Verizon Plans Nationwide Deployment of AI-Powered Radio Network Control Platform Within the Year

en.Wedoany.com Reported - On November 3, U.S. telecom operator Verizon and Swedish communications equipment manufacturer Ericsson expanded their radio access network automation partnership, planning to deploy the Ericsson Intelligent Controller (EIC) across Verizon's nationwide network by the end of 2026, running AI-native radio access network applications developed jointly by the two companies. In previously conducted live network deployment tests, the automated optimization application increased downlink data bearer throughput by up to 8.9% and uplink user equipment throughput by up to 8%. The two companies will continue to advance radio network automation deployment.

Verizon and Ericsson have deployed an advanced antenna system cell shaping application in live operating networks, using artificial intelligence to adjust the radio coverage patterns and network traffic distribution of massive multiple-input multiple-output (Massive MIMO) antennas. The application supports round-the-clock closed-loop optimization, continuously adjusting radio access network parameters to improve network transmission performance. The aforementioned throughput improvement figures come from specific live network deployment tests and do not represent average performance gains across the nationwide network.

Verizon has also deployed its self-developed radio network application on the Ericsson Intelligent Controller platform, automating the handover of fixed wireless access devices from 4G LTE networks to 5G standalone networks. The solution employs a cross-radio-access-technology handover mechanism in connected mode, capable of automatically handling related handover failures and reducing manual intervention.

According to the two companies' deployment plan, the Ericsson Intelligent Controller will become the operating platform for Verizon's nationwide radio access network automation applications. Verizon can use open standard interfaces to deploy self-developed applications and run them in coordination with radio network optimization software provided by Ericsson, covering both mobile communications and fixed wireless access services.

In the next phase, the two companies plan to test and deploy three additional applications, including a cell anomaly detection program, a fault root cause analysis program, and a comprehensive anomaly optimization program. These applications respectively undertake the tasks of radio cell anomaly identification, network problem cause analysis, and automated optimization, and are planned to operate alongside the already-deployed antenna optimization and network handover functions.

The Ericsson Intelligent Controller is part of the Ericsson Intelligent Automation Platform (EIAP), supporting 4G and 5G radio access networks and Ericsson core network-related management functions. The platform currently offers more than 100 radio access network automation applications, with more than 100 organizations participating in the application ecosystem. Verizon plans to use this platform to continue deploying features targeting L4-level network autonomy.