Vivo Brazil puts Ericsson’s Agentic rApp as a Service to the test

• Ericsson has unveiled an Agentic rApp-as-a-Service system 
• It has been built to run on the Amazon Web Services (AWS) cloud
• It enables network operations teams to ‘talk with the network’, Dr Dolitte style 
• Vivo Brazil, part of the Telefónica empire, is testing the system

Ericsson has taken its latest step towards enabling cloud-based, autonomous network operations with the launch of its Agentic rApp-as-a-Service, which has been built to run on the Amazon Web Services (AWS) cloud and being tested by the network operations team at Telefónica’s major Latin American unit Vivo Brazil.

The Swedish vendor has been positioning itself as a key supplier of service management and orchestration (SMO) capabilities to major mobile operators in the past couple of years, and counts the likes of AT&T, Vodafone, Telstra, Swisscom and others as early adopters of its Ericsson Intelligent Automation Platform (EIAP), which is its product name for its SMO solution. As part of its strategy, Ericsson has been building a directory, or library of RAN applications (rApps) – developed either by Ericsson or third parties such as specialist vendors or network operators – that can be used for all manner of network optimisation capabilities.  

This new launch is the latest evolution of its SMO system and its rApp strategy and targets one of the key trends in the network operator community – the AI-enabled automation of network management processes. 

The system – if it’s to be called rAppaaS, I’d love to know the correct pronunciation – offers cloud-based network operations capabilities with generative AI (GenAI) and agentic AI capabilities as part of an SMO architecture.

It’s this functionality that leads the Swedish vendor to claim that, in the style of Dr Dolittle, its new system’s natural language interface enables telco staff to “effectively talk with the network, translating natural language into instructions for the Agentic-AI-powered system”, it claims. 

The rAppaaS, hosted in the AWS Marketplace, connects to telco’s non-real time RAN intelligent controller (non-RT RIC) function within an SMO framework via the R1 interface, which is the open, standardised interface defined by the O-RAN Alliance that connects rApps to a telco’s network systems. 

“By combining Ericsson’s expertise with AWS cloud capabilities and Agentic AI capabilities, rApp aaS enables CSPs to get the benefit of rApps with increased flexibility and elasticity without heavy upfront capital investment,” noted Ericsson. 

But does rAppaaS work only with Ericsson’s non-RT RIC? Or will it work with non-RT RIC systems from other vendors? According to a spokesperson for the company, the system is “designed to be portable across non-Ericsson non-RT RICs through the use of the standardized R1 interface services and additional extensions where applicable. However, the maturity of R1 implementation across different platforms may vary,” it added as a caveat. 

All in all, the proposition appears to give Ericsson an edge in a sector that is seeking to embrace cloud- and AI-enabled automation.  

James Crawshaw, practice leader at telecom research firm Omdia, noted: “While many in the market now claim to provide rApps, only a small number have demonstrated successful, production-level deployments with ORAN-compliant interfaces. And no other vendor offers a comparable rApp-as-a-Service solution. These two aspects create a real distinction, setting this new offering apart.”

So is rAppaaS still in the works or is it ready to be used by operators?

According to the vendor, the rAppaaS capability is currently being tested by a number of mobile operators, including Vivo Brazil, the giant Latin American telco that has about 103 million connections. 

Elmo Matos, director of mobile network core and deployment at Vivo Brazil, stated: “Collaborating with Ericsson on this initiative allows us to test different applications of artificial intelligence aimed at enhancing network experience. With AWS support, we will explore the rAppaaS model and expand AI-driven functionalities, focusing on improving network capacity and automation on a national scale.”

It should be noted that Vivo Brazil’s parent company, Telefónica, is one of the operators that’s working with Ericsson on its virtual RAN (vRAN) and Open RAN strategy, which includes the use of the vendor’s SMO solution. 

Ericsson is obviously keen to crow about its development, especially with MWC26 (where the rAppaaS system will be on display) only days away. 

Jean-Christophe Laneri, head of cognitive Network Solutions, Ericsson, stated: “Our Agentic rApp as a Service represents a significant milestone in our vision for autonomous networks. By harnessing Agentic AI and AWS capabilities, we reduce operational complexity and empower CSPs to focus on delivering enhanced network experiences."  

And AWS is pretty pumped about the development too. Fabio Cerone, managing director of the hyperscaler’s EMEA telco business unit, stated: "Ericsson's launch of Agentic rApp as a Service represents a major milestone in the telecom industry, combining Ericsson's proven telecom leadership with AWS leading cloud and AI capabilities. This as-a-Service model transforms how communications service providers can consume network automation expertise on-demand through AWS. CSPs can now accelerate their journey to autonomous networks while focusing resources on delivering exceptional customer experiences. This collaboration demonstrates how AWS and industry leaders like Ericsson are transforming telecommunications through intelligent and scalable solutions."

And in an effort to help mobile operators with their network automation decision-making, Ericsson and AWS have shared a blueprint for potential telco roadmaps – see this blog for more details.  

- Ray Le Maistre, Editorial Director, TelecomTV