-
10:15 amNetwork Automation & AI: The key drivers – operational efficiency vs revenue growth
- What are the key drivers for automation?
- Validating the investment case: levels of investment and ROI
- Short term gains vs long term operational efficiency – is there a clear case?
- Capex vs opex debate: CSP need to cut opex but does the new technology (cloud based/SaaS) come with high operating costs?
- Customer experience: quantifying the benefits
- The role of 5G: Where are the real revenue opportunities and is the cost of doing business too high serving new markets?
-
10:45 amMorning Refreshments and Networking
- Unleashing the potential of 5G
-
11:15 amPanel Discussion: Intelligent operations for new 5G ecosystems: A game changer?
- How do you build intelligent operations for a 5G world?
- Can the network and IT deliver on the promise?
- Defining the pathway and timetable for an end-to-end migration path from legacy systems to modular, cloud-native IT components
- Automation and end-to-end scalability to unleash the full potential of 5G
- Ensuring flexible and efficient core networks to meet the demands and complexity of 5G
- Boosting service agility, speed/time to market and cutting operating costs: how to embed the right capabilities and technologies in the 5G proposition
-
12:00 pmThe 5G challenge: What new opportunities are there for telcos by deploying intelligent Networks?
- How do telcos monetise 5G and where do they sit in the value chain: is connectivity enough?
- Is there more to 5G than just the autonomous vehicle and more connections?
- Understanding the business case for change – what new use cases are there for intelligent network and services – moving beyond the consumer to the enterprise
- What is the priority and which industries are going to benefit first?
- Creating a platform business to open up and address new markets
-
12:30 pmThe role of assurance cloud: Transforming into a digital service provider and deploying 5G
- Realising the service innovation with scalable, agile networks that are 5G ready
- Enabling services: are operators able to compete with OTTs in the cloud services market?
- Driving agility, on-demand service delivery, operational cost efficiency and speed of innovation fit for the 5G era
- Moving to more service-oriented network operations in a 5G world: proactive and predictive
-
1:00 pmNetworking Lunch and Exhibition Visit
-
2:00 pm
Track One: Operational Efficiency
Track Two: Revenue Opportunities
-
2:00 pmPanel Discussion: Embedding automation and autonomy in telco operations to achieve real opex savings – what is the roadmap?
- How much cost can be driven out of the business and where?
- Incremental process vs big bang adoption: what is the right approach?
- Delivering instant value to the business by focusing on the quick wins
- Deploying automation projects at scale – what to do with legacy network equipment and platforms
- How do telcos keep opex costs down and is the cloud-based technology really more cost efficient
-
2:45 pmLeveraging ML and AI to optimize network operation and maintenance (O&M)
- How can AI improve network management?
- Understanding why traditional O&M methods for fault location and root cause tracing are no longer sufficient
- Examining the main challenges in network O&M
- Using AI-based machine learning and deep learning capabilities to analyse massive amounts of data and predict and prevent faults
- Using the right mix of machine learning and predictive analytics to maximize operational efficiency
-
3:15 pmAchieving closed loop service assurance through automation
- Understanding how closed loop service assurance optimises real-time service delivery
- Developing a framework for automated/policy enabled service assurance
- Implementing the closed loop at multiple levels in the network to dramatically address threats as well as performance and quality issues in the network
- Deploying closed loop service assurance through APIs, data analytics and intelligent remediation
-
3:45 pmAfternoon Refreshments and Networking
-
4:15 pmPanel Discussion: Zero Touch Operations – creating sustainable reductions in operational costs: what are the keys to success?
- The perfect scenario vs compromise: defining the roadmap for zero touch operations
- Extending automation to cover the entire lifecycle of network operations: planning, delivering, onboarding, monitoring, updating and decommissioning of services
- What role does AI play in the move to zero touch operations?
- The agile operating system: creating the right mindset and organisational structures
- Automating the service layer across hybrid networks to enable a smooth, zero-touch transition to cloud, 5G and IoT networks
- The digital twins concept and the use of avatars: the future for predictive maintenance and dealing with roadblocks?
-
5:00 pmCase Study: Applying AI to network operations
- Real-time monitoring of the network – fault prediction, detection and resolution
- Decision making in the network and control
- Positioning the smartnets: what is the architecture of AI based management systems?
