At the Huawei Analyst Summit 2024, Huawei launched its revolutionary RAN intelligent agents. RAN intelligent agents introduce a set of telecommunications core models, the RAN digital twin system (RDTS) and intelligent computing power to endow 5.5G with intelligence, according to Eric Zhao, vice president and chief marketing officer of Huawei Wireless Network, highlighting that the RAN intelligent agents will reshape the O&M process, network experience and service model to help global operators take a leap forward in network productivity in the era of 5 ,5G.
After three years of industrial development, 5.5G has become a reality and debuted around the world. In the foreseeable future, the improvement of the standard will give 5.5G greater vitality, and 5.5G will support more services to expand its commercial space. In return, 5.5G networks will continue to improve in three aspects. That is, every hertz of the abundant 5.5G spectrum will be used efficiently, every watt will be efficiently harnessed to improve the energy efficiency of the 5.5G network, and most importantly, every byte will be managed efficiently to move networks without thread from automated to intelligent.
Strengthening wireless networks
RAN intelligent agents enable wireless networks to maximize the potential of the rapidly developing prowess of artificial intelligence. A set of intelligent RAN agents consists of a basic telecommunications model, RDTS and intelligent computing power. The Telecommunications Core Model leverages in-depth knowledge of wireless network products and operations and maintenance experience to support policy analysis and decision making regarding wireless networks. RDTS implements a multidimensional representation of physical networks in real time to provide accurate network prediction for RAN intelligent agents. Intelligent computing power provides centralized or distributed computing support for RAN intelligent agents.
5.5G must provide diversified services that require different coverages, capacities and latencies. The impending 100-fold growth in data traffic will place mobile networks under enormous pressure in terms of energy consumption. RAN intelligent agents support intent-based interaction, detection and prediction across domains, multi-objective analysis and decision-making, and scenario-based self-learning. These four revolutionary features will enable 5.5G networks to become more productive, reshaping network operations and maintenance, experience and service models.
First, reshape the O&M process. RAN intelligent agents leverage the specialized knowledge and experience of the basic telecommunications model to quickly provide engineers with problem-solving strategies. This allows O&M to move away from tedious and inefficient multi-department coordination to significantly improve efficiency. When troubleshooting, RAN intelligent agents combine a large number of historical cases to help quickly locate the root cause and generate rectification measures. So the whole process can be reduced from four hours to just one hour.
Second, reshape the network experience. Traditional single-objective optimization encounters limitations in meeting various user experience requirements. RAN intelligent agents perform multi-objective optimization to effectively balance network metrics and provide optimal network-wide user experience. To optimize network energy efficiency, for example, RAN intelligent agents leverage high-dimensional modeling to create a digital twin environment. In this environment, thousands of rounds of virtual iterations are performed in just a few minutes. This rapid process helps customers quickly identify solutions that excel in both energy savings and user experience.
Finally, reshape service models. The traditional service provision process includes reservation, evaluation and verification, which is too slow to meet the dynamic needs of users in the 5.5G era. Intelligent RAN agents integrate online and real-time service assessment that helps operators provide immediate services, thereby significantly improving user experience. For example, when providing fixed wireless access (FWA) service, RAN intelligent agents facilitate online evaluation of various experience metrics, including coverage, latency, and capacity. This enables the provision of services on demand, significantly reducing the service provision period from 2-3 weeks to just 1 day.
In his concluding remarks, Eric Zhao called for illuminating 5.5G with intelligence and together embracing a future of digital intelligence. He pointed out that RAN intelligent agents, supported by the basic telecommunications model, RDTS and intelligent computing power, will undergo constant evolution to improve their capabilities and functions. With continued management and optimization by operators, this remarkable innovation will deliver even greater benefits to operators. Huawei believes that RAN intelligent agents are poised to propel the communications industry into an era of unprecedented intelligence.
