Building Autonomous RAN on Today's Foundations

As Radio Access Networks (RANs) grow more complex, telecom operators face mounting pressure to manage multi-vendor environments, expanding AI workloads, and increasingly fragmented automation systems. The path to autonomous RAN requires more than adding new technology. It requires connecting existing capabilities through a unified approach to orchestration, intelligence, and governance.

This executive brief from ABI Research explores how operators can evolve toward autonomous RAN while preserving the value of existing investments. It examines the role of Service Management and Orchestration (SMO) in coordinating automation, integrating AI-driven capabilities, and enabling intent-based operations across multi-vendor networks.

Topics Covered

• Autonomous RAN Challenges: Managing network complexity, fragmented tools, and conflicting automation objectives
• SMO as the Foundation: Connecting network management, applications, data, and automation within a common operating environment
• Building on Existing Investments: Leveraging Self-Organizing Networks (SON), installed software, operational data, and engineering expertise
• AI and Intent-Based Automation: Moving from individual closed-loop tasks toward contextual decision-making, policy control, and coordinated autonomy
• Open and Interoperable Networks: Integrating capabilities across vendors and technology generations through open interfaces
• Real-World Operator Scenario: How NTT DOCOMO's OREX SMO and Nokia's MantaRay SON illustrate an evolutionary approach to autonomous RAN

Download the executive brief to explore how operators can build toward autonomous RAN by combining proven automation, AI-driven intelligence, and SMO without abandoning existing network investments.