Ericsson Intensifies Focus on AI and Network APIs at Indian R&D Centers

Ericsson Enhances Focus on AI, Gen AI and Network APIs at India R&D Centers

India's R&D teams play a key role in Ericsson's 6G research and development of AI-based telecom solutions. At the ongoing India Mobile Congress 2024, Ericsson announced that it is intensifying its focus on Network APIs (Application Programming Interfaces) at its research and development centers in India. This move aims to enable industries to tap into advanced telecom capabilities, including network slicing and quality on demand, as service providers roll out 5G technologies. According to Ericsson, Network APIs allow both new and existing industry sectors to utilise the advanced capabilities of telecommunications networks. High-performing, open, programmable networks that use 5G standalone (SA) architecture provide new opportunities for service innovation and open up possibilities for performance-based business models, Ericsson said. As previously reported by TelecomTalk, Ericsson announced a joint venture with several global telecommunications service providers, including Bharti Airtel and Reliance Jio, to combine and sell APIs on a global scale, simplifying access for developers. Andres Vicente, Head of Southeast Asia, Oceania, and India at Ericsson, said, "We are stepping up the work on AI, Gen AI and Network APIs at our R&D Centers in India. The synergy of high-performance and programmable networks, combined with network APIs and a vibrant ecosystem of developers, will create a powerful network effect of growth and innovation. And this represents a big opportunity for India with its thriving developer and startup ecosystem." The R&D teams will focus on developing programmable/API capabilities to support simplified and secure network interfaces and advanced use cases, including Device Management, Security, and Fraud Detection. Ericsson also said its engineering teams at R&D sites in Chennai, Bengaluru, and Gurugram work across telecom domains such as Transport, Packet Core, OSS, BSS, Cloud, and advanced AI technologies. "The Ericsson 6G Research teams in India are working on several advanced technologies like Intent-based autonomous telecom networks, Trustworthy AI, Sustainable AI, and Advanced Generative AI capabilities," Ericsson said, noting that it is partnering with premier institutes in India for research on Radio, AI, and Cloud technologies. Integrating AI into Offerings Discussing Artificial Intelligence, Ericsson highlighted that it has integrated AI into its product and service offerings, successfully implementing AI solutions in customer networks to address challenges in network planning, deployment, and operations. Using Generative AI, Ericsson said it has developed intelligent assistants that enable engineers to engage in natural language conversations with the network while extracting key insights from multiple data sources. This has significantly shortened the time required for tasks such as network monitoring and troubleshooting. The company has achieved this by integrating AI capabilities into its offerings, including its in-house Generative AI platform, Ericsson Language Intelligence (ELI), which consists of a suite of large language models optimised for telecom use cases. The India R&D Centre is significantly involved in the development of the internal ELI platform, including the 'GenAI-driven Network Autonomy' demo being showcased at the IMC, according to Ericsson. Also Read: Telecom Sector Can Develop Energy-Efficient Networks Using AI, Says Ericsson CTO: Report The company further noted that AI and Generative AI can be leveraged in telecom networks to make them more intelligent and energy-efficient. The brain-inspired AI demo shows how it is possible to significantly reduce AI compute energy consumption in future 6G networks. Ericsson has partnered with Bharti Airtel and Jio for their 5G rollout and most recently announced its 4G and 5G RAN contract with Vi. "We look forward to helping Vi seamlessly introduce 5G and in supporting Airtel in its transition to a full-scale 5G Standalone network," added Andres Vicente. What Are APIs? APIs (Application Programming Interfaces) are sets of rules and protocols that allow different software applications to communicate with each other. Think of them as bridges or messengers that let one app request and retrieve data or functionality from another app or service. For example, if a weather app wants to display current weather conditions, it can use an API from a weather service to get that information. The API provides specific instructions on how to make the request and what kind of data will be returned. This weather information is then showcased to the user by the app.

