The trio demonstrates a repeatable, standards-based path from GenAI-generated rApps to production-ready RAN automation.
SARATOGA, Calif., Feb. 19, 2026 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- At MWC Barcelona 2026, AT&T, Aira Technologies (Aira), and Ericsson will demonstrate a practical step forward in AI-native RAN operations. The collaboration shows how high-level operator intent can be translated into deployable rApps using GenAI, and critically, how those rApps can be validated, governed, and operationalized in realistic operator environments.
As the industry enters the "IQ Era," the collaboration moves beyond experimentation, defining a repeatable pathway from intent to trusted automation when combined with similar advances across the breadth of network operations.
From World-First to Operational Factory: What's New In 2026.
In 2025, AT&T, Aira, and Ericsson achieved an industry first: a GenAI-generated rApp created with Aira's Naavik AppGen and deployed on Ericsson's Intelligent Automation Platform (EIAP) in an AT&T-representative test environment. That milestone validated core Service Management and Orchestration (SMO) building blocks for open RAN automation.
At MWC 2026, the focus shifts to scale. The collaboration now demonstrates an operating blueprint for repeatable outcomes, showing how operators, platform providers, and AI-native innovators can industrialize rApp creation and accelerate the journey from idea to production.
The collaboration highlights three key advances:
- A repeatable "Intent-to-rApp" pipeline built for operator velocity. Naavik AppGen translates high-level operational intent into SMO-ready rApps using GenAI. This approach compresses development cycles and enables software-defined scaling of RAN intelligence.
- Production-grade validation of open interfaces and interoperability. The collaboration and execution on EIAP validates critical SMO interfaces, including the O-RAN R1 interface and Data Management & Exposure (DME). This ensures rApps can be onboarded, governed, and executed within real operator constraints.
- Momentum from lab realism to live-network credibility. The work moves beyond proofs of concept. It anchors innovation in realistic environments and demonstrates the maturity of EIAP-based rApps—signaling the industry's shift away from closed, single-vendor SON toward open, standards-based architectures.
"Moving from operator intent to trusted, deployable automation is the real test of AI-native RAN. We're demonstrating a repeatable, standards-based path that turns GenAI-generated rApps into production-ready capabilities—validated on open interfaces and designed to operate within real-world operator constraints" says Rob Soni, VP RAN Technology, AT&T.
As networks move toward intent-defined architectures, operators need more than automation demos. They need trusted paths to deployment that scale across 4G, 5G, and multi-vendor environments.
"Aira's Naavik AI stack applies agentic AI to elevate RAