Unified Language Accelerates 5G Rollouts and Drives New IoT Business Models

Sharon Dileo of iconectiv

MEC, VNF, and 5G empower operators with unprecedented scalability, flexibility, and efficiency, unlocking fresh services and revenue opportunities.

Yet, to seize these benefits, Sharon Dileo, iconectiv’s product‑management director, stresses that operators must first adopt a precise, industry‑standard framework for identifying and managing every physical and virtual asset.

Such capabilities allow rapid provisioning, activation, billing, management, and troubleshooting of the services they deliver. Consequently, operators can launch 5G networks ahead of competitors lacking these tools, securing a clear edge.

For example, service providers now must be able to track each VNF and cloud‑native network function (CNF) in three ways:

• Physically: the portion of the VNF/CNF linked to the computing platform where the software is hosted.
• Logically: the end‑to‑end service chain for each VNF/CNF.
• Logistically: the license‑usage permissions granted by the VNF/CNF software owner for each instance in service.

In a new IDC whitepaper, Simplifying 5G Deployments by Leveraging Established Operational Tools, author Karl Whitlock noted that from a service‑assurance and SLA perspective, the physical and logical portions of a VNF/CNF must always be accounted for to maintain end‑to‑end service integrity.

The paper further highlighted that, from a business and infrastructure standpoint, detailed knowledge of the physical/logical environment is essential for revenue tracking and partner settlement whenever partner‑provided functionality is used. All VNF/CNF capabilities coexist with a hybrid assembly of existing physical network functions (PNFs) that must also be tracked and managed.

These details—and other related data—must be expressed in a common nomenclature for seamless sharing both internally and externally. An industry‑standard naming scheme simplifies interconnection information exchange between operators and supports the growing demands of the Internet of Things (IoT) ecosystem.

For instance, 5G standards include Massive Machine‑Type Communications (mMTC), enabling networks to support up to 1 million devices per square kilometre. Consequently, operators must identify potentially tens of millions of new connectivity points across all IoT customers.

Enabling private 5G networks and global footprints

Operators equipped with these capabilities become more attractive to partners such as MVNOs and CPaaS operators. For example, a provider owning networks in several European countries may seek a U.S. partner to expand into North America.

When delivering services that span a country, continent, or the globe, partners rely on multiple facilities‑based mobile operators. They favour those who can comprehensively identify and manage all physical and virtual assets, enabling rapid, region‑wide rollouts—such as an EMEA‑wide 5G‑powered connected‑vehicle service.

“To unlock the full value of 5G, we need an ecosystem of collaborators armed with granular, actionable insights into their networks. A common nomenclature is the most efficient way to pinpoint the location, capabilities, and capacity of every asset that supports IoT devices,” says Jim Brisimitzis, 5G Open Innovation Lab general partner. “This empowers providers in our ecosystem to innovate faster and share experiences more readily.”

Enterprises, too, are evolving beyond traditional customers thanks to regulatory and technological shifts that allow them to operate their own private 4G and 5G networks. A manufacturer, for instance, may build and operate private 5G networks across factories worldwide.

Like MVNOs and CPaaS operators, these enterprises must collaborate with multiple mobile service providers to guarantee continuous connectivity for employees and IoT devices.

IDC notes, “Understanding the physical and logical placement of assets is strategic to several internal operations functions—network planning, asset accounting, inventory, service orchestration, catalogue, activation, network assurance, SLAs, policy, rating, and charging. The multilayered underlay and overlay connectivity infrastructure, combined with end‑to‑end partner‑aided services, adds complexity that each business and operations domain must address.”

About the author

Sharon Dileo leads strategy, roadmap, and feature definition for TruOps Common Language, coordinating cross‑functional teams to align goals and resources for global delivery.

With over 30 years of experience in IT products and solutions across telecommunications and finance, Dileo previously served as executive director at Bell Communications Research and as vice‑president for Morgan Stanley information systems. She holds a BA in mathematics and statistics from The College of New Jersey and an MBA in finance and decision sciences from Rider University.