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Network Automation Agentic AI TM Forum Autonomous Networks
Reference Architecture · v1.0

Telecom Agentic Network Framework

A five-layer multi-agent architecture for autonomous network operations spanning 4G LTE and 5G NR, aligned to TM Forum Autonomous Network Levels 4→5. Each layer hosts specialized AI agents that collaborate via standardized A2A protocols, closed-loop control, and real-time data pipelines to achieve cross-domain autonomy.

TMF AN Framework eTOM B/OSS Aligned TMF OpenAPIs ETSI MANO / 3GPP
5
Architecture Layers
30+
Specialized AI Agents
4→5
AN Level Target
4G+5G
Dual-RAT Coverage

TM Forum Autonomous Network Levels

The TM Forum Autonomous Network (AN) Levels provide a standardized, industry-wide framework for measuring and guiding the evolution of network automation. By establishing a common language and set of benchmarks, the levels allow Mobile Network Operators to objectively assess their current maturity and define clear, measurable targets for their digital transformation — bridging high-level business goals such as cost reduction and improved customer experience to the technical implementation of AI-driven, self-managing networks.

0
Manual

Fully manual, tool-assisted only

1
Assisted

Monitoring with manual execution

2
Partial

Closed-loop within defined scope

Current State
3
Conditional

Autonomous in defined scenarios

4
High Autonomy

Cross-domain autonomous ops

Target State
5
Fully Autonomous

Fully autonomous, self-evolving

Five-Layer Agent Architecture

Each layer hosts autonomous agents with deep domain expertise and standardized northbound/southbound interfaces

L1 Intent & Business Orchestration Natural language intents → actionable network policies · TMF921 Intent Management
🎯
Intent Translation Agent
NL-to-Policy · TMF921

Converts business/customer intents into network-level policies and SLA objectives. Leverages LLM reasoning and telecom ontology.

NL2PolicySLA MappingTMF921
📊
Business KPI Agent
Revenue Assurance · TMF681

Monitors business KPIs (ARPU, NPS, churn risk). Triggers network adjustments to protect revenue-impacting SLAs.

ARPU WatchChurn PredictSLA Breach
🛡️
Policy & Compliance Agent
Guardrails · Regulatory

Enforces regulatory (FCC, CCPA, GDPR), safety, and change management policies. Acts as guardrail for all autonomous actions.

GuardrailFCCChange Ctrl
💬
Customer Experience Agent
CX Assurance · TMF680

Correlates network quality with customer experience scores. Proactively resolves degradations before ticket creation.

CX ScoreProactive FixTMF680
↕ Intent Decomposition / Status Escalation ↕
L2 Cross-Domain Orchestration Multi-domain coordination · Conflict Resolution · ETSI NFV MANO / 3GPP SA5
🧠
Network Orchestrator Agent
Master Orchestration · ETSI MANO

Top-level network-wide coordinator. Decomposes cross-domain tasks, manages agent lifecycle, resolves inter-domain conflicts.

NFVONode DeploymentTOSCA
🔄
E2E Slice Orchestrator
Network Slicing · 3GPP TS 28.531

Manages end-to-end network slice lifecycle (create, scale, terminate). Spans RAN, Core, Transport and Cloud domains.

NSSMFE2E SliceSLA Guard
Closed-Loop Control Agent
FCAPS · TMF724

Implements TM Forum closed-loop automation. Sense → Analyze → Decide → Execute across all domains simultaneously.

FCAPSTMF724MAPE-K
🔐
Security Orchestrator Agent
Zero Trust · ETSI NFV-SEC

Cross-domain threat coordination. Orchestrates isolation, mitigation, and recovery across RAN, Core, and IT domains.

Zero TrustSOARDDoS Mitig
↕ Domain Control APIs / Event Streams ↕
L3 Domain-Specific Agent Layer Autonomous per-domain expert agents with deep domain knowledge and closed-loop capability
📡 5G Radio Access Network (NR) Domain
📡
RAN Optimization Agent
O-RAN O1/A1/E2 · 3GPP SON

AI-driven radio resource management, beamforming optimization, inter-cell interference coordination (ICIC), and load balancing.

SON/ANRMRO/MLBO-RAN A1
🔋
RAN Energy Agent
Green RAN · 3GPP TS 28.310

Dynamic power management for base stations. Sleep mode scheduling, carrier deactivation, and renewable energy coordination.

