German telecom giant Deutsche Telekom (DT) energized a network-managing AI agent running on Google’s Gemini platform, highlighting the growing push toward AI-related management of telecom network operations.

The RAN Guardian Agent is a multi-agent platform designed to analyze radio access network (RAN) performance, identify anomalies, and autonomously initiate fixes. The initiative was unveiled earlier this year in partnership with Google, and runs on the hyperscaler’s Gemini 2.5 platform, with access to Google’s CloudRun, BigQuery, and Firestore offerings.

DT explained that the analysis involves AI agents continuously scanning publicly available sources, including online directories and social media to identify upcoming public events across Germany. It compiles that list, estimates the scale of the events, determines their location, “classifies them accordingly,” and then the agent vets the data.

Another platform agent takes that insight to determine the network’s ability to handle that expected traffic impact, including nearby antenna capacity and network parameters. It can then recommend optimization options.

The final step uses an additional AI agent to execute approved recommendations, including the ability to reallocate network resources or adjust configurations. It also documents the actions and outcomes as part of ongoing network monitoring and to provide insight into future events.

“Processes that previously took roughly an hour can now be completed within just a few minutes,” DT said of the platform.

"With the introduction of the RAN Guardian Agent, we are the first network operator to rely on a highly developed AI agent in network management. Our development teams have thus done pioneering work in the development of AI agents for mobile networks," Abdu Mudesir, board member for product and technology at DT, explained. “With an intelligent interaction between our network experts and AI, we are solving specific challenges for the benefit of our customers – for the best network. And we are taking a big step towards autonomous, self-healing networks."

AI-RAN running

DT’s steps are being echoed across the telecom space, with vendors and operators increasingly tapping AI platforms to help monitor network performance.

Canadian operator Telus recently tapped long-time equipment vendor Samsung for the first deployment of an AI-powered RAN intelligent controller (RIC) in that country. The deployment involves Telus using Samsung’s RIC platform and accompanying applications from Samsung’s CognitiV Network Operations Suite (NOS).

The initial list of applications includes the KPI Anomaly Detector and RAN Anomaly Inisight to proactively identify and analyze network issues; the Energy Saving Manager for dynamic traffic prediction and automated orchestration of energy saving features; and the Load Balancing Manager to optimize resource utilization and improve network performance.

Telus executives cited similar efficiency goals to what DT is looking to glean from its RAN Guardian Agent platform.

Bernard Bureau, VP of wireless strategy and 5G services at Telus, explained that this initial application list is focused on energy and network efficiency, but that it plans to add more than a dozen of new applications each year over the next couple of years.

That initial focus on efficiency is important as power savings is significant for operators that are operating tens-of-thousands of individual 5G cell sites. An early report from MTN Consulting found carrier’s spent 5.2% of their capex in 2020 on electricity, fuel, and water.

The evidence that 5G is driving costs higher is “modest,” but the increases “serve as a good reminder that telcos will need to seek out energy efficient equipment, software, and network architectures as 5G penetration grows,” Matt Walker, chief analyst at MTN Consulting, wrote in the report.

Verizon earlier this year reported a successful multivendor deployment with Samsung and Qualcomm using an AI-infused RAN management application running on a RIC that was also focused on efficiency.

That deployment used Qualcomm’s Dragonwing RAN automation suite RIC running Samsung’s AI-powered Energy Saving Manager (AI-ESM) application to help Verizon manage power consumption of its open RAN deployment. Verizon claims it has been able to produce 15% energy savings on average, “with a maximum of 35% per sector during low traffic periods in a variety of field trials.”

Analysts have pointed to the benefits AI can bring to the deployment and management of cloud-based open RAN networks, which are more complex orchestration challenges due to the disaggregated multivendor ecosystem. The use of AI could help close performance gaps for open RAN architectures compared with legacy RAN models.

Analysts are predicting AI-RAN spend could top $10 billion by the end of the decade.