- Integrating the different elements and protocols
- The data challenge: Establishing reliable, dependable data
- What if scenarios and solving problems in the future to improve customer experience
- Automated service provisioning & utilising insights on network usage and traffic for new service creation
-
2:00 pmPanel Discussion: Network Automation and AI driving growth: opportunity or hype?
Facing intense competition from over-the-top content providers, and with ever-higher service expectations from customers, operators must find ways to provide new revenue-generating services that customers will purchase.
-
2:45 pmExploring AI-enhanced SD-WAN as a managed service opportunity
- Why SD-WAN enhanced by AI is a lucrative new service opportunity in the age of IoT and AI
- Using machine learning and AI to strengthen and extend existing SD-WAN functionality and features
- What types of new applications will be possible by combining an evolved SD-WAN with AI network management?
- Finding the right partner for your SD-WAN technology
- Creating a SD-WAN as a service bundle that provides customers with integrated security, faster connectivity, optimized bandwidth and a superior user experience on critical applications
-
3:15 pm5G and Network slices to revolutionise Enterprise networks: Can we really launch and scale 5G without automation?
- Automated slice management to provide differentiated services: what is the key to monetisation?
- Use cases in gaming, health & factories
- Defining clear protocols through APIs: what is the realistic timetable?
- Leveraging the 5G potential and achieve both increased efficiencies and revenues, through differentiation and faster time-to-market
- What is the timetable for network slicing in the radio access network? How crucial is this to the network slicing business case?
-
3:45 pmAfternoon Refreshments and Networking
-
4:15 pmPanel Discussion: Edge solutions – the next phase of real growth for telcos?
- Anchoring operations on a common federated platform for telco edge solutions.
- Running best of breed service solutions and connect any device on a common (cloud) architecture
- The role of alliances, partnerships and an ecosystem that extends the utility of IT-designed solutions to the telecom domain.
-
5:00 pmUsing AI insights to monetise network data
- How intelligent network data is creating new value for operators
- Sharing insights from detailed network data with third parties
- Tailoring data solutions for specific industry verticals
- Ensuring that the data is anonymized to protect individual customers
-
-
8:55 amChairman’s Opening Remarks
- Future Networks: Technology and Strategy
-
9:00 amCxO Keynote Panel: The foundation of future networks: How do we accelerate the move to automation and autonomy?
- Moving beyond technical experimentation to deployment
- Defining the paths to acceleration: Timing, timing, timing – unlocking the key
- CSPs, vendors, industry organisations – where are the bottlenecks?
- How realistic is it to speed up deployment?
- Should CSPs still be investing in legacy equipment?
- People, culture, data and process: addressing the key issues
-
10:15 amDeploying AI-driven SON to automate 5G and virtualised networks
- Why a cognitive SON is essential for 5G and virtualised networks
- Understanding how AI and deep learning will maximise the SON’s performance, efficiency and flexibility
- Examining how to integrate AI and deep learning algorithms into your current SON
-
9:45 amThe intersection of edge computing, 5G and AI: the real growth opportunity?
- Tackling latency: Will 5G and edge computing be the cornerstone for many IoT and AI applications and devices?
- Enabling a sustainable, secure, data rich future: understanding the links between these technologies and how they can be mutually supportive
- Models for success and early use cases
- Creating the right culture and environment to integrate these new technologies into the telco DNA
-
10:45 amMorning Refreshments and Networking
- Automation and AI: Getting beyond the hype
-
11:15 amPanel Discussion: Automated AI-Enabled Networks: A competitive edge – Does the first mover win?
- Applying AI to network operations: lessons learnt from early adopters
- Translating the increased speed to insight into new innovative services
- Differentiate and innovate to gain a competitive advantage by adopting automated AI in your networks
- Ensuring future scalability by integrating AI technology into the network design process and operations
- Achieving sustainable efficiency and growth: the keys to success
-
12:00 pmKnowledge-Defined Networking (KDN): Applying machine learning (ML) to networks
- Understanding the goals of KDN
- Examining how to introduce ML into network operation and control
- Addressing maturity issues associated with using ML models in the network
- What are the consequences of using ML to control the networks?
- What are the steps involved in building a self-driving network?
