#MWC19: Nokia unveils Cognitive Collaboration Hubs to help operators design 5G networks

Nokia, in advance of Mobile World Congress 2019, has announced that it is opening a network of Cognitive Collaboration Hubs. These data science centers will further the cooperation between Nokia, operators, and enterprises under one roof in order to develop innovative, AI-powered use cases.

One such use case is Driver Behavior Analytics that aims to improve road safety by providing real-time analysis of driver performance and road conditions. By hosting development on the Nokia AVA cognitive services platform, the hubs will reduce operators' time to market and increase their return on investments in data analytics.

The Cognitive Collaboration Hubs build on the success of Nokia Cloud Collaboration Hubs established in 2018, which have attracted substantial interest from operators to help them build new cloud-based capabilities.

The hubs provide a catalyst for operator strategy development and help them solve key challenges by applying analytics and Artificial Intelligence (AI) techniques. Agile development processes are used to jointly create use cases, test and put them into operation within weeks. Typical application areas focus on network operations, network performance, customer experience and data monetization.

5G is another key focus, and Nokia is currently working with several US operators on the use of machine learning to improve 5G network planning - for example to help identify the best site locations or Massive MIMO beamforming configurations.

John Byrne, Service Director for Telecom Technology & Software, Global Data, said, "Network operators are eager to deploy AI to improve network operations and strengthen customer relationships. Nokia's Cognitive Collaboration Hubs can help accelerate those plans by providing a space for operators, partners and enterprises to co-create new AI solutions utilizing a mix of data science and telco domain expertise."

Operators around the world have already benefitted from the cognitive services created using these methodologies. For example, in Turkey, Nokia and Türk Telekom are testing machine learning based artificial intelligence technologies on new generation mobile and fixed networks by using Nokia's artificial intelligence assistant MIKA and AVA cognitive services platform.

Dennis Lorenzin, Head of the Network Cognitive Service Unit at Nokia said: "Nokia Cognitive Collaboration Hubs are yet another step in the expansion of our data analytics and AI services capabilities, which are widely recognized as industry-leading. Building on our data science and telco expertise, we are helping our customers apply AI technologies to improve their operational efficiency, prepare their networks for 5G, and generate new revenues."

Nokia is also announcing a new innovation to improve road safety and passenger experience. Driver Behavior Analytics provides real-time analysis of data from commodity sensors delivering useful data insights for government authorities, the automotive industry and commercial enterprises. Advanced insights derived using a proprietary smartphone application to deliver information on aggressive driving, inadequate road conditions or dangerous junctions.