Samsung, TELUS collaborate on Canada’s first AI-powered RIC
Following the companies’ announcement of Canada’s first commercial virtualized and O-RAN network in February 2024, the RIC implementation will enable TELUS to harness AI throughout network operations and management.
Samsung Electronics and TELUS have announced that they will deploy Canada’s first commercial Radio Access Network Intelligent Controller (RIC). Samsung will provide its RIC solution, including open multi-vendor support and a rich suite of applications as part of Samsung CognitiV Network Operations Suite (NOS), to further enable intelligent automation, enhanced energy efficiency and optimized performance across TELUS’ wireless network, Samsung said in a media release.
The RIC is a software-based component in Open RAN (O-RAN) architecture that uses AI and automation to optimize network performance with intelligent applications.
This RIC deployment represents the next phase of TELUS and Samsung’s ongoing collaboration in Canada. Following the companies’ announcement of Canada’s first commercial virtualized and O-RAN network in February 2024, the RIC implementation will enable TELUS to harness AI throughout network operations and management — boosting operational efficiency with potential to reduce costs, the media release said.
“We are excited to broaden our collaboration with Samsung to transform our network and enhance the customer experience using AI,” said Bernard Bureau, Vice President of Wireless Strategy & Services at TELUS. “This partnership aligns closely with our commitment to responsible sovereign AI development and will enable us to provide more personalized, efficient and sustainable services. Importantly, it also allows us to manage and optimize RAN equipment from multiple vendors through a single, unified platform, maintaining the diversity and flexibility that are core principles of O-RAN.”
“We are actively supporting our customers’ AI journey today with our proven vRAN and AI-powered solutions including RIC,” said Angelo Jeongho Park, Executive Vice President and Head of Global Sales & Marketing, Networks Business at Samsung Electronics. “As Canada’s leader in vRAN and Open RAN, TELUS is very well-positioned to lead the way in bringing AI into the networks. Together with TELUS, we are fueling the transition to a more intelligent and autonomous network.”
