AT&T and Ericsson

A bold vision for programmable networks

Through its Open Radio Access Network (Open RAN) transformation, AT&T has laid the foundation for an open, disaggregated, and programmable network. This will accelerate innovation and significant network automation, delivering capabilities such as differentiated connectivity.

In 2023, Ericsson and AT&T began an industry-defining Open RAN transformation that is pioneering open, programmable, and autonomous networks of the future, while also helping build a robust ecosystem of network infrastructure providers and suppliers. The transformation included harmonizing network management systems from four bespoke platforms into a single, unified system through the implementation of a horizontal platform – Ericsson Intelligent Automation Platform (EIAP).

Historically, AT&T’s network relied on fragmented self-organizing network (SON) capabilities and proprietary systems, which had limitations in key areas such as lifecycle management, flexibility, openness, and the ability to integrate insights beyond the RAN. Industry alignment around service management and orchestration (SMO), RAN Intelligent Controller (RIC), and rApps will address these limitations.

AT&T aims to foster an ecosystem that is ready for innovation by increasing the possibilities for third-party independent software vendors. This approach not only improves operational efficiency and flexibility but, through the innovative ecosystem, enables 5G services such as differentiated connectivity. In turn, this lays the groundwork for future evolution and successfully breaking the cycle of stagnant average revenue per user (ARPU).

Through the rApp ecosystem enabled by EIAP, AT&T is unlocking new levels of agility and intelligence in its network. AT&T’s rApp strategy focuses on transforming its network into a programmable, open, and innovation-ready platform by leveraging reusable, modular automation applications. Specifically, AT&T aims to:

• Migrate proven internal automation functions into rApps to preserve value while aligning with open standards and enabling portability across vendors.
• Engage new rApp suppliers to address emerging challenges with innovative solutions, particularly in areas such as generative AI, spectrum sharing, and interference management.
• Prioritize functionalities such as traffic steering, outage compensation, energy savings, adaptive scheduling, load balancing, service-level agreement assurance, and self-healing networks. This highlights a focus on performance assurance, observability, and dynamic RAN optimization.

Alongside capturing the business and innovation opportunities that Open RAN presents, AT&T sought to proactively address inefficiencies in areas such as data management, security, energy efficiency, and operational agility through the transformation.

At the heart of this transformation is AT&T and Ericsson’s commitment to openness. By embracing Open RAN standards and the O-RAN Alliance-defined interfaces such as O1, O2, and R1, AT&T is harmonizing network management and automation across a multi-vendor environment.

The transformation included harmonizing the network management systems from four bespoke platforms into a single unified system to enhance efficiency, consolidate automation processes, and streamline operations. This was achieved via the implementation of EIAP.

AT&T integrated Ericsson Intelligent Controller (EIC) within EIAP to migrate disparate SON functionalities into a unified, open, and programmable Non-Real Time RIC-based environment. EIC supports industry-standard R1 interfaces and hosts both third-party and in-house rApps, providing scalability, flexibility, the ability to incorporate AI capabilities, and a unified platform for automation and optimization. This approach drives consistent and programmable network behavior, enabling intelligent automation strategies aligned with Open RAN principles.

AT&T is already seeing indications that the transformation is delivering positive results in several areas:

• Increased operational efficiency thanks to single-pane-of-glass management for heterogeneous RAN deployments and reduced overhead from fragmented management systems.
• Enhanced flexibility achieved by the ability to mix and match radios, vendors, and technologies under unified orchestration and rapid onboarding of new RAN innovations and partners.
• Ecosystem innovation through an open rApp environment that fosters AI application development and encourages third-party participation, driving differentiated services.
• Future-readiness gained as a result of setting a foundation for scaling programmable networks and differentiated connectivity services. This transformation prepared AT&T for the broader adoption of Cloud RAN and AI-native operations.
• Maximized security and trust through the implementation of zero-trust principles across AT&T’s network, with rigorous vetting of every component and an rApp certification process in place to validate that each application is secure, privacy-preserving, and ready to integrate.

In a telecom-industry first, AT&T successfully deployed a third-party rApp on its live production network via the R1 interface. This demonstrated the maturity of the ecosystem and the viability of open, vendor-agnostic automation.

With EIAP at the core, AT&T is leading the industry into a new era, setting the benchmark for RAN programmability in the US and globally. The transformation will enable an open, disaggregated, and programmable architecture that offers operational efficiency and flexibility, while also fostering innovation and collaboration through EIAP’s rApp ecosystem. This will ultimately provide the levels of automation necessary to enable differentiated connectivity services, creating revenue opportunities through tailored network experiences.