Nov 3, 20234 min read

The Place of Digital Twin Infrastructure in Telecom

Updated: Jun 6

Forecasted to reach a valuation of $92 billion by 2028, digital twins are no longer a nice-to-have option. It is a necessity, particularly in telecommunications. Although traditionally linked with manufacturing and engineering, introducing digital twin telecom boosts network management and user experiences. To find out more details about the notion of digital twins and its impact on the industry, keep reading.

Components of digital twin infrastructure

The application of digital twins in telecom

A digital twin is a digital mirror of a tangible network designed to emulate its behaviour, explore various situations, and spot potential challenges before implementation.

In telecommunications, integrating digital twins — or virtual replicas — offers transformative solutions across various facets of the industry. Within internal telecom operations, they play a significant role in resource management, enabling the discernment of fruitful investment avenues.

Turning to the intricacies of network systems, digital twins act as a beacon of proactive intelligence. They allow comprehensive simulation of networks, creating the way for their refinement based on real-time information.

Benefits of network digital twins

Digital twins offer a clear snapshot of how the networks operate in real-time. These sophisticated models serve as preemptive tools, assisting network specialists in anticipating and averting potential equipment breakdowns. Such an approach translates to fewer interruptions and notable cost savings.

By analysing data from these virtual simulations, network glitches are promptly identified, ensuring quick resolutions and maintaining operational fluidity. Beyond troubleshooting, they also play a central role in innovation. They create a virtual testing ground, allowing for the safe trial of new network configurations or tech enhancements. This implies that organisations may experiment and fine-tune improvements in a risk-free environment before implementing them in the actual world.

Real-world examples of digital twins in telecom

A digital twin approach can change the telecom industry by offering a comprehensive, unified perspective of the entire network. This method offers accurate, up-to-the-minute information and helps quickly identify any irregularities. By doing so, telecom businesses can maintain their networks without disruption and promptly update their customers about any scheduled maintenance activities.

Nokia, for instance, has unveiled its “Nokia 5G Digital Design” idea to recreate 5G scenarios. With the help of smart machine learning tools, this setup applies the digital counterpart’s power to speedily evaluate the effects of introducing 5G and offer automated suggestions.

In the meantime, Neural Technologies has introduced a digital twin system that recognizes rising delays in network response times and identifies the affected users.

Components of telecom digital twin infrastructure

Data collection and sensors

It includes capturing comprehensive data on the physical network, like towers, cables, and hardware, real-time IoT sensor readings, measuring temperature and load, and network traffic data detailing bandwidth usage.

Data analytics and processing

The use of AI and machine learning for predictive analytics to identify network changes, potential breakdowns, and repair requirements is critical. This also includes data processing operations, collecting information and standardisation from many sources, performance evaluation to discover network operating difficulties, and simulation models to predict diverse network situations.

Visualisation and monitoring Interfaces

Essential for real-time interaction and monitoring, this component includes GUIs (Graphical User Interfaces) for displaying network status, analytics, and insights. Alert systems are there for highlighting potential problems or actions needed, and interactive tools that allow for scenario simulations and detailed examination of specific network components.

Key features and capabilities of a digital twin in telecom

Real-time monitoring and simulation

Digital twins in telecom enable continuous tracking of crucial network components such as cell towers, routers, and switches. This tracking allows for the immediate identification of any performance issues or drops.

Predictive maintenance and issue resolution

By leveraging historical and real-time data, they can predict potential failures or performance degradations, thus minimising network downtime. It enables quick identification of the root causes of network issues, facilitating faster troubleshooting and resolution.

Performance optimization and resource allocation

Digital twins analyse data traffic patterns to ensure efficient capacity allocation, lower latency, and overall network performance. These systems also support decision-making processes related to network expansion and scaling, based on a comprehensive analysis of usage forecasts and growth trends.

Implementing digital twins in telecom

7 steps and considerations for deploying digital twins

Purpose and scope. Determine digital twin use in the organisation, from monitoring a machine to optimising production. Set goals like efficiency, downtime reduction, or quality enhancement.
Business maturity. Check if the company is prepared, evaluating the infrastructure, IT, data practices, and team skills. Training or new technology investments might be necessary.
Team formation. Gather a crew of IT experts, data analysts, and engineers, ensuring clarity in their roles.
Data management. Organisations should choose the necessary data types, sourced from sensors or IoT devices, and manage the high data volume.
Digital thread. Create a framework linking data points for information flow, bridging the physical and digital realms.
The emergence. The digital twin should be built by the firm using a virtual representation of the real asset and necessary data.
Testing, validation, and deployment. Test the twin to confirm its accuracy and usefulness. Integrate it into the operational systems.

Digital twins in telecom: challenges and solutions

To deploy digital twins within the telecom industry, key challenges include:

scalability for complex, large-scale networks
providing data security and privacy
maintaining model accuracy
acquiring sufficient technical expertise

To address them, involve small pilot projects to focus on specific aspects of the network or processes, pulling in stakeholders like network engineers, IT teams, and service managers for holistic insights.

Continuous performance monitoring is essential for making timely changes, and working with technology vendors and service providers offers access to specialist solutions and support.

Summary

Digital twin in telecom marks a transformative leap forward, promising enhanced operational efficiency and cost savings, as well as opening the way for innovative, resilient, and customer-centric services. Their features are instrumental in shaping a robust, future-ready telecom infrastructure. As the sector moves towards more complex, data-driven environments, digital twins stand out as essential tools. They are a part of strategic planning and responding to dynamic market demands.