Vodafone, in partnership with Nokia, is introducing a machine learning (ML) algorithm to its European mobile networks to detect and correct anomalies before they impact customers.
The Anomaly Detection Service, based on Nokia Bell Labs technology, autonomously detects if a mobile cell area is showing out of the ordinary behaviour which could impact the quality of service to customers.
It allows Vodafone engineers to address issues faster such as congestion at a mobile site, interference, unexpected latency, difficulty in handing calls between different cells or call setup failures.
Vodafone expects the new service to support its ambition to automatically detect and address 80 per cent of all anomalous mobile network issues and capacity demands.
With support from Vodafone, Nokia’s Bell Labs algorithm has been tested on the live network to demonstrate its accuracy and to ensure that it works with equipment from all network vendors. Following the initial deployment in Italy on more than 60,000 4G cells, Vodafone will extend the service to all its European markets by early 2022.
Johan Wibergh, Chief Technology Officer for Vodafone, said: “We are building an automated and programmable network that can respond quickly to our customers’ needs.”
Raghav Sahgal, Nokia’s President of Cloud and Network Services, said: “By analyzing network data our machine-learning algorithms can detect anomalies impacting network operations and performance, helping Vodafone engineers to pre-empt and rapidly resolve issues.”
Amol Phadke, Managing Director, Telecom Industry Solutions, Google Cloud, said: “We partner with Nokia and Vodafone to deliver a data- and AI-driven solution that scales quickly and leverages automation to increase cost efficiency and ensures seamless customer experiences across Europe.”
Anil Rao, Research Director, Analysys Mason, said: “Vodafone’s anomaly detection use case automates root-cause analysis for efficient network planning, optimization, and operations.”