Nokia claimed a significant reduction in time taken to add AI to mobile networks after developing a set of use cases to deliver as a service on Microsoft’s Azure public cloud.

The vendor stated the move enables AI to be added nine-times faster than using private cloud, a capability it expects to be in high demand as operators add automation to their networks to manage the complexities of 5G use cases.

Nokia also staked a claim to a world first deployment of multiple AI use cases delivered over public cloud.

Data sovereignty, security and global regulations are all key considerations for network operators as they leverage AI, Nokia stated, highlighting its security framework combines the security of a private cloud with the speed of a public one.

It named Australian mobile operator TPG Telecom as the first commercial adopter of Nokia AVA AI on public cloud, using a local instance of Microsoft Azure. Declan O’Rourke, the operator’s head of radio and device engineering, explained it is using the set-up to “predict and deal with issues before they occur”.

Rick Lievano, CTO of telecom, media and communications at Microsoft, said Nokia is bringing “a large library of [AI] use cases” to Azure. He sees the collaboration as proof that “public clouds are ready to help service providers drive AI closed-loop automation while increasing speed, agility, and scalability”.