China Mobile and ZTE deploy the industry’s first service container level digital twin network

PRESS RELEASE: ZTE Corporation in collaboration with China Mobile’s Fujian Branch, has deployed the industry’s first service container level digital twin network throughout Fujian province with more than 10 million subscribers.

The network employs innovative technologies for driving the development in network automation and intelligence. Also, it significantly improves customer experience and reduces OPEX while enabling practice exploration and capability extension.

Leveraging ZTE’s uSmartNet Autonomous Network solution, China Mobile’s Fujian Branch and ZTE have jointly built the digital twin-based intelligent operation platform. Taking network topology as the foundation, the network uses digital twin and real-time data processing technologies to build a 5-layer system cross Service-Network-Network Element-Virtual Machine-Container. Meanwhile, the network leverages containerization to deal with NFV network structure, achieving full life-cycle network management.

By introducing various functions such as prediction analysis, cross-domain correlation and end-to-end intelligent control, the network has achieved industry’s first real-time monitoring with the smallest granularity in service container level, bringing about effective seamless connection of the 5-layer digital twin system.

In addition, the network boasts multiple capabilities such as automatic network planning, end-to-end micro service monitoring from the digital twin-based intelligent operation platform, as well as fast fault isolation and service self-healing based on NFV. That protects customers effectively from fault interference.

Since the operation of the platform, China Mobile’s Fujian Branch has achieved significant improvement, with network optimization cost reduced by 20% and O&M efficiency increased by 33%.

The successful deployment of service container level digital twin network provides solid support for China Mobile’s Fujian Branch to manage a network with tens of millions of subscribers. Also, it empowers cross-vendor, cross-domain scenarios network planning, maintenance and optimization, significantly improving autonomous network management and operation efficiency.

Moving forward, China Mobile and ZTE will continuously promote the exploration in leading technologies such as digital twins, aiming to accelerate the evolution towards highly autonomous networks, and expand the boundaries of digital economy together.