The Agentic rApp as a Service is built on AWS and its natural language interface, powered by GenAI, translates speech into instructions for AI agents
Ericsson is claiming a big step forward in RAN automation, announcing its rApp as a Service (rApp aaS). The service is built on AWS and designed to boost network optimisation using agentic AI for reasoning and to coordinate workflows.
The service has a natural language interface, using GenAI, so that operators’ teams can talk to the network – their speech is translated into instructions for the agentic AI system to carry out.
rApp aaS is available now through AWS Marketplace, although at the same time, it is being field testing with “leading global CSPs”, according to Ericsson. Vivo Brazil is the first to experience the service, working with Ericsson and AWS. Vivo is Telefónica’s brand in the Brazil, which is one of the operator group’s key markets.
Improving capacity, automation nationally
Elmo Matos, Director of Mobile Network Core and Deployment, Vivo, says: “Collaborating with Ericsson on this initiative allows us to test different applications of artificial intelligence aimed at enhancing network experience. With AWS support, we will explore the rApp aaS model and expand AI-driven functionalities, focusing on improving network capacity and automation on a national scale.”
The new rApp aaS, hosted on AWS, connects to the Non-Real-time RAN Intelligent Controller (NONRTRIC) within the service management and orchestration (SMO) framework via the R1 interface defined by the Open RAN Alliance. Put another way, the NONRTRIC hosts rApps, and coordinates all interactions between the rApp and underlying SMO by way of the R1 Interface.
James Crawshaw, Practice Leader at Omdia, commented, “While many in the market now claim to provide rApps, only a small number have demonstrated successful, production-level deployments with ORAN-compliant interfaces. And no other vendor offers a comparable rApp-as-a-Service solution. These two aspects create a real distinction, setting this new offering apart.”
Ericsson says its AI solutions for network optimisation handle more than 100 million AI inferences daily across 11 million cells serving more than 2 billion subscribers. By combining Ericsson’s expertise with AWS cloud capabilities and Agentic AI capabilities, rApp aaS enables CSPs to get the benefit of rApps with increased flexibility and elasticity without heavy upfront capital investment.
The launch will be showcased at Mobile World Congress (MWC) 2026 in Barcelona. Also on show will be Ericsson’s new range of what it calls AI-ready radios, antennas and AI RAN software with better uplink performance, total cost of ownership and energy efficiency.
Software upgrades include beamforming and outdoor positioning managed by AI, AI-powered what Ericsson claims are the “best-in-class” AI model for predictig instant coverage.
