HPE RAN Intelligent Controller Assets Transfer to Nokia Mobile Networks

Jim Carroll

6 months ago

Nokia has signed a global licensing agreement with Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) to strengthen its AI-powered Service Management and Orchestration (SMO) and network automation portfolio. The deal transfers HPE’s RAN Intelligent Controller (RIC) technology and associated development team to Nokia Mobile Networks, effective October 1, 2025.

The integration of HPE’s RIC with Nokia’s MantaRay SMO will expand its role as a platform for AI-driven radio access network (RAN) automation, orchestration, and autonomous networking. Nokia said the enhancements will enable service providers to better manage multi-vendor RAN deployments while preparing for the transition from 5G to 6G. The MantaRay platform, already compliant with Open RAN standards and supporting the open R1 interface for rApps, is positioned as a zero-touch, AI-native automation system capable of reaching TM Forum’s Autonomous Networks Level 4.

By absorbing the HPE team and technology, Nokia aims to accelerate innovation in RAN automation and strengthen its ability to deliver AI-based orchestration across complex, multi-vendor environments. The move also positions Nokia as one of the first major vendors to consolidate RIC and SMO assets into a single automation platform for operators worldwide.

• Nokia licenses HPE’s RAN Intelligent Controller (RIC) technology

• HPE development team transfers to Nokia Mobile Networks

• Assets integrated into Nokia’s MantaRay SMO portfolio

• Enhances AI-driven RAN automation, orchestration, and multi-vendor support

• Prepares operators for evolution from 5G to 6G

“This licensing deal with HPE will further strengthen our proven MantaRay SMO portfolio by adding these assets and expertise,” said Tommi Uitto, President of Mobile Networks at Nokia. “Our customers worldwide will benefit from the enhanced capabilities of Nokia’s AI-driven automation, orchestration and open ecosystems.”

🌐 Analysis: The acquisition of HPE’s RIC assets marks another step in Nokia’s effort to consolidate automation tools under its MantaRay brand. The deal underscores the growing strategic importance of SMO platforms as operators deploy Open RAN and prepare for 6G. Rival vendors, including Ericsson and Samsung, are also investing heavily in RIC development, but Nokia’s integration of SMO and RIC capabilities into a single AI-driven framework could give it an early advantage in multi-vendor network automation.

The RAN Intelligent Controller (RIC) is a virtualized software platform defined by the O-RAN Alliance that sits between the radio access network (RAN) infrastructure and higher-level management/orchestration systems. It provides a programmable control layer for the RAN, enabling real-time optimization, automation, and integration of third-party applications.

The RIC is part of the Service Management and Orchestration (SMO) framework in Open RAN architectures, and it serves as the “brains” of RAN automation.

Two Types of RIC

Non-RT RIC (Non-Real-Time RIC):
- Operates on timescales greater than 1 second.
- Functions: Policy management, long-term optimization, training of AI/ML models, lifecycle management of applications.
- Interfaces with the SMO and other OSS/BSS systems.
- Hosts rApps (non-real-time applications) that provide guidance and optimization policies.
Near-RT RIC (Near-Real-Time RIC):
- Operates in the 10 ms – 1 s timescale.
- Functions: Dynamic radio resource management, load balancing, handover optimization, QoS control.
- Interfaces directly with distributed RAN nodes (DU/CU).
- Hosts xApps (real-time applications) that can modify RAN behavior in response to network conditions.

Key Technical Capabilities

Open APIs: RIC exposes standardized APIs (O1, A1, E2 interfaces in O-RAN) that allow operators and third parties to develop modular applications.
AI/ML Integration: Supports AI-driven decision-making, using ML models for traffic prediction, anomaly detection, and energy efficiency.
Closed-Loop Automation: Enables continuous monitoring and adjustment of RAN resources without human intervention.
Multi-Vendor Interoperability: Designed to unify control across diverse vendor RAN equipment in Open RAN deployments.

Why It Matters

RIC provides the programmable, disaggregated control plane for the RAN, similar to how SDN controllers transformed IP networking. It decouples hardware from intelligence, enabling operators to:

Deploy best-of-breed applications from different vendors.
Rapidly adapt RAN performance to traffic patterns.
Introduce new services like network slicing and URLLC with fine-grained optimization.

O-RAN RIC Architecture (Dark-mode)

Non-RT RIC in the SMO (>1s control loops) and Near-RT RIC (10 ms–1 s) with A1, E2, O1/O2 interfaces.

Operations

OSS/BSS + SMO (Service Management & Orchestration)

Policy

Analytics

Lifecycle Mgmt

Non-RT RIC

rApps (policy, optimization, model mgmt, SON, slicing)

A1 (policy, enrichment, ML model mgmt) O1 (FCAPS to O-RAN nodes) O2 (SMO ⇄ Cloud/Infra)

Timescale: > 1 s (planning, guidance, offline/online ML training, vendor-agnostic policy).

Control

Near-RT RIC

RRM

QoS

Admission/Handover

Anomaly Detection

xApps

Real-time apps for closed-loop control (10 ms–1 s)

E2 (control/measurement ⇄ CU/DU) A1 (policy from Non-RT RIC)

Executes policies and observability in near-real-time, per cell/UE/slice.

RAN Data & Control Plane

O-RAN Nodes (E2 Nodes)

CU-CP / CU-UP

Centralized Unit (control/user plane)

E2F1

Distributed Unit (MAC/RLC/RRC)

E2F1O1

Radio Unit (Low-PHY/RF)

O1Open Fronthaul

UEs

User Equipment (smartphones, FWA CPE, IoT)

Near-RT RIC steers CU/DU via E2; SMO manages nodes via O1; fronthaul connects DU⇄RU.

Signaling/Telemetry A1 Policy/ML E2 Control/Meas

Notes: Non-RT RIC resides within the SMO domain; Near-RT RIC interfaces E2 Nodes (CU/DU). O1 handles FCAPS; O2 ties SMO to cloud/infra. rApps (Non-RT), xApps (Near-RT).

See our video from MWC 25: How is AI revolutionizing radio access networks in telecommunications? Constantine Polychronopoulos, GVP, 5G and Telco Cloud from Juniper.