TL;DR:
- NBN Co aims to utilize AI and ML to reduce incident resolution time and enhance proactive outage recognition.
- The Enterprise Simplicity Program lays the groundwork for future AI initiatives, focusing on data consolidation.
- NBN Co’s AI/ML ambitions date back to 2018, and advancements in AI capabilities have fueled their optimism.
- Simplifying internal systems is seen as a key step to unlock AI’s full potential.
- The vision includes proactively notifying customers of network issues and using AI to detect and address degradation.
- Generative AI is envisioned to support everyday activities, such as assisting field technicians and strengthening network resilience plans.
Main AI News:
In the pursuit of enhanced network reliability, NBN Co is doubling down on its commitment to harness the power of artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML). The goal? To expedite incident resolution and bolster the company’s ability to proactively identify and address network outages. At the recent CommsDay Wholesale Congress, Executive General Manager of Technology Transformation, Jo Dutton, shared insights into NBN Co’s strategic vision.
Under the ongoing Enterprise Simplicity Program, NBN Co is laying the foundations for future AI initiatives. While much of the program remains shrouded in secrecy, a key focus is data consolidation, a critical element in fueling AI-powered advancements.
NBN Co’s aspirations in the AI/ML realm date back to 2018, when they partnered with IBM to leverage machine learning for pattern recognition and incident data correlation. Fast forward to today, and AI’s capabilities have evolved dramatically.
However, Dutton believes that the key to unlocking AI’s full potential lies in simplifying NBN Co’s internal systems. She illustrates this with a scenario familiar to many: a customer experiences an enigmatic internet connection issue. Traditionally, it involves contacting the retail service provider (RSP), which then dispatches NBN Co technicians. The result? A potentially lengthy 71.5-hour wait for resolution, equating to nearly three days of downtime.
Dutton envisions a future where AI and ML technologies transform this process. The aim is to harness unstructured network and operational data, identify patterns, predict events, and proactively notify customers of network issues before they even reach out to their RSP.
The dream doesn’t stop there. Dutton’s vision extends to deploying AI in such a way that it can detect degradation in network performance before it escalates into a full-blown problem. Coupled with virtual assistants and robotics, issues can be resolved swiftly and efficiently, often before customers even notice there is an issue in the first place.
As Dutton boldly asserts, “That is our destination.” But she doesn’t stop at incident resolution. She anticipates that generative AI will play a pivotal role in everyday operations at NBN Co. This includes aiding field technicians and fortifying network resilience plans, ushering in an era where AI is at the heart of NBN Co’s commitment to delivering a seamless and robust network experience. The future, it seems, holds great promise for NBN Co and its AI-led vision for network fault detection and remediation.
Conclusion:
NBN Co’s strategic investment in AI and ML technology represents a forward-looking approach to network fault detection and resolution. By simplifying internal systems and leveraging advanced AI capabilities, NBN Co aims to proactively address network issues, potentially revolutionizing customer experiences. This shift towards AI-powered network management underscores the growing significance of AI in the telecommunications market, with NBN Co positioning itself at the forefront of this transformative trend.
