Ericsson and Nokia Align Automation Platforms to Speed Autonomous Network Development
Interoperability push comes as operators build mobile networks using equipment from multiple vendors.
BARCELONA, March 4, 2026 — Ericsson, the Swedish telecommunications equipment maker, and Nokia, the Finnish network infrastructure company, said Saturday they will integrate their automation software ecosystems to accelerate development of autonomous mobile networks.
Under the agreement, Ericsson will join Nokia’s SMO Marketplace, a platform built around the Service Management and Orchestration layer, software used to coordinate operations across mobile networks built from equipment supplied by multiple vendors. The agreement was much-talked-about here at Mobile World Congress
Meanwhile, Nokia will join Ericsson’s rApp Ecosystem, a developer community built around rApps, software applications that automate network management tasks such as traffic optimization, fault detection and performance monitoring.
The arrangement will allow automation applications developed by either company to operate across both platforms, expanding the pool of software tools available to communications service providers.
“The telecoms industry is converging on SMO as the long-term automation architecture,” said Dimitris Mavrakis, senior research director at ABI Research. Expanding interoperability between platforms, he said, will increase the availability of rApps and accelerate adoption of automation technologies.
The companies said the collaboration will emphasize development around the R1 interface, a standardized connection that allows rApps to communicate with multi-vendor coordination platforms such as SMOs.
These advances in coordination become increasingly important as operators deploy networks such as OpenRAN deployments — an architecture that allows mobile operators to mix hardware and software from different suppliers rather than relying on a single vendor.
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