Delivering RAN management and automation innovation through telecommunications leading open rApp ecosystem

The Ericsson Intelligent Automation Platform (EIAP) provides Service Management and Orchestration (SMO) for Open RAN and further enhances openness, network management, and automation by supporting multi-vendor and multi-technology RAN environments.

EIAP is supported by open interfaces and the industry’s leading Software Development Kit (SDK) to enable an ecosystem of developers with all the capabilities needed to innovate, build, validate, share and operate rApps.

The EIAP ecosystem comprises a developer portal, that hosts all the content to improve developers’ experience, as well as a developers support forum, test resources for development and validation of rApps.

As we approach MWC 2024 the EIAP ecosystem has expanded to include the investment and innovation of leading service providers, software, and service vendors, now comprising over 17 ecosystem members, and supporting 20 rApps delivered by 11 application developers.

Communication Service Providers (CSP) lead the way

The EIAP ecosystem focuses on delivering innovation to CSPs in the operations and management of their diverse, multi-vendor, and multi technology networks. The participation of leading CSPs such as Telstra and Vodafone as members of the ecosystem serves as a catalyst for their own rApp development activities while providing insights on priorities and focus for software and services vendors who contribute their innovation and investment to the platform.
 
Ericsson is the company leading the development of Open RAN and is collaborating with Tier1 CSPs in their network transformation and digitalization towards the path to programmable and intelligent networks of the future. EIAP is a key component to deliver industry scale, cost efficiency, sustainability and high performance.

Broad ecosystem enrichment members offer fresh perspectives and opportunities for innovation

Fostering innovation is a key objective of the ecosystem and having members such as Intel, Snowflake, and Ookla, who bring their unique capabilities and perspective greatly enhances the overall capabilities of the ecosystem.

Intel

Intel Network Builders brings more than 600 global partners and 50 Telecom operators from their ecosystem which has a focus to strengthen industry connections with enterprise end-user and AI edge computing solutions. The collaboration aims to enable a vibrant ecosystem across network & edge that encourages innovation, collaboration, and growth.

Snowflake

Snowflake is working with Ericsson to create a data-driven architecture that will unlock the ability for operators to create innovative applications using the Ericsson Intelligent Automation Platform (EIAP) ecosystem. rApp application developers will be able to gain seamless access to communications service provider's strategic and operational IT systems through the secure data sharing capability of the Snowflake Telecom Cloud. rApps will also be able to consume third-party datasets such as weather and maps to use within their application designs via the same mechanisms.

Ookla

Ookla is working with Ericsson in expanding the data-driven ecosystem to include mobile measurements and crowdsourcing data. rApp developers will be able to incorporate Ookla data and correlate with other data sources to build richer rApps with innovative use cases. Ookla will also develop innovative rApps that can help CSPs to better monitor and improve Quality of Experience.

Software and Services members of the ecosystem investing their insights and capabilities to transform RAN management and automation.

Airhop, Aspire Technologies, Booz Allen Hamilton, Fyra, GlobalLogic, HCL Software, Infovista, Tectwin, VIAVI, Wipro and Zinkworks are new additions to the membership program bringing innovative solutions across the four key management and automation domains of: Network evolution, network deployment, network optimization and network healing.

AirHop

AirHop provides a broad portfolio of AI-powered RAN automation and optimization Apps and is focused initially on three rApps with EIAP for network deployment, network optimization, and network healing:

• PCI Optimization rApp for Automated PCI collision/confusion detection and resolution
• Cell Outage Anomaly Detector rApp to automatically detect cell outages and sleeping cells with an AI/ML-based anomaly detection model
• RACh/RSI Optimization rApp for automated RSI conflict detection and resolution

NEC Aspire Technology

NEC Aspire brings two rApps to the ecosystem:

• Governance rApp automatically detects and corrects anomalies in KPIs performance using an AI/ML model. Centralizing intelligence leads to a simplified rApp development landscape benefiting the whole ecosystem.
• PCI Cell Identity Management rApp automatically detects and solves PCI conflict issues.

Booz Allen Hamilton

Booz Allen Hamilton is focused on Emission Control rApp to enable public sector networks to adjust the RF emissions based on the operating environment.

FYRA

FYRA specializes in RAN Optimizer rApp to optimize the maintenance and monitoring for 5G base stations using visualization and AI-powered anomaly detection. They present the results and solutions in an innovative chat format.

