The Operations Support Systems Interoperability Initiative (OSSii) prepared to extend its work into the 5G domain, following backing from founders Ericsson, Huawei and Nokia.

Its aim is to enable and simplify interoperability between OSS systems, reducing integration costs and enabling shorter time-to-market for 5G networks. It will also look to maximise the use of intelligent and autonomous technology across multi-vendor deployments.

Ossi Timonen, VP of network management at Nokia, described this as a “tentative understanding” with OSSii renewed every three years, meaning a refresh was due.

A final agreement is expected later this year, once the details have been hammered out.

Ignacio Mas, head of technology strategy for Ericsson’s OSS business, said: “We fully support and are committed to the initiative that has helped service providers globally to leverage advancements in telco networks and meet the demands for optimisation across their networks.”

Lin Guixiao, president of Huawei mobile network automation solutions, said: “We believe the initiative could provide support to enable scenario-based automation, simplify the integration between intelligent 5G network and multi-vendor operator’s OSS systems.”

OSSii was initiated in May 2013 by the three tech giants. This included an agreement to cross-licence OSS interfaces in order to provide easier interoperability. It was extended in July 2016, giving it a wider technology scope.

Other participants include Cisco, ZTE, Netscout, Anite, Empirix, Viavi Solutions, Radcom and Keysight Technologies.