Nokia’s Innovation Lab: Pioneering AI/ML in Telecommunication Networks

The Finnish telecommunications company, Nokia, continues solidifying its commitment to artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) advancements with the recent opening of its latest facility. Located in Dubai, the scope of this new facility is vast, its primary purpose being the development and assimilation of AI/ML-based network intelligence technologies, targeting operators across the Middle East and Africa. It is envisioned that the lab will also generate business for Dell and Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE), Nokia’s cloud Radio Access Network (RAN) collaborators.

Dubbed the Open Innovation Lab, the facility will home in on three key areas. The first initiative revolves around cloud RAN; Nokia aims to collaborate with hyperscalers and relevant ecosystem partners, including Dell and HPE, to enhance their ‘anyRAN’ offering. This term covers Nokia’s attempt to ensure feature and performance consistency across cloud and conventional RAN. This alignment could allow operators and businesses to pick the network structure that best meshes with their operations.

The second project to be undertaken in the lab will revolve around private wireless and industrial networks. This development stems from Nokia’s determined effort to popularise its MX Industrial Edge (MXIE) platform. The lab offers a perfect testing ground to demonstrate new industry 4.0 use cases and spark interest among MEA enterprises.

Lastly, Nokia plans to use the lab as a springboard to quicken AI and ML adoption for network automation and optimisation. This will be accomplished through showcasing its self-organising network (SON) portfolio, MantaRay, which reportedly boosts network productivity and efficiency by undertaking self-configuration, self-healing, and self-optimisation processes.

SVP of Mobile Networks at Nokia, MEA, Mikko Lavanti, expressed his optimism, stating, “This collaboration will accelerate the adoption of new technologies in our region. We can help both operators and enterprises enhance network efficiency and performance as well as unlock new monetisation opportunities.”

This new facility provides an ideal platform for Nokia to discuss its newly introduced AVA Data Suite with operators. Running on Google Cloud, this tool aims to standardise data produced by networks, making it simple and less labour intensive for telecommunications companies to implant AI/ML systems into their networks.

Interestingly, an August report by Analysys Mason, commissioned by Nokia, highlighted a notable obstacle: legacy systems with proprietary interfaces that limit operator access to high-quality data sets, making AI integration into networks increasingly difficult.

The appeal for operators to overcome this issue is clear. An earlier survey by chip manufacturer Nvidia revealed that 73% of telecommunications respondents who have either sampled or implemented AI confessed to a boost in turnover, sometimes more than 10%. In addition, 80% of the same category stated that AI has supported their efforts to lower annual expenses. These statistics should undoubtedly serve as motivation for any telecommunications engineers venturing into Nokia’s new lab.

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