Global Logic

Are focused on two rApps under healing and optimization:

• Dynamic Cell Coverage Protection rApp protects the Long term evolution (LTE) and New Radio (NR) networks from cell outages with CM/FM agents to detect cell outages and pre-seed outage plans for each cell.
• RET Quality Assurance rApp with visualization of RET changes capabilities, possibility to add network operator rules and notification of rule violations and continues performance monitoring.

Infovista

Infovista provides a network planning rApp that is powerd by AI/ML to allow operators to automate network planning activities to scale and accelerate the 5G network rollout.

Tectwin

Tectwin focuses on the following two rApps in the network evolution domain:

• Sales Analytics rApp uses a digital twin and AI supported algorithm to drive automated sales pipeline on regional level providing a clear list of sales opportunities for regional directors based on segmentation and categorization of city areas and enriching with CRM data.
• Smart Capex rApp is used to improve the return on investment with an application that provides a concrete list of proposed network enhancements according to an optimized capital expenditure (CAPEX) study based on geolocated data and precise capacity predictions.

VIAVI

VIAVI provides a foundational geolocation rApp based on their industry-leading GDPR-compliant algorithms.

The VIAVI Geolocation application precisely and continuously geolocate calls, providing insights into UEs location, mobility, and quality metrics as perceived by subscribers.

The location information can be consumed by other applications to improve optimization decisions, such as 5G optimization or monetization use cases which requires mobile location awareness.

Wipro

Wipro looks to network optimization with three rApps:

• Traffic Steering rApp to optimize the network and UEs performance by dynamically switching the users to the most suitable radio resource or layer.
• RAN Slide SLA Assurance rApp proactively monitors RAN slices, by predicting the performance and implementing policy updates thus enhancing service availability and improving the overall customer experience.
• RAN Energy Savings rApp drives overall RAN power consumption optimization by activating and deactivating the radio resources or implementing 5G sleep mode based on traffic predictions.

Zinkworks

Zinkworks Prediction Platform provides a cutting-edge solution for prediction modelling, offering seamless integration of patented machine learning algorithms with intuitive APIs to deliver exceptional performance.
Zinkworks Prediction Platform offers three powerful rApps:

• Network Position Prediction (NPP): uses a framework to generate forecasts from positioning data, employing continuous training with MP-LSTM for predicting user movements and improving network efficiency.
• Network Traffic Prediction (NTP): is an advanced tool for predicting network traffic that considers spatial dependencies and non-linear temporal dynamics to adapt to changing network conditions.
• Quality of Service Prediction (QoS-P): is an rApp for 5G networks analysing and predicting KPIs, integrating with orchestration apps to enhance 5G technology through adaptive profiling and streamlined operations.

AI in the center for innovation of rApps

AI/ML is at the core of most of the proposed innovative applications spanning many areas, especially optimization and planning. The use of Digital Twins also supports the creation of innovative applications that assist CSPs in making smart decisions about where to invest in their networks and marketing teams in running campaigns.

Predicting the behavior of the network and its users is critical for applications to automatically address network issues and provide foundational information for creating innovative use cases for other applications. For example: User geolocation can be used in many areas like optimization, operations, marketing, analytics, and overall service assurance use cases.

RAN slicing is also gaining traction and leading to the emergence of applications supporting this area. This is driven by the increasing demand for CSPs to define RAN slices in their networks.

Overall, we see that radio network optimization is one of the main areas of automation applications, with use cases such as traffic steering, energy saving and parameters optimization like PCI. However, a whole new range of possibilities is on the way.

The road ahead

The growing interest from service providers, software and service vendors and developers themselves demonstrates the immense value of cultivating an ecosystem that encompasses diverse areas of expertise enabling innovation. This approach paves the way for groundbreaking applications and services to enter the market in the years ahead. By fostering openness and collaboration, we expand the vibrant ecosystem, enrich it with a wide array of robust applications, and enhance the developer experience. As a result, Ericsson and third-party providers (3PP) will develop a diverse and innovative, rich set of rApps, which will be introduced to the market for the benefit of customers.

The EIAP platform supported by its open ecosystem is driving industry momentum and capturing the vision of Open RAN management and automation which can transform the service and network experiences of enterprise and consumer customers.

Read more:

Ecosystem for automation applications - Ericsson

Intelligent Automation Platform - Ericsson

rApps for Intelligent Automation - Ericsson

Multivendor automation applications – rApps - Ericsson

O-RAN R1 interface for global RAN automation - Ericsson

Ericsson a leader in ORAN Alliance standardization

Explore 5G