-
12:30 pmIntroducing AI and SDN to create more secure and reliable future networks
- Examining how to apply ML and AI into the network platform
- Leveraging AI to monitor and manage virtual machines and applications running in SDN to proactively address potential issues
- Introducing AI functionality into the centralised SDN controller to minimise network outages and circumvent faults
- Leveraging algorithms to optimise SDN in order to predict faults and use network capacity more efficiently
- The intersection of AI and SDN to solve the data centre connectivity challenge: application deployment across multiple data centres and the cloud
-
1:00 pmNetworking Lunch and Exhibition Visit
-
2:00 pm
Track One: Ecosystem and new models of collaboration
Track Two: Service Orchestration and Customer Experience
-
2:00 pmPanel Discussion: Human factors in building the network of the future: Navigating the cultural, people & organisational challenges
- Changes in workstyle & workforce – what should the network engineers of the future look like?
- In the promised future 5G and ‘sliceable’ networks, what should network operations look like?
- Moving towards agile working: handling decision making and network operations human approval bottlenecks
- Think and behave like hyperscalers: is this the future modus operandi or an unrealistic aspiration?
-
2:45 pmAI & ML engagement models with academia: Telecom Italia case study
- The on-campus model and joint open labs: the partnership model
- Developing cutting edge innovation through smart collaboration with universities
- Collaboration for knowledge transfer: filling the gaps
- Partnering with universities to overcome the AI skills gap
-
3:15 pmSpotlight Issue: Achieving a common architecture: the holy grail or fantasy?
- How should the ecosystem collaborate to reach a common architecture for automation driven by intelligence (AI) in the network?
- How to find commonalities?
- Does the complexity today make it impossible to achieve a common architecture?
- ONAP, ETSI, TMF, ONF, MEF…. Can we align views?
-
3:45 pmAfternoon Refreshments and Networking
-
4:15 pmEcosystem Panel Discussion: Collaboration: how can we increase the pace of innovation?
- Defining collaboration: how can the industry align?
- Intelligent collaboration: New models of collaboration and engagement
- Collaborating with B2B customers to understand their needs and develop solutions alongside vendor partners
- How can the industry work together to get the AI that we need?
- Where are the bottlenecks: Standards, CSPs, Vendors?
- Open source: is this the route to more cooperation?
-
5:00 pmVendor selection & collaboration models for automation and AI: defining the roadmap
- What is the role of the vendor in today’s world?
- Defining the vendor-operator relationship for the future telco: who controls the technology roadmap?
- Single vendor vs multi-vendor, In-house vs hybrid solution: Defining the optimum model
- Driving automation internally vs partnering with vendors
- Knowledge share, sharing events: what protocols are needed?
- Exploring shared investment, risk and monetization models
-
2:00 pmPanel Discussion: How will orchestration work across all layers: transport, core, access?
- The evolution to true multi-vendor networks: the key driver for a new ops environment with automation?
- Operationalising 5G slicing: defining the orchestration needs of the vRAN
- Orchestrating virtualised core services (vIMS, vEPC): lessons learnt from the early adopters
- Enabling the co-existence of physical and virtual services and ensure efficient cross domain service lifecycle management: how to deliver true value and new capabilities
-
2:45 pmService Orchestration and assurance – evolution or revolution?
- Network Domain Orchestration: breaking down the silos between SDN, NFV and OSS to an end to end service orchestration
- Deployment models: Is open source the right approach?
- Realising the service innovation with scalable, agile networks that meet and today’s customer demands:
- Moving to a more service-oriented model of network operations
-
3:15 pmAT&T & Colt inter-operator commercial automation use case: Lifecycle Service Orchestration
- Enabling automated ordering of Ethernet connections and achieving faster provisioning times and an enhanced provisioning process
- Automating and provisioning services between separate software-defined networking (SDN) architectures
- Driving cost-efficiency, flexibility and error-free interactions
- Analysing the lessons learnt and the ROI to date
-
3:45 pmAfternoon Refreshments and Networking
-
4:15 pmPanel Discussion: Intelligent Customer Care: Turbo charge customer experience with AI: What are the keys to success?
- Surprise and delight your customers with innovation across billing, device management and retention with AI capabilities
- Augmenting analytics with AI to improve personalisation
- Utilising AI, machine learning and data analytics to prevent revenue leakage and ensure customer experience
- Future trends: What are the customer experience requirements and demands of the future and how can autonomy and AI meet them?
-
5:00 pmOptimising network performance and customer experience in converged 4G/5G networks with service assurance
- Monitoring and assurance of the “cloud native” EPC and standalone 5G core
- The evolving role of automation and AI to optimise network performance in hybrid networks: a new approach to service assurance?
- Flexible and dynamic integration and co-existence to enable customer quality of experience and service: defining the success factors for converged 4G/5G networks
-