Network vendor Ericsson expanded its Ericsson Intelligent Automation Platform (EIAP) to include core networks.

Ericsson noted that the upgrades create a unified, open radio access network (RAN) and core automation platform that accelerates communication service providers’ (CSPs) autonomous networks transformation.

According to the vendor, this will enable mobile carriers and other CSPs to "streamline operations, optimize costs, and deliver a more resilient and higher performing core network that provides a premium experience."

The purpose of Ericsson's EIAP is to support multivendor and multi-technology networks and bring the promise of autonomous networks closer.


Ericsson's EIAP is used by several network operators, including AT&T, Swisscom, Telstra, and Vodafone, helping these carriers manage both single and multi-vendor networks. In total, the vendor has more than 150 contracts with global CSPs for 5G Core or cloud-native core.

During this week's DTW Ignite event in Copenhagen, Denmark, Ericsson detailed the latest expansion to its EIAP, noting that its new capabilities are accompanied by the introduction of a new data streaming capability in Ericsson Network Manager (ENM), Ericsson Stream Processing and Enrichment (ESPE).

The ESPE is able to collect streaming data from Ericsson RAN and core nodes, along with ORAN RAN nodes, in real-time, handling the processing, enrichment, exposure, and replication of the data as needed.

"By expanding the Ericsson Intelligent Automation Platform to the core, we are providing our customers with a critical central enabler for their autonomous network journey," said Anders Vestergren, head of network automation, Ericsson.

"The expanded EIAP will unify the management and automation of RAN and core networks, provide a single source of truth for network topology and resource data through the central resource layer, and deliver reliable low-latency data from ENM’s streaming capability (ESPE). It gives CSPs a simplified route to deploying complex, high-value differentiated services with real control over cost and complexity.”

Driving automation through the core

Elaborating a bit further on EIAP, Vestergren told SDxCentral sister title DCD that the platform is pivotal for RAN automation.

"We created this platform, which is based on the industry standard of R1 to enable open innovation in terms of ... rApps, the applications that are using this platform to automate the RAN network," said Vestergren.

He added that the platform also enables controlled activation, while its open interface is used by Ericsson and third parties to provide automation functions called rApps, which are "typically AI-based," and designed for CSPs to automatically evolve, deploy, optimize, and heal their networks autonomously.

This week's announcement saw Ericsson's EIAP extended to the core of the network.

"We have made our platform in a way that is not dependent on that ... it can actually be any RAN, and so we have decided that we could get core into this one," he added, explaining that this has begun with the Ericsson core.

The ability to do so means that Ericsson will also be able run new core-specific automation applications (cApps) on top of its rApps, with plans to develop an ecosystem for these cApps in the same way it has done for its rApps.

Ericsson explained that its expanded EIAP allows for emerging cApps and rApps to act as intelligent AI agents that tap into agentic AI-driven capabilities built into the EIAP platform itself.

The company said it's developing use cases for its cApps, initially focusing around improving resiliency and performance, and service-oriented use cases which will ensure customers gain a premium experience.

"Ericsson's expansion of EIAP to include core network automation is a significant step forward for the industry," added Rob Soni, VP RAN technology, AT&T.

"Having a single platform running cApps and rApps gives operators a critical tool for delivering on the vision of a truly autonomous network, harnessing the power of Agentic AI, that can sense, decide, and act in real time.”