Partner content: As operators embrace AI-native networks, the push for greater efficiency, resilience and agility has never been stronger, yet many operators face the same old barriers
A New Era for Telecoms
The telecom industry is undergoing a profound transformation. As operators embrace AI-native networks, the push for greater efficiency, resilience and agility has never been stronger. Yet, many Communication Service Providers (CSPs) still face the same old barriers: siloed operations, fragmented data, and a reliance on reactive models that delay both innovation and customer satisfaction.
The Network Digital Twin (NDT) has emerged as a powerful solution to these challenges. More than a technical upgrade, it is a strategic enabler, providing a dynamic, near real-time replica of the network that connects data, processes and decisions. By bridging silos and enabling predictive intelligence, NDTs pave the way towards truly autonomous, zero-touch operations.
Breaking Down the Silos
Traditionally, network domains have been managed in isolation. Each area – radio access, transport, microwave, IP backbone – comes with its own tools, teams and processes. While this specialisation ensures focused expertise, it also creates blind spots. A fault in one domain can ripple across others, generating multiple alarms and misleading data. The result is duplicated efforts, long troubleshooting cycles, and delays in identifying the real root cause.
NDTs counter this fragmentation by offering end-to-end visibility across all domains. Incidents can be tracked as they propagate, with related alarms automatically correlated and tied to their root cause. This reduces confusion, cuts Mean Time to Detect (MTTD) and often enables issues to be resolved automatically.
From Data Readiness to Predictive Insights
A digital twin is only as good as the data that fuels it. Successful deployment requires strong foundations that break down silos, standardise formats, and integrate multiple data sources. The NDT leverages different storage technologies to achieve this:
- Data lakes for large-scale, unstructured datasets.
- Graph databases to map real-time topologies and relationships.
- Time-series systems to track alarms and performance trends.
- Tabular datasets for structured reporting and analytics.
- Vectorisation to handle unstructured data such as text, images and audio.
This hybrid approach ensures that the NDT reflects the complexity of modern networks while remaining cost-efficient and scalable. With these foundations in place, CSPs can build robust AI frameworks capable of supporting real-time decision-making.
Operational and Strategic Value
The benefits of NDTs extend far beyond faster troubleshooting. With unified visibility, operators can move from reactive management to predictive and prescriptive operations. Some of the key advantages include:
- Multi-domain operations: By correlating events across domains, CSPs reduce duplication by 50%, cut MTTD by 60%, and lessen reliance on domain-specific tools.
- Impact assessments: Planned interventions or unexpected faults can be analysed in near real time, reducing customer escalations by 60% and complaints by 30%.
- Multi-layer integration: By connecting physical, virtual and application layers, NDTs optimise resource usage, reduce operational costs, and improve resilience in 5G and cloud-native environments.
These gains are not just operational; they also inform smarter CAPEX decisions. By modelling “what-if” scenarios, operators can forecast capacity demands, prioritise investments, and mitigate risks before they arise.
The Role of Intelligent Agents
While the NDT provides the context, agents provide the action. These AI-driven or rule-based systems continuously monitor for anomalies, recommend adjustments, and can even execute automated responses. For example, they may reroute traffic, restart network functions, or allocate extra resources in real time.
Embedded in an intent-based operations framework, the partnership between NDTs and agents unlocks the potential for true zero-touch networks. CSPs can move from firefighting to foresight, from manual intervention to closed-loop automation.
Where to Begin
Implementing a Network Digital Twin is not a one-off project but a progressive journey. A modular approach allows CSPs to start small – focusing on data readiness and operational visibility – and scale towards full autonomy.
Trusted partners like Celfocus bring the experience needed to bridge strategy and execution. Our framework integrates data models, automation algorithms, and flexible pipelines that can harmonise diverse sources into a single, actionable environment. This ensures that operators not only gain immediate operational value but also lay the groundwork for long-term transformation.
Conclusion: A Strategic Enabler for the Future
Network Digital Twin is more than a technological enhancement. It is the backbone of AI-native telecom operations, enabling CSPs to unify fragmented systems, reduce complexity, and accelerate the path to autonomy.
By combining contextual intelligence with autonomous agents, NDTs turn situational awareness into situational response, powering networks that are predictive, resilient and efficient. For operators, the result is not only operational excellence but also strategic agility – the ability to monetise ecosystem opportunities and sustain a competitive edge in a rapidly evolving digital landscape.
The message is clear: success in the age of AI-native networks will not come from incremental fixes, but from embracing the Network Digital Twin as a catalyst for transformation.
About the author
João Miguel Antunes, Head of Autonomous Networks Offer at Celfocus
Email: joao.miguel.antunes@celfocus.com
João Antunes leads the Autonomous Networks Offer at Celfocus. Committed to the creation of data-driven solutions, Celfocus collaborates with CSPs to deliver the maximum benefits in Network, IT and Service Operations. João focuses on developing autonomous networks solutions, making synergies between advanced analytics and orchestration & automation to boost digital network transformation towards zero-touch. João has spent over 19 years designing and delivering solutions for the Telco industry, tackling different business challenges, and gathering comprehensive Telco business know-how mainly in CRM and OSS stacks