ESSCarbon KPIESON
🌐
Slice Performance Agent
Dynamic Slicing · TS 28.552 & 28.554

Monitors the performance of each 5G network slice against SLAs ensuring proper capacity, performance, and policy optimization.

SlicingCapacitySLAs
📶
5G NR Coverage & VoNR Agent
VoNR · 3GPP TS 23.502

Continuous coverage gap detection and remediation. Tilt optimization, handover parameter tuning, NSA/SA coordination to protect voice SLAs.

CoverageHO OptimVoNR
📻 4G LTE Radio Access Network (E-UTRAN) Domain
🗼
eNB/gNB SON Agent
LTE/5G SON · 3GPP TS 36.300

Self-Organizing Network automation for LTE eNodeBs. Manages ANR, MRO, MLB, and ICIC across the E-UTRAN to optimise LTE coverage and capacity.

ANRMROICIC/eICIC
🔗
LTE–NR Coexistence Agent
NSA/DSS · 3GPP TS 37.340

Orchestrates LTE-NR dual connectivity (EN-DC) and Dynamic Spectrum Sharing. Manages anchor cell selection, SCG addition/release, and inter-RAT handovers.

EN-DCDSSInter-RAT HO
📊
LTE Capacity Agent
Carrier Aggregation · TS 36.331

Autonomously manages LTE carrier aggregation (up to 5CC), PRB utilisation, and PDCP/RLC layer optimisation to maximise throughput and user fairness.

CA 5CCPRB SchedQCI Mgmt
📍
LTE Coverage & VoLTE Agent
VoLTE QoS · 3GPP TS 23.401

Monitors LTE coverage and VoLTE call quality (MOS, CSFB rate). Drives antenna tilt, power adjustments, and IMS bearer prioritisation to protect voice SLAs.

VoLTECSFBIMS QoS
🏗️ 5G Core (5GC) & IP/MPLS Domain
⚙️
5G Core NF Agent
AMF/SMF/UPF · 3GPP TS 23.501

Manages 5G Core NF lifecycle (AMF, SMF, UPF, PCF, NRF). Auto-scaling based on UE session load and QoS demand.

UPF ScaleSMF PolicyNRF
🛤️
IP/MPLS Routing Agent
Transport · Segment Routing

Autonomous SR-MPLS path computation, traffic engineering, and protection switching. RSVP-TE/SRv6 policy management.

SR-MPLSTE/PCESRv6
🔀
Policy Control Agent
PCF/PCRF · 3GPP TS 23.503

Dynamic QoS policy enforcement per subscriber, slice, and application. Integrates with charging and CRM for real-time policy changes.

QoSGBR/MBRDPI
🧩
Cloud/NFVi Resource Agent
VNFM/NFVO · ETSI NFV

Kubernetes-native VNF/CNF lifecycle management. Auto-healing, auto-scaling of cloud infrastructure for network workloads.

K8s CaaSHelmVNF Auto-heal
🏛️ 4G Evolved Packet Core (EPC) Domain
🌀
MME Management Agent
Mobility Mgmt · 3GPP TS 23.401

Automates MME pool rebalancing, TAU/attach optimisation, and S1-AP congestion management. Handles inter-MME handover signalling and overload control.

S1-APMME PoolNAS Signalling
🚦
S/P-GW Scaling Agent
User Plane · 3GPP TS 29.274

Manages S-GW and P-GW instance scaling, bearer binding, and GTP-U tunnel load. Drives PCEF policy enforcement and online charging integration with OCS.

GTP-UPCEFGx/Gy
🔑
HSS & Subscriber Agent
HSS/HLR · 3GPP TS 29.272

Manages HSS subscriber profile synchronisation with UDM during 4G/5G interworking. Automates roaming profile updates and IMS subscriber provisioning.

S6a/CxDiameter4G/5G IWK
💲
LTE Charging & Policy Agent
PCRF/OCS · 3GPP TS 23.203

Real-time policy and charging control via PCRF. Manages QCI/ARP bearer priorities, fair-use throttling, and Diameter Gy/Ro interface with OCS for prepaid control.

PCRFDiameter RxQCI/ARP
🔧 Transport, OSS/BSS & Service Assurance Domain
🔭
Fault Management Agent
FM · TMF642 · Root Cause AI

AI-powered fault correlation across all domains. Root cause analysis, automated ticket creation, and remediation execution.

RCA/AITMF642Auto-Heal
📏
Performance Mgmt Agent
PM · TMF628 · KPI/KQI

Real-time KPI/KQI monitoring and anomaly detection. Predictive degradation alerting before SLA breach occurs.

