Ericsson and TPG Telecom show off AI analytics tool

Kit vendor Ericsson and Australian operator TPG are rustling up a cloud-native AI-powered analytics tool, apparently the first of its particular type in the region.

The tool is designed to throw up insights about the operator’s 4G and 5G subscriber base, using ‘smart data collection with embedded intelligence’ to predict and resolve performance issues in real-time.

The idea is TPG can therefore react quicker to network issues and reduce the need for ‘infrastructure-based diagnoses.’ This is enabled thanks to Ericsson Expert Analytics, EXFO adaptive service assurance and ‘software probes’, which come as part of Ericsson’s dual-mode 5G Core.

We’re told the operator is the first in Australia and ‘one of the first’ globally to deploy Ericsson Expert Analytics in a commercial network using cloud-native technologies – the benefits of which are pitched as ‘embedded scalability, agility and resilience’, and generally providing flexibility as a network and use-cases change over time.

All this currently gives TPG the ability to trace and monitor approximately 5 million subscribers and automatically detect issues and make AI-powered recommendations for to make corrections. The full solution will rolled out later.

“Embarking on this multi-year deployment of advanced analytics and troubleshooting capabilities with TPG Telecom further demonstrates our commitment to bringing the best mobile telecommunications experience to all Australians,” said Emilio Romeo, Head of Ericsson, Australia and New Zealand.

“It is the latest in a long history of working side by side with TPG Telecom to bring groundbreaking technology to Australia and a new level of service experience to the Australian people. With the Ericsson Expert Analytics solution implementation, and the real-time access to the data from the dual-mode 5G Core thanks to its built-in software probes, TPG Telecom can gain greater network visibility at a lower cost, passing on the benefits to its customers as they enjoy its services across the country.”

Elsewhere, Ericsson is trialling a new initiative with Deutsche Telekom and Swisscom which would see wood-based packaging for its radio kit replace plastics – which will apparently reduce total plastic content from 20% to less than 1%.

The firm worked with Nefab and DS Smith to develop two designs that retain sufficient structural integrity to protect the radio kit during shipping – and it’s hard to argue with firms taking practical measures to excrete less plastic waste into the world.

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