Transport forms the plumbing of the network--less visible to enterprise and consumer users but essential for all the traffic and services that ride on top. Network operators understand that their automation strategies are incomplete if they do not include the transport layers, but transport automation is complex.

Heavy Reading’s Open, Automated & Programmable Transport Networks survey-based study investigates the opportunities and challenges around automation in transport, which requires an unprecedented level of vendor openness and interoperability. This white paper is based on global survey results and provides the industry’s most in-depth look at the current state and future trajectory of transport network automation. The paper includes the following topics:

• Transport automation requirements and timelines
• Priority use cases for transport automation
• Application of cloud-based delivery and ML to transport automation
• Automating the optical layers, including open optical networks and coherent pluggable optics
• Network testing and assurance for automation