Ericsson steps up focus on R&D in India

Hires engineers to work on Network APIs at its India R&D centersShowcases innovative demos on AI, Gen AI and Robotics at the Ericsson booth Ericsson (NASDAQ: ERIC) today announced that it is stepping up its focus on Network APIs at its India R&D Centers. Network APIs allow new and existing industry sectors to utilize the advanced capabilities of telecommunications networks. Today even as service providers are delivering the benefits of 5G to consumers and enterprises, they have an opportunity to transform the network into a platform for innovation by making advanced 5G network capabilities available to the global developer community through open network application programming interfaces (APIs). For example, capabilities such as quality on demand and network slicing can be made available through programmatic interfaces. High-performing, open, programmable networks that utilize 5G standalone (SA) architecture provide new opportunities for service innovation and open up possibilities for performance-based business models. In this regard, Ericsson recently announced a new venture with some of the world's leading Service providers, including Bharti Airtel and Reliance Jio, to combine and sell APIs on a global scale to spur innovation in digital services. Network APIs are the way to easily access, use and pay for network capabilities. The venture will drive implementation and access to common APIs from multiple telecom service providers to a broader ecosystem of developer platforms. Andres Vicente, Head of Southeast Asia, Oceania and India, Ericsson says," We are stepping up the work on AI, Gen AI and Network APIs at our R&D Centers in India. The synergy of high-performance and programmable networks, combined with network APIs and a vibrant ecosystem of developers, will create a powerful network effect of growth and innovation. And this represents a big opportunity for India with its thriving developer and startup ecosystem." The R&D teams will work on developing programmable/API capabilities to support simplified and secure network interfaces, and advanced use cases, including Device Management, Security, and Fraud Detection. Engineering teams at Ericsson R&D Sites in Chennai, Bengaluru and Gurugram work across telecom domains spanning Transport, Packet Core, OSS, BSS, Cloud and advanced AI technologies. The Ericsson 6G Research teams in India are working on several advanced technologies like Intent-based autonomous telecom networks; Trustworthy AI; Sustainable AI and Advanced Generative AI capabilities. Ericsson is today partnering with premier institutes in India for Radio, AI and Cloud research. Ericsson has integrated AI into its product and service offerings, successfully implementing AI solutions in customer networks to tackle challenges in network planning, deployment and operations. Using Generative AI, Ericsson has developed intelligent assistants, which enable engineers to engage in natural language conversations with the network while extracting key network insights from multiple data sources. This has significantly shortened the time it takes to perform tasks such as network monitoring and troubleshooting. This reduction in time and effort is made possible by the growing AI capabilities in Ericsson's portfolio, including Ericsson's in-house Gen AI platform, known as Ericsson Language Intelligence (ELI), which comprises of a suite of large language models optimized for telecom use cases. The India R&D Centre is significantly involved in the development of the internal ELI platform, including the 'GenAI driven Network Autonomy' demo being showcased at the Ericsson booth at the India Mobile Congress. AI and Generative AI can be leveraged in telecom networks to make them more intelligent and energy efficient. The brain inspired AI demo shows how it is possible to significantly reduce AI compute energy consumption in future 6G networks. The robotic dog demo highlights how AI, Robotics and 5G can be used together to ensure safety in enterprises, for example, against fire hazard or any intrusion. Ericsson demos at India Mobile Congress are being showcased across 4 clusters built around 5G for Consumers; 5G for Enterprises; 5G and beyond as well as Programmable Networks. 5G and beyond covers the journey towards 6G wherein the Company is showcasing some of the work being done by Ericsson R&D Centers in the space of AI and Gen AI. Ericsson has been a partner to Indian CSPs through generations of connectivity. Ericsson has partnered with Bharti Airtel and Jio for their 5G rollout and most recently announced its 4G and 5G RAN contract with Vi. "We look forward to helping Vi seamlessly introduce 5G and in supporting Airtel in its transition to a full-scale 5G Standalone network." states Andres Vicente. Ericsson is at the forefront of 5G around the world and is recognized as an industry leader by the Frost Radar™: Global 5G Network Infrastructure Market report. Maintaining top ranking in the Frost Radar™ report over the past years has shown that Ericsson's investments in R&D and across a wide product portfolio - which includes all areas of 5G network infrastructure as well as previous generations of network infrastructure - is valued in a market where technology is constantly evolving. ABOUT ERICSSON: Ericsson's high-performing, programmable networks provide connectivity for billions of people every day. For nearly 150 years, we've been pioneers in creating technology for communication. We offer mobile communication and connectivity solutions for service providers and enterprises. Together with our customers and partners, we make the digital world of tomorrow a reality. www.ericsson.com

Ericsson accelerates Network API focus in India

At the India Mobile Congress (IMC) 2024 today, Ericsson announced that it is bolstering its commitment to Network APIs at its Indian R&D Centers. These APIs enable new industries to leverage advanced telecommunications network capabilities. As service providers deploy 5G, they have a unique opportunity to transform their networks into innovation platforms by exposing these capabilities to developers through open APIs. Ericsson recently announced a partnership with leading service providers, including Bharti Airtel and Reliance Jio, to create a global marketplace for network APIs. This venture aims to drive innovation in digital services by providing developers with easy access to and payment for network capabilities. Ericsson's R&D teams in Chennai, Bengaluru, and Gurugram are working on developing programmable/API capabilities to support simplified and secure network interfaces and advanced use cases like device management, security, and fraud detection. Additionally, the company's 6G Research teams are exploring technologies such as intent-based autonomous networks, trustworthy AI, sustainable AI, and advanced generative AI. Ericsson has integrated AI into its products and services, successfully implementing AI solutions in customer networks to address challenges in planning, deployment, and operations. Using generative AI, Ericsson has developed intelligent assistants that enable engineers to have natural language conversations with the network and extract key insights from multiple data sources. This has significantly reduced the time required for tasks such as network monitoring and troubleshooting. AI and generative AI can be leveraged in telecom networks to enhance intelligence and energy efficiency. Ericsson's demos at India Mobile Congress showcase various applications of AI and 5G, including intelligent assistants, robotic dogs for safety, and energy-efficient networks. Commenting on this, Andres Vicente, Head of Southeast Asia, Oceania and India, Ericsson, said: