- AI is taking the world by storm and networks can use it for advanced digital twins
- Forward Networks has upgraded its digital twin technology with AI capabilities
- A company spokesperson told Fierce that telcos including Vodafone and Verizon are already using its digital twin tech
Forward Networks, a company that provides network digital twin technology, today announced a new capability called Forward AI.
Built on a mathematically accurate digital twin of the network, Forward AI allows IT teams and AI agents to ask complex questions, validate outcomes and safely automate workflows with confidence that they won’t create a problem within the real network.
Intelligent digital twins are digital replicas of physical or virtual networks where systems and processes mirror real-world network conditions and enable operators to simulate multiple scenarios to predict outcomes, develop new applications, and optimize performance. In doing so, digital twins provide a safe and controlled environment to test, optimize, and innovate without risking downtime.
David Erickson, CEO and co-founder of Forward Networks, said in a statement: “When we founded Forward Networks, we started with a simple but strategic question: does the network actually behave as intended, by design, in production, and across changes? Answering that question requires more than visibility. It requires a mathematically accurate model of the network itself.”
Forward Networks first created Forward Enterprise as a foundation product and now, Forward AI builds on that. “This is how AI becomes a trusted part of operating critical infrastructure,” Erickson added.
Nikhil Handigol, co-founder and chief AI officer at Forward Networks said the company’s technology is already used “by organizations running some of the largest and most complex networks in the world.”
A spokesperson for the company said that Forward Networks' customers include Boost Mobile, Verizon and Vodafone, which all use its digital twin technology.
Viavi also does digital twins
In 2025, Fierce Network Research published a report about AI-driven network testing. The vendor Viavi told Fierce for that report that its digital twin technologies are AI-powered and enable new predictive capabilities that help fortify networks. By creating a virtual model of a network in the lab, service providers can more quickly and effectively manage network behaviors and disruptions.
“At this point, we are several years into using digital twin technology to predict anomalies in both RAN scenarios or end-to-end transport scenarios,” said Per Kangru, business development and strategy officer for Viavi.