Anomaly DetTMF628Forecast
⚗️
Configuration Mgmt Agent
CM · TMF634 · NetConf/YANG

Intent-driven configuration changes via YANG models and NETCONF/RESTCONF. Automated rollback on failure detection.

NETCONFYANGCRD
🏪
Inventory & Topology Agent
INV · TMF639/TMF685

Real-time network topology management. Physical/logical/service layer reconciliation. Digital twin synchronization.

Dig. TwinTMF685GIS Sync
🧾
Service Assurance Agent
SA · TMF653 · ITSM Bridge

End-to-end service quality monitoring bridging OSS/BSS. Correlates network events to customer service impact.

TMF653ITSMMTTR Optim
↕ Data APIs / Event Bus / Model Serving ↕
L4 Data & Analytics Agent Layer Internal + Vendor data agents · AI/ML model serving · real-time streaming · digital twin
🏢 Internally Created Data Agents (MNO-built)
🌊
Network Telemetry Agent
Streaming · Kafka/gRPC

Ingests high-volume streaming telemetry (gNMI, SNMP, syslog). Feature engineering pipeline for ML model consumption.

gNMIKafkaTSDB
🤖
ML Model Registry Agent
MLOps · MLflow / KubeFlow

Manages telecom-specific ML model lifecycle. A/B testing, model drift detection, automatic retraining triggers for RAN/Core models.

MLflowDrift DetA/B Test
🪞
Digital Twin Agent
Network Emulation · What-if

Maintains live digital twin of network topology and state. Runs what-if simulations before autonomous changes are executed.

What-if SimShadow ModeDT Sync
👤
Subscriber Data Agent
UDR/UDM · TMF632

Unified subscriber profile management. Real-time UE behaviour analytics, location clustering, and ARPU segmentation.

UDM/UDRSegmentTMF632
🗂️
Knowledge Graph Agent
Semantic · Neo4j / SPARQL

Telecom knowledge graph encoding relationships between network elements, faults, changes, and customer impact. Powers RCA agents.

GraphDBSPARQLRAG
📱
User Equipment (Device) Agent
CM · TMFC038 · Configuration

Device firmware, stability, performance, and known performance issues affecting subscriber experience.

FirmwareSpectrumTechnology
🧾
Cost Analysis Data Agent
Cost · CUSTOM · $

Automated cost analysis and implementation agent for ordering, forecasting, and investment prioritisation.

FinanceOrder MgmtForecast
Environmental Data Agent
Environment · CUSTOM · GeoSpatial

Detection and application of external environmental impacts: weather, natural disasters, pedestrian/train/vehicle traffic, special events, etc.

WeatherTrafficSpecial Events
🏭 Potential Vendor-Provided Data Agents — 3rd Party Integrations
VENDOR
RAN AI Agent
Ericsson / Nokia / Samsung
O-RAN O1A1-PE2-APxApp SDK
Network Probe Agent
Radcom / Netscout
N3E1F1N1/2
Core NF Insights Agent
Ericsson NSMF / Nokia DAC / Mavenir
3GPP MgmtSBI RESTNSI API
Transport Analytics Agent
Ciena / Nokia / Juniper
OpenConfiggNMI/gRPCTAPI
Cloud Infra Agent
VMware / RedHat / Azure / AWS
K8s APIPrometheusOpenStack
Security Intelligence Agent
Palo Alto / CrowdStrike
STIX/TAXIISIEM APISOAR
Field Ops Agent
ServiceNow / Salesforce FSM
TMF646REST APIIoT Feed
AI Foundation Agent
NVIDIA AI Enterprise
TritonNIM APIGPU Orch
OSS/BSS Platform Agent
Netcracker / Salesforce / Oracle
TMF APIsParlay-XREST/SOAP
↕ Southbound APIs / Physical Telemetry ↕
L5 Network Infrastructure Layer Physical/virtual network elements · 4G LTE + 5G NR · southbound interfaces · hardware abstraction
🗼 5G New Radio (NR) Elements
🗼
5G NR gNB
O-RAN Split 7.2x
O-DU/O-RUMassive MIMO
☁️
5G Core CNFs
Cloud-Native NFs
AMF/SMFUPF/PCF
🔌
Optical Transport
OTN/DWDM
FlexEROADM
📦
IP/MPLS Routers
SR-MPLS / SRv6
BGP-LSISIS-SR
🖥️
Edge Compute (MEC)
ETSI MEC
MEC APIUE Offload
🏢
Private Networks
Campus 5G/NPN
NPNSNPN
🛰️
NTN / LEO Satellite
3GPP R17 NTN
NTN-IoTLEO/MEO
📻 4G LTE (E-UTRAN + EPC) Elements
📻
LTE eNodeB (eNB)
E-UTRAN · TS 36.300
S1-MMEX2-AP
🌀
MME
Mobility Mgmt Entity
S1-APNAS/EMM
🚦
Serving GW (S-GW)
User Plane Anchor
S11/S1-UGTP-U
🌍
PDN GW (P-GW)
IP Anchor · PCEF
SGi/S5Gx/Gy
🔑
HSS / HLR
Subscriber Store
S6aDiameter
⚖️
PCRF
Policy & Charging Rules
GxRx/Sp
📞
IMS (VoLTE)
P/S/I-CSCF · MGCF
SIP/DiameterCx/Mw
🔗
EPC–5GC Interworking
N26 · TS 23.502
N26 IWK4G/5G HO

