It offers capabilities for configuring network resources and managing inventory, catalogues and service assurance.

The Blueprint was developed by the service providers, vendors and other stakeholders in TM Forum’s Zero-touch Orchestration, Operations and Management (ZOOM) project, which aims to address the challenges of implementing the technology.

Nik Willetts, CEO at TM Forum, said: “As the telecoms industry rapidly transforms, it is essential that enabling technology and standards are put in place to allow existing infrastructures and systems to communicate with new and future architectures.”

Willetts said the Blueprint would provide “the practical help that TM Forum’s CSP members need to navigate what is a complex and lengthy digital transformation”.

Milind Bhagwat, Enterprise Architect at BT, a TM Forum member, said: “Operators today are faced with the massive challenge of managing hybrid infrastructure composed of virtual and physical components.

“The intent-based, catalogue-driven and policy-enabled approach for management of the hybrid infrastructure platform delivered by the Blueprint allows us to effectively automate end-to-end service provisioning and management. And as it is now well known, automation is the key that unlocks the benefits of network virtualisation.”

Last week saw TM Forum launch a manifesto presenting 10 principles for smart city projects, with the goal of creating an ecosystem of interoperable services.

Signatories include telcos such as Orange and Tele2 as well as city authorities such as Las Vegas, Dublin and Utrecht.