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I’m looking guardant to joining our customers and partners astatine Mobile World Congress (MWC), February 26 to February 29, 2024, successful Barcelona. Advancements successful generative AI proceed to accelerate the gait of manufacture transformation, with telecommunications emerging arsenic a person successful AI adoption.

Read the blog Accelerating Telco Transformation successful the Era of AI by Jason Zander, Executive Vice President, Strategic Missions and Technology, to larn however operators are utilizing Microsoft’s AI and Copilot solutions to elevate lawsuit experiences, streamline concern operations, monetize 5G investments, and modernize their network.

In this blog, I volition stock a fig of breathtaking updates astir our Azure for Operators portfolio of cloud-based solutions that alteration operators to thrust innovation and ratio successful the network. We are arrogant to denote an expanding lawsuit basal and the infusion of AI crossed Azure for Operators products.

Modernize networks with a hybrid carrier-grade level and AI-powered automation and insights

Deep integration of the web with the Azure unreality is instauration to utilizing AI-powered automation and insights to unlock improved efficiency, scalability, security, and reliability. Since the wide availability announcement of Azure Operator Nexus—our bearer grade, hybrid platform, our advancement includes:

• Additional Operator Nexus deployments supporting 5G standalone rotation outs arsenic superior platform.
• Expanding capabilities to code nationalist information requirements successful aggregate regions.
• Increasing enactment for communal operational requirements and refining attack to the DevSecOps models supporting multi-vendor web relation deployments.
• Additional signifier factors to enactment RAN and further workloads.
• As a work exemplary to enactment lawsuit and spouse laboratory deployments successful Microsoft datacenters.
• Expanded Nexus Ready programme with over 20 certified partners and implicit 80 network functions.

Operator Nexus enables operators to tally workloads on-premises oregon connected Azure, seamlessly deploying and managing everything from the bare metallic to the web to the tenant. Purpose-built for and validated by tier 1 operators to tally mission-critical workloads, Operator Nexus:

• Accelerates clip to marketplace for caller services.
• Lowers full outgo of ownership (TCO).
• Drives operational ratio and resiliency.
• Critically, improves the information of highly distributed, software-based networks.

“As portion of e& UAE’s translation to becoming a integer telco we are excited to collaborate intimately with Microsoft arsenic we thrust innovation successful our services and excellence successful our lawsuit experience. The usage of Azure Operator Nexus and Azure Operator 5G Core to enactment our halfway web volition amended alteration america to leverage the powerfulness of AI and automation and supply caller avenues for monetization.”

—Khalid Murshed, Chief Technology and Information Officer, e& UAE.

“AT&T is moving to the adjacent signifier of our unreality migration that includes deploying Microsoft’s Azure Operator Nexus level successful our web arsenic portion of the adjacent signifier of our 5G SA deployment. Continuing its enactment successful unreality networking, AT&T is utilizing unreality autochthonal DevOps tools to thrust improvements specified arsenic one-touch deployment, vendor-agnostic framework, CI/CD integration, automated web testing, in-service upgrades, and precocious information and compliance management. Azure Operator Nexus’ API-driven solution helped america to importantly simplify, automate, and amended the deployment rhythm clip for unreality infrastructure bundle and configuration successful our information centers.”

—Yigal Elbaz, Senior Vice President, Network CTO.

Read our tech community blog to larn much astir Azure Operator Nexus.

AI-enabled insights for operators

Azure Operator Insights and Copilot successful Azure Operator Insights empower operators to thrust efficiency, speed, and accuracy successful web operations. Copilot successful Azure Operator Insights, present successful constricted preview, represents a game-changer for web engineers. Copilot successful Azure Operator Insights volition empower web engineers to walk much clip solving and little clip diagnosing lawsuit problems by efficiently identifying, mitigating, and resolving web issues. This work brings operator-focused gen AI-infused merchandise enables operators to determination from reactive, to proactive, and predictive web management. Network wellness tin beryllium continuously monitored crossed aggregate underlying absorption systems, allowing for anomalous wellness metrics to beryllium detected and the enactment of analyzable services to beryllium much easy visualized. Network wellness alerts proactively pass the LLM-based prompts, accelerating the quality to mitigate utilizing suggestions analyzed from information sources specified arsenic merchandise manuals, enactment websites, idiosyncratic forums, and troubleshooting guides. Accumulated experiences are utilized to further tune the AI exemplary utilizing accusation maintained successful the operator’s subscription.

Today, Azure Operator Insights and Copilot successful Azure Operator Insights are delivering AI-infused insights to thrust web ratio for customers similar 3UK and participating partners including Amdocs, Accenture, and ServiceNow.

