Nokia completes live trials of AI-powered RAN over China Mobile's 5G network

During the live trial, CMCC introduced its "i-wireless-intelligent and simplicity 5G network" concept, a series of technologies designed to create a greener, smarter, and more efficient 5G network. The near-real-time RAN Intelligent Controller (RIC) is one of these technologies which was included in the edge cloud using Nokia's AirFrame Open Edge server platform.

Finnish telecom giant Nokia today announced the successful completion of live trials of an AI-powered radio access network (RAN) over China Mobile's (CMCC) 5G network.

The companies completed AI-based real-time user equipment (UE) traffic bandwidth forecast trial in Shanghai as well as a network anomaly detection trial in Taiyuan. In Shanghai, the trial confirmed that AI-based real-time UE traffic prediction accuracy exceeded 90 percent in a live 5G network test.

During the live trial, CMCC introduced its "i-wireless-intelligent and simplicity 5G network" concept, a series of technologies designed to create a greener, smarter, and more efficient 5G network. The near-real-time RAN Intelligent Controller (RIC) is one of these technologies which was included in the edge cloud using Nokia's AirFrame Open Edge server platform.

The RIC platform enables increased network optimization capabilities through policy-guided, closed-loop automation which are fundamental to further advance the 5G RAN architecture, enabling a range of real-time data-driven network enhancements.

Further, the network anomaly detection trial conducted by Nokia, Shanxi Mobile and the China Mobile Research Institute (CMRI) examined network operation automation using CMCC's 4G/5G network across more than 10,000 cells.

With the AI/ML technology assistant, network problems were detected more accurately and automatically. The anomaly detection solution can drastically decrease the time needed to analyze issues and find the root cause, thereby helping operators to make significant cost savings of over 70 percent due to the lack of human intervention required to process issues.

"We are excited to have worked with China Mobile on this project to advance RAN network intelligence. We believe it will be a key asset in improving the wireless network efficiency and the experience of its subscribers. This is an example of Nokia's commitment to supporting our customers in the delivery of world-class network performance," said Pasi Toivanen, Head of Edge Cloud Platforms BU at Nokia.