Spirent–Telefónica Collaboration: Validating Network Performance and SLAs
Speaker: Anil Kolipara
Telefónica has been a customer and partner of Spirent for more than two decades, and we’ve built a very successful long-term collaboration.
Telefónica recognized early on that 5G represents a major shift in network architecture. Unlike traditional networks, 5G requires integrating software and hardware components from a wide range of vendors — creating a complex, multi-vendor ecosystem. This introduces both operational and performance risks.
To address these challenges, Telefónica decided to build a CI/CD/CT (Continuous Integration, Continuous Delivery, Continuous Testing) platform in partnership with Spirent. This platform allows them to integrate Spirent’s extensive test library through a robust API framework. With this setup, Telefónica can test any service offered to enterprise customers — ensuring that each one is compliant, high-performing, resilient, and reliable.
Because changes to the network and services occur dynamically, automation is critical. By embedding testing within an automated CI/CD/CT pipeline, Telefónica can continuously validate performance and reliability as updates occur.
An important aspect of enterprise 5G services is that they typically come with tiered SLA guarantees, such as Silver, Gold, or Platinum levels. The joint solution between Telefónica and Spirent helps ensure that Telefónica consistently meets these SLA commitments. It enables proactive monitoring and issue resolution to maintain quality and reliability.
Ultimately, this collaboration serves as a blueprint for other CSPs. It demonstrates how service providers can adopt automated testing frameworks to validate network performance, reliability, and SLA compliance — effectively addressing the key challenges of operating in the new 5G era.
