Ericsson is expanding its Intelligent Automation Platform (EIP) beyond the radio access network and into the mobile core, responding to what it says is operator demand for a single platform capable of supporting AI-driven automation across the entire network.
The move represents a significant evolution of Ericsson’s automation strategy. Originally developed around RAN Intelligent Controller (RIC) applications (rApps) and Open RAN-style automation, EIAP is now being positioned as a common environment for “cAapps” – software applications designed to automate and optimise core network operations.
According to Rodrigo Correia, Head of Solution Line, SMO, Ericsson, the idea originated with operators already using the platform for RAN automation. Ericsson had already built a common exposure and automation layer capable of integrating both Ericsson and third-party RAN equipment. That platform was being used by AT&T, Ericsson’s flagship Open RAN customer as its RAN management layer. Correia said that “operators” – and it’s highly likely he means AT&T – subsequently began asking whether the same framework could be used to expose data and automation capabilities from the packet core.
“It actually came from customers,” he said. “The first time we really thought about it was a customer that brought the idea. Then multiple customers started asking what would happen if they could access core data as well.”
“The most logical and natural answer was that we extend what we already have,” he said. “The customer that is making an investment for RAN doesn’t need another substantial investment or another platform to manage independently.”
The platform now supports streaming data from both the RAN and the core, enabling automation applications to operate on near real-time information.
Following the rApp approach
The company’s vision for C-apps closely mirrors the architecture already established for RAN applications. Ericsson is initially exposing data from packet core functions, including components such as the home subscriber and policy infrastructure, before expanding into other domains such as IMS.
Applications can consist of microservices, KPI definitions, analytics functions or AI models packaged and deployed on top of the platform. They consume network data exposed through standardised interfaces and execute automation workflows in a common environment.
Initial use cases are focused on operational resilience and network management and examples include predicting faults in the core network, detecting anomalous network behaviour, rerouting traffic around failures, infrastructure capacity forecasting and improving service assurance.
One further development that Correia identified is the potential for applications operating in different domains to collaborate.
Ericsson has already observed RAN applications sharing insights with one another and expects a similar pattern to emerge between RAN and core applications.
“We expect that RAN apps and core apps could share information with each other,” the executive said. “In many cases it makes a lot of sense to have that communication between both.”
Operators seek automation consolidation
The initiative reflects a broader challenge facing telecom operators as automation projects proliferate across the network, according to Correia.
Many CSPs have accumulated a mixture of scripts, standalone applications, virtual machines and vendor-specific tools to address individual operational problems. While these approaches may solve specific use cases, they often create management complexity and limit the ability to scale automation.
Correia argues that a unified platform can help operators consolidate those efforts while providing a consistent lifecycle management framework for applications whether they have been internally developed by the operator, Ericsson-supplied or come from third-parties.
“There are two sides to it,” the executive said. “There is the value of automation itself and the value of simplifying the automation environment.”
The company is also seeing growing demand for automation platforms capable of supporting advanced AI use cases. Operators are increasingly pursuing higher levels of network autonomy, but many existing management systems were not designed with AI-driven workflows in mind.
“There is a lot of talk now about putting agents on top of legacy platforms,” the executive noted. “If you don’t have quality data, quality exposure and quality capabilities in your software, it becomes really difficult to run AI on top of it.”
Correia said the company is enhancing EIAP with capabilities designed specifically for AI agents, including model context protocol (MCP) support, skills frameworks, knowledge exposure and agent-to-agent communication mechanisms.
The goal is to enable specialised network management agents to operate within the platform while also allowing external agents to invoke those capabilities.
The question now is how far and how fast that ecosystem around core automation will grow. It’s something we’ll only really understand over time. But from both a vendor perspective and a CSP perspective, there is a clear logic to consolidating application development and execution on a common platform.
Core App Development – And Developers
Whether operators ultimately embrace core applications with the same enthusiasm seen in the RAN ecosystem remains an open question. Ericsson’s RAN application ecosystem has grown from a handful of participants to more than 100 companies, according to the company.
The vendor expects the core ecosystem to follow a similar trajectory, beginning with experimentation before maturing into a broader commercial market.
“We’ve had backing for RAN automation for some time, and we’ve built a fairly broad ecosystem around it,” Correia said, “But creating a real ecosystem on top of the platform still required significant effort on our side. We had to establish a developer portal, build a community, and run developer conferences. That’s what drove the evolution from a handful of partners initially, to around five, and now to more than 100 ecosystem members.
“As that ecosystem has grown, so has the number of RAN applications being developed. We’re now building on that foundation to encourage similar development in the core domain.
“At the same time, we’re seeing a shift among communications service providers themselves. Many CSPs are already developing a significant amount of automation internally – particularly for RAN, but also increasingly for the core. They have their own scripts, tools and bespoke solutions for core automation today.
“One of the opportunities we see is that these operator-built solutions could potentially be ported onto the same platform, alongside vendor and third-party applications. That creates a much broader automation ecosystem, where internally developed tools sit side by side with commercial applications.
“The question now is how far and how fast that ecosystem around core automation will grow. It’s something we’ll only really understand over time. But from both a vendor perspective and a CSP perspective, there is a clear logic to consolidating application development and execution on a common platform.”
Speaking on a panel session during DTW Ignite, Omdia’s Practice Leader James Crawshaw said, “It’s a very interesting development, and not one I necessarily anticipated. The SMO concept emerged from the O-RAN Alliance and, as the name suggests, was originally focused on the RAN. The core network wasn’t really part of that remit. But when you think about it, the extension makes sense.
“Once you have a platform for hosting automation applications, there’s no obvious reason why it should stop at the RAN. In future, we could see these applications extend into other domains as well, including transport, security and potentially other areas of network operations.”
One difference that Crawshaw identified was in the availability and origin of the applications themselves.
“Vendors such as Ericsson will undoubtedly have ideas for core applications,” he said, “but unlike the RAN, there isn’t an established history to draw on. In the RAN world, we had the SON era before the arrival of RAN apps. There were already numerous use cases, algorithms and software modules developed by both major infrastructure vendors and a large ecosystem of specialist suppliers.
“Core automation is different. For many developers, it’s a relatively unexplored area, and there may not be the same depth of expertise or breadth of ecosystem that exists around RAN applications today.
“That said, the opportunity could be even greater for operators themselves. Mobile operators typically have deep experience of managing and operating their core networks, and many will have developed their own ideas around automation. If they are given the right tools, SDKs and development environment, this could allow them to build applications tailored to their own requirements and potentially create a point of differentiation from rival operators.”
Vodafone’s Richard Kilmurray, Principal Automation Architect, said that Vodafone would need the platform to “fit within our broader autonomous networks architecture” – and that included a domain-based autonomous network approach.
“We follow the TM Forum model quite closely, with separate autonomous domains for the RAN, core, fixed access and other parts of the network. That means the platform needs the right interfaces, data models and APIs to integrate cleanly into that architecture and work seamlessly alongside the other domains.”
Comments
0