Virgin Media O2 accelerates automation across mobile network

Virgin Media O2 (VMO2) is deploying artificial intelligence (AI) monitoring tools in its mobile network to predict and prevent network issues, helping to deliver a more reliable and consistent experience for customers across the UK.

In its strategy to maintain acceptable performance levels for mobile users, VMO2 has expanded its relationship with infrastructure modernisation firm Zinkworks. VMO2) added that it is building on two years of experience monitoring its fixed broadband network, where the technology is said to have reduced repair times by more than a third, cutting the need for engineer visits by 12%.

The operator is extending this approach into its mobile network, deploying AI-driven automation technology to minimise downtime across its mobile network, as well as to pre-empt issues and maximise network uptime.

The expanded partnership with Zinkworks will aim to support more resilient and reliable mobile connectivity across the UK, improving performance during peak demand and delivering a more consistent customer experience. It will focus on monitoring network performance, identifying patterns and behaviours, detecting and resolving issues faster, and anticipating faults before they escalate into service issues. The firm said it will strive to improve performance during periods of high demand and allow operational decisions to be made before customers are even affected.

The initiative is based on the core Google Cloud platform and features such as Gemini and Vertex AI to deliver AI-enabled autonomous network capabilities for Virgin Media O2. The management technology will be deployed across key parts of the VMO2 mobile network, including radio access, core systems and network operations. By combining real-time network data with intelligent automation, the network can continuously monitor itself, anticipate potential problems and take corrective action, with engineers retaining complete oversight.

Virgin Media O2 said that the new project supports its continued work to transform and evolve its networks as it moves toward more autonomous network operations, enabling greater resilience and performance as customer demand continues to grow.

“At Virgin Media O2, we are investing every single day to improve our mobile network and provide a more reliable experience for our customers,” said Jeanie York, CTO at Virgin Media O2. “Greater automation will help us to predict and prevent issues and allow us to better spot and fix problems when they arise, reducing downtime and ensuring customers can trust us to deliver the dependable mobile experience they rely on.”

Zinkworks CEO Paul Madden added: “Mobile operators globally are looking for ways to harness AI at scale, and Virgin Media O2 is at the forefront of this shift. By combining Virgin Media O2’s ambition and our engineering expertise, we are building capabilities that will reduce outages, improve performance and deliver tangible benefits to customers across the UK.”

The project with VMO2 comes after Zinkworks signed a partnership with Vodafone in October 2025 to develop a generative AI-driven platform intended to improve mobile service quality, network energy efficiency and performance for Vodafone customers throughout Europe.

The central platform, called Rapid RIC, is expected to be fully operational by early 2026. It will combine Vodafone’s data analytics, a visual interface and code-generating AI to enable engineers in multiple markets to more easily develop, deploy and monitor RAN automation rApps, which are innovative applications that empower the evolution and healing of networks.