Azure Operator Insights removes information silos and delivers actionable concern insights by enabling the postulation and investigation of monolithic quantities of web information gathered from analyzable multi-vendor web functions. Leveraging ingest and query exertion designed to enactment Azure itself, Azure Operator Insights tin analyse information streams sized astatine aggregate petabytes per time successful timeframes that cannot beryllium achieved with accepted toolsets. Operator Insights helps operators tackle analyzable scenarios specified arsenic web health, performance, security, end-to-end lawsuit experience, and operations efficiency.

Azure Operator Insights uses a modern information mesh architecture enabling analyzable domains to beryllium breached into manageable sub-domains called information products that integrate monolithic datasets from antithetic sources and vendors. This caller capability, data merchandise factory, enables operators, web instrumentality providers, and solution integrators to make unsocial information products that tin beryllium published to Azure Marketplace oregon for idiosyncratic lawsuit use. We are excited to beryllium moving with Accenture and Amdocs arsenic our archetypal collaborators with the Azure Operator Insights information merchandise factory.

“3UK is utilizing Azure Operator Insights to leverage the latest AI advancements done the Copilot successful Azure Operator Insights product. This is an breathtaking improvement that brings unneurotic the latest successful generative AI and supports our committedness to amended connectivity, each day, for each customer.”

—Iain Milligan, Chief Network Officer, 3UK.

Visit our tech assemblage blog for much usage cases.

Modern mobile packet core

Azure Operator 5G Core, present successful nationalist preview, is designed to conscionable the evolving needs of mobile web operators, offering a afloat containerized carrier-grade, any-G, hybrid mobile packet halfway with afloat integrated web functions that tally on-premises oregon in-cloud. It is simply a modern architecture proven successful the tract astatine standard based connected acquired packet halfway exertion from our Affirmed Networks acquisition.

Key features since backstage preview include:

• Inline idiosyncratic level services supply operators with businesslike web assets utilization successful a reduced footprint portion improving wide idiosyncratic experience.
• APIs for repeatable and accordant automation for rapid, error-free work rollouts.
• Micro work architecture supports 2G to 5G successful azygous deployment.
• Containerization drives precocious show and efficiency.
• Integrated with cloud-based services for zero spot security, AI based automation, and precocious analytics.
• Rapid clip to marketplace with DevSecOps-based approach.

For much accusation astir these enhancements for Azure Operator 5G Core, sojourn our tech assemblage blog.

Security and compliance for telecom workloads

We are committed to supporting our customers’ information and compliance obligations. In deepening our commitment, we person joined the GSMA Network Equipment Security Assurance Scheme (NESAS) to assistance guarantee the information and compliance of our products. Specific to the United Kingdom (UK), we enactment the UK Telecoms Security Assurance (TSA) codification of practice.

“We are delighted to invited Microsoft Azure for Operators to the Network Equipment Security Assurance Scheme (NESAS). By joining NESAS, Microsoft demonstrates its enactment to providing unafraid and trustworthy solutions for the telecom industry. NESAS provides a communal information model that enhances transparency and assurance successful the web instrumentality proviso chain. We look guardant to moving with Microsoft and different members of the strategy to beforehand the information and reliability of telecom networks astir the world.”

—Samantha Kight, Head of Industry Security, GSMA.

Monetize 5G investments and heighten lawsuit experiences with modern connected applications

For operators, the quality to monetize a differentiated web acquisition requires exposing cardinal capabilities to developers and ISVs, whose efforts accelerate the improvement of modern connected applications, speeding adoption, and worth creation. The announcements successful this conception marque it imaginable for operators to monetize AI, programmable network, and borderline compute.

Announcing Azure Operator Call Protection successful nationalist preview

We are announcing a caller work that uses AI to support consumers from telephone scam calls. Azure Operator Call Protection uses real-time investigation of dependable content, alerting consumers erstwhile determination is suspicious in-call activity. Operator Call Protection works connected immoderate endpoint (mobile oregon landline) and is wholly network-derived (no app download required) making for elemental monetization of the work arsenic either a premium diagnostic oregon portion of a work bundle. It is built connected Azure Communications Gateway, which enables connectivity betwixt an relation dependable web and Microsoft Teams and different unreality connection services. Operators participating successful preview see British Telecom Group and Far EasTone.

“We’ve already implemented assorted measures to support our lawsuit basal from galore millions of scam calls and texts, but with fraud a increasing occupation successful the UK, we are ever looking astatine however we tin instrumentality user extortion to the adjacent level. That’s wherefore we are collaborating with Microsoft to aviator Azure Operator Call Protection and analyse how, by utilizing precocious (AI) capabilities, we tin further heighten our defenses against fraudulent activity.”

—Reza Rahnama, MBE, MD Mobile Networks, BT Group.

Visit our tech assemblage blog for much accusation astir Azure Operator Call Protection.

Azure Programmable Connectivity (APC) is now disposable successful nationalist preview arsenic an Azure service. Now afloat integrated into the Azure Marketplace, APC empowers operators to commercialize their web APIs and simplifies their entree for developers. APC provides seamless entree to Open Gateway for developers to make unreality and edge-native applications that interact with the quality of the network. By providing a unified, modular interface crossed relation networks, developers tin make unreality and edge-native applications that interact with the quality of networks.

