Airtel join hands with Ericsson for intelligent, predictive network operations

Swedish gear maker Ericsson and Airtel announced their collaboration for building intelligent and predictive network operations. Leveraging on its developments in Artificial Intelligence (AI) and automation.

"Leveraging on its developments in artificial intelligence (AI) and automation, Ericsson will support Airtel to proactively address network complexity and boost user experience," Ericsson said.

"I'm delighted that we are able to innovate together with Airtel which confirms a joint commitment to our long-standing partnership where together we can showcase what is possible with AI/ML as we transform into a true data-driven operations that will deliver business benefits on a new level,"Bradley Mead, Head of Ericsson Network Managed Services, said.

For the unaware, Ericsson has been Bharti's managed service partner since 2004 and currently manages Bharti's PAN India 2G, 3G, 4G/LTE, Intelligent Network, LAN/WAN and VOLTE technologies.

Randeep Shekhon, CTO, Bharti Airtel, says: "Airtel has always been a pioneer in introducing new network technologies to serve customers. AI / ML will be key to Airtel's customer experience-centric operations management. Our partnership with Ericsson is an example of the power of real-world and collaborative innovation. With these initiatives, we would continue to maintain our network differentiation and provide superior customer experience. We look forward to taking this journey together to the next level."

Having completed proof of concept trials, Ericsson and Airtel are expanding their co-creation partnership to industrialize AI use cases, Ericsson added.

Meanwhile, Ericsson has publicly announced 5G deals with 10 named service provider customers. The company is currently rolling out 5G networks in the US, Europe, Asia, and Australia.