Agent-to-Agent Interaction Matrix

Interaction intensity between domain agents and data agents — Strong   Medium   · Weak   — None

Domain Agent ↓ / Data Agent → Telemetry ML Registry Digital Twin Subscriber Knowledge Graph RAN AI (Vendor) Core NF Insights Transport Analytics Security Intel AI Foundation
RAN Optimization Agent··
RAN Energy Agent···
Spectrum Mgmt Agent···
5G CNF Agent
IP/MPLS Routing Agent··
Fault Mgmt Agent
Config Mgmt Agent··
E2E Slice Orchestrator
Security Orchestrator
Customer Experience Agent··
SON Agent (4G/5G)··
LTE–NR Coexistence Agent··
MME Management Agent (4G)··
S/P-GW Scaling Agent (4G)··
LTE Charging & Policy Agent···

Key Data Flow Patterns

Primary interaction protocols and sequencing between domain agents and data agents

🔄 Closed-Loop Automation Flow
01

Telemetry Agent streams gNMI/SNMP metrics → Kafka topic consumed by Performance Mgmt Agent

02

ML Model Registry Agent serves anomaly detection inference → detects KPI degradation pattern

03

Digital Twin Agent simulates remediation options → scores risk before execution

04

Config Mgmt Agent applies YANG-based change via NETCONF → automated rollback if metrics worsen

🔀 Slice Lifecycle Data Flow
01

Intent Translation Agent receives enterprise SLA request → maps to slice template and QoS parameters

02

Subscriber Data Agent provides UE mobility patterns → E2E Slice Orchestrator pre-positions UPF instances

03

RAN AI Vendor Agent (O-RAN xApp) configures RAN slice QoS via A1 Policy interface in real-time

04

Service Assurance Agent monitors E2E slice KPIs → escalates to Business KPI Agent if SLA at risk

🔐 Security Threat Response Flow
01

Security Intelligence Vendor Agent publishes STIX threat indicators → enriched by Knowledge Graph Agent

02

Security Orchestrator Agent correlates signalling anomalies from 5GC NF Agent with threat feed

03

Policy Control Agent enforces PCF rule blocking suspicious UE sessions → Subscriber Data Agent updates blacklist

04

Policy & Compliance Agent validates action against regulatory guardrails before execution and logs for audit

📻 4G/5G Interworking & Handover Flow
01

LTE–NR Coexistence Agent detects candidate UE for 4G→5G handover via EN-DC measurement reports from eNB/gNB telemetry

02

MME Management Agent coordinates N26 interface signalling with 5GC NF Agent (AMF) for seamless context transfer

03

S/P-GW Scaling Agent coordinates with 5GC NF Agent (SMF/UPF) for PDU session continuity — S5/S8 to N9 user-plane switchover

04

LTE Charging & Policy Agent (PCRF) synchronises QoS policies with Policy Control Agent (PCF) to maintain bearer continuity post-handover

Interface Standards: TMF OpenAPIs O-RAN O1/A1/E2 3GPP SA5 Mgmt ETSI NFV MANO NETCONF/YANG gNMI / gRPC OpenConfig Kafka / NATS STIX/TAXII 2.1 OpenTelemetry GraphQL / REST TOSCA / Helm

AcropolisDocs · Telecom Agentic Network Framework · TM Forum AN Level 4→5 · 4G LTE + 5G NR · Multi-Agent Architecture