Recent severe weather events have starkly illustrated both the reliance upon and the vulnerability of telecommunications networks, as high winds caused widespread outages across both fixed and mobile infrastructure in Ireland. Wholesale and retail Service Providers (SPs) alike faced a race against time to restore connectivity and uphold Service Level Agreements (SLAs). In this post we look at the role of network management in such high-pressure scenarios and why a robust and efficient root cause analysis (RCA) capability and process is critical to pinpoint faults, prioritize remediation, and facilitate rapid service restoration.
Why Root Cause Analysis Matters
Telecom networks are vast, multi-layered ecosystems composed of physical components (e.g., fibre cables, wireless towers) and an ever-increasing array of virtualized elements and services. An outage in one part of the network can cascade quickly, creating secondary failures. The objective of root cause analysis is to identify, ideally in a deterministic way, the precise trigger of a problem with accuracy and speed being the most important criteria. In a post-storm context, this approach is vital to allow operators to prioritise repairs where they have the greatest impact on overall service availability.
Challenges in Storm-Related Outages
When storms strike, damage can occur across multiple regions and network layers: overhead lines can snap under heavy winds, underground cables can be flooded, and power loss can cripple critical infrastructure. Meanwhile, wholesale networks which carry other operators’ traffic bring about added urgency for restoration since entire retail services may be affected by a single outage point. The challenge for operations teams lies in sifting through a deluge of alarms, incident tickets, and sometimes sensor data to locate the fault’s true root cause. Legacy network management systems often lack holistic visibility, making it difficult to map how each piece of network equipment and service is interdependent.
Leveraging Modern Network Inventory and Automation Solutions
The classical approach to network management does not work in modern environments and at Iricent we work with a core set of expert partners like Merkator, Inmanta and CIC to provide our customers with modern integrated and open platforms to support our customers operations and deployment teams.
Merkator provides platforms to integrate geospatial intelligence, physical asset data and logical network inventory allowing operators to see how the various network layers and related infrastructure are “stitched” together – a core component of the functionality required for a robust root cause analysis capability as well as detailed incident simulation.
Of course this capability is further enhanced with the availability of an orchestration solution that can automate not just the deployment of but also the restoration of both devices and services quickly without the support and risk that can sometimes come with human intervention. In delivering this capability we work closely with the team at Inmanta who are exclusively focussed on end-to-end orchestration, providing a platform to deliver a unified, model-driven approach to service delivery and restoration.
CIC’s SGRwin solution similarly provides a multi-technology network management system that consolidates network visibility onto a single interface. By unifying alarm correlation and real-time performance data, network operators can see how a single failure can manifest in multiple service disruptions across the network. Automated workflows can then be triggered for triage, routing field technicians with the right tools and instructions.
Key to all of this is the ability of these and other systems that make up the management environment to seamlessly integrate with each other using an API driven approach and in turn share information and data, often in real time, to provide an accurate representation of the network.
The Digital Twin Advantage
Another emerging approach is the implementation of digital twins—virtual replicas of a network’s physical and logical assets. By simulating different outage scenarios and analysing dependency graphs, a digital twin platform helps spot the underlying root cause of faults quickly. This “what-if” modelling also aids in post-mortem assessments and plays a critical role in network planning providing a level of insight previously unavailable.
Conclusion
In the aftermath of severe weather events, time is of the essence for wholesale and retail providers. Effective root cause analysis—backed by advanced network inventory systems, real-time analytics, and orchestration tools—drives faster trouble shooting and importantly faster resolution and reduces the likelihood of repeat incidents. Solutions from our partners in Merkator, Inmanta, and CIC SGRwin underscore the industry’s move toward integrated, automated platforms. By embracing these capabilities, telecom operators can enhance resilience against future storms, maintain critical service levels for customers, and build more reliable networks that can withstand the increasing unpredictability of today’s climate challenges. If you would like to discuss any of the above in more detail, please contact us here.