Assurance technology is becoming more important as 5G networks increase in number and complexity

Investment in 5G technology has become one of the main drivers of the telecoms software and services industry. This investment will be needed to support 5G services with low latency, which will require more-complex operational efficiency and network assurance. Investment will also be needed for the shift to 5G standalone (SA), which is not supported by 4G infrastructure but provides advantages over it. Benefits include lower costs because of improved efficiency and simplification, as well as the ability to support new 5G use cases, such as ultra-reliable low latency communications (URLLC). 5A SA will require more virtualised networks as well as investment in highly distributed and disaggregated cloud-native assurance solutions. Analysys Mason’s Network cloud infrastructure: worldwide forecast 2021–2026 indicates that growth in the number of SA deployments will reach USD2.7 billion by 2026 and account for 28% of all mobile core cloud infrastructure spending.