Nokia launches autonomous network fabric

The past few years have seen a steady increase in the number of companies moving towards implementing fully autonomous networks, yet many have been held back by legacy systems, siloed processes and fragmented data. Aiming to address the issue, Nokia has unveiled Autonomous Networks Fabric.

Additionally, Nokia announced an expanded collaboration with Google Cloud to enable customers to deploy the new platform as a SaaS application running on Google Cloud, on-premise with Google Distributed Cloud, and in hybrid cloud environments. 

Explaining the business environment that the Autonomous Network Fabric will work in, Andy Hicks, senior principal analyst at GlobalData, said that as networks become more autonomous, they will require different forms of AI – from classical algorithms to language-based systems and intelligent agents – to each contribute distinct capabilities.

“Nokia’s new tools can help operators to manage their infrastructure, services and cyber risks by applying AI that is trained on industry-specific data and enriched with real-time situational awareness,” he added.

At its heart, the new Autonomous Network Fabric is designed to enable automation at scale, reducing the complexity of automation while allowing network providers to improve reliability and operational cost savings by quickly testing new ideas and integrating those that deliver desired benefits.  

Autonomous Network Fabric is designed to be a unifying intelligence layer that weaves together observability, analytics, security and automation across every network domain, allowing a network to behave as one adaptive system, regardless of supplier, architecture or deployment model. It is described by its makers as the industry’s first suite of telco-trained AI models, integrated security and AI apps to accelerate network automation and enable the “easy” roll-out of new services.

Among the key features supported by the platform is Unified Data Management, whereby all relevant network data is collected, curated, correlated and published as data products leveraging a data mesh architecture. Data is virtually federated with the ability to design and construct new data products rapidly in a low-code/no-code environment. Operators can use logic or AI/ML to create cutting-edge data assets that can be used and reused to power automation. 

To offer 360-degree observability, the fabric federates the use and distribution of data and AI across an organisation, monitoring chain of custody from end to end and ensuring quality and consistency in automation. In addition, telco-trained LLMs support all automation through a knowledge engine designed to give reasoning for how data is interpreted, how issues are analysed and why certain actions are recommended.

Autonomous Networks Fabric will also work with Google Cloud’s generative AI, including Google Cloud’s Vertex AI and BigQuery, to deliver agentic-driven workflows for network operations. This includes real-time monitoring and visibility into network traffic patterns, improving subscriber experience, anomaly detection, zero-touch remediation of performance issues and support for elastic scale-out and disaster recovery to the cloud.

Nokia and Google Cloud are also collaborating to make it easier for telcos to run Nokia's 5G core network on Google’s cloud infrastructure. They say that they are joining forces with a major European operator to build a smarter, more automated network. By combining Nokia’s telecom data and automation capabilities with Google’s AI tools, the two firms aim to create an environment where developers can innovate and rapidly scale network automation.

“In an era of increasingly complex and vulnerable networks, customers are eager for fully autonomous networks, which depend on good data,” said Kal De, senior vice-president of product and engineering, cloud and network services at Nokia, commenting on the launch.

“There is no good AI without good data. Nokia’s Autonomous Network Fabric lays the foundation and applies our deep network expertise and agentic AI-optimised workflows together with Google Cloud to accelerate customer outcomes.”