Service Providers are challenged with complexity and technologies coming into deployment, such as network slicing, disaggregation, and virtualization of RAN infrastructure, only add to the challenge
Here is a perspective from Santiago Rodriguez, Head of Strategic Projects, Lead of Intelligent Automation Platform, at Ericsson.
Ericsson’s Intelligent Automation Platform runs rApps
Ericsson launched its Intelligent Automation Platform and a suite of rApps as its next natural step for existing 4G and 5G radio access networks (RAN).
The Ericsson Intelligent Automation Platform is a service management and orchestration product that builds on the company’s cloud native dual-mode 5G Core and the Cloud RAN portfolio, while also supporting multivendor RANs including purpose-built and Open RANs. The solution facilitates AI and automation, which improves network performance, operational efficiency and customer experience to help create smarter networks.
Ericsson said its new platform automates the radio access network using AI and radio network applications (rApps) with different functionalities. In a similar way to an operating system that automates operations, resources and identifies improvements to be made across the network, Ericsson Intelligent Automation Platform includes a non-real-time RAN intelligent controller (Non-RT-RIC) that operates rApps. Ericsson is introducing a suite of rApps across four domains: efficient automated deployment; network healing; network evolution; and network optimization. The company is also introducing a software-development toolkit (SDK) to help operators and integrators to build their on rApps.
Jan Karlsson, Senior Vice President and Head of Business Area Digital Services, Ericsson, says: “We embrace the principle of openness and the evolution to open network architectures. Building upon our Cloud RAN offering, we are taking another major step towards building the network for the digital future with the launch of Ericsson Intelligent Automation Platform, which fundamentally enables smarter mobile networks. We look forward to providing our customers with an open platform that enables operational efficiency, enhances customer experience and drives service innovation. I am happy to hear the reactions from our customers already being positive towards our new product and we look forward to future development and innovation.”
Neil McRae, MD Architecture & Strategy, BT Group Chief Architect, says: “At BT we connect for good and continuously innovate to provide the best services for our customers. As we expand and modernize building more reliable networks in more places, managing network complexity via automation is critical to ensure our customers best quality of experience. I’m pleased to see that Ericsson is launching the Intelligent Automation Platform for automating networks, based on the O-RAN Alliance Service Management and Orchestration (SMO) concept. Ericsson’s vision to extend that SMO concept to support both Open RAN and existing 4G and 5G networks, using a single operational pane-of-glass is an innovative approach.”
https://www.ericsson.com/en/ran/intelligent-ran-automation/intelligent-automation-platform