We are actively collaborating with planetary operators integrating their web APIs to make a beardown spouse ecosystem (such arsenic AT&T, BT, Claro, Deutsche Telekom, MEO, Orange, Rogers, Singtel, Telefonica, T-Mobile, TIM Brasil, Verizon, and Vivo). We besides proceed moving with web exertion partners and web programmability aggregators, specified arsenic Ericsson and Vonage, arsenic good arsenic Nokia and Nokia’s Network arsenic Code platform, making factual advancement accelerating the ecosystem connected web programmability.

“Verizon’s web APIs alteration developers to make caller experiences, easiness symptom points successful lawsuit interactions, and amended lawsuit information by enabling entree to Verizon web APIs done Azure’s APC, developers crossed the globe tin payment from Verizon’s heavy cognition of the information situation and expansive web resource.”

—Srini Kalapala, Senior Vice President of Technology and Product Development, Verizon.

Learn however APC is revolutionizing the mode developers interact with web API services and larn however enterprises are taking vantage of network-aware applications.

Azure backstage MEC enables operators to enactment modern connected applications with high-performance, ultra-low-latency borderline solutions. Here are a fewer examples of however enterprises are transforming operations with 5G:

• Noble Corporation, 1 of the largest offshore drilling contractors successful the world, is deploying Azure backstage MEC to supply mobility solutions for the unit portion expanding efficiency. “With Tampnet’s Private Offshore Network and Azure backstage MEC, onsite connectivity is nary longer a situation for Noble. Connected workers, and harmless and unafraid networks are accelerating implementation of integer initiatives for improved offshore operations.”—Juan Vesga, OTG Project Manager, Noble Corporation.
• Trinity Broadcast Networks (TBN), has installed a backstage 5G web deployment from our partner, Trilogy NextGen Networks, successful the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex. “As the caller location for galore of TBN’s astir fashionable quality and amusement programs, arsenic good arsenic ‘Dr. Phil Primetime,’ it was indispensable to make a installation that delivers the eventual state-of-the-art experience. Our concern with Trilogy NextGen helps america invigorate the satellite of broadcasting, arsenic we propulsion the boundaries of contented instauration to inspire, inform, and uplift audiences astir the world.”—Russell Hall, Senior Vice President of Production, TBN.
• 5G PORTAL–the Offshore Renewable Energy (ORE) Catapult, unneurotic with Microsoft and a wider consortium of partners, person created an offshore 5G equipped testbed, covering the Port of Grimsby and the  operational Lynn and Inner Dowsing Wind Farm. 

Expanding spouse ecosystem for modern connected applications

Our partners are actively processing modern connected applications that tally connected Azure backstage MEC. We person onboarded much than 20 ISVs and dozens of SI and relation partners. Learn much beneath astir immoderate of the caller spouse solutions disposable connected Azure Marketplace.

• Glartek’s Augmented & Connected Worker level uses AR to enactment endeavor operations.
• Scenera’s MAIstro bundle arsenic a work (SaaS) offers a broad solution for orchestrating AI analytics seamlessly from borderline to cloud.
• Tampnet’s offshore backstage networks supply unafraid connectivity for offshore operators and vessels.
• Taqtile Manifest® Mixed Reality Work Instruction Solution leverages mixed world to amended operational workflows.
• T-Mobile’s 5G Advanced Network Solutions provides “right-sized” solutions for enterprises.
• Zebra Technologies Corporation’s Workcloud Communication level enables unafraid and reliable connection for front-line workers.

See however ISV partners are powering AI-enabled applications.

Get started today

Microsoft and our ecosystem partners are gathering a genuinely “better together” architecture that holistically addresses the needs of web operators arsenic they alteration their networks. Looking ahead, we stay committed to being the astir trusted co-innovation spouse done each signifier of the integer evolution, moving with operators and enterprises to future-proof networks and unlock caller gross streams successful a cloud- and AI-native future.

Invitation to operators, strategy integrators, and web managers

• Sign up present to get access to exclusive insights connected however to accelerate translation successful the epoch of AI. 
• For CSPs funny successful modernizing and monetizing their web investments, contact america today.

Invitation to enterprises, developers, and ISVs

• Whether you’re an enterprise looking to leverage our solutions, a developer anxious to make network-aware applications, oregon an application ISV seeking to collaborate with Microsoft connected MEC solutions, we invitation you to instrumentality the adjacent step. Sign up now to articulation america successful gathering the aboriginal of telecommunications with Azure for Operators. 
• To larn however Microsoft is helping organizations clasp 5G with modern connected applications, sign up for quality and updates delivered to your inbox.

The station Modernizing and monetizing telecom networks with AI-powered Azure for Operators appeared archetypal connected Microsoft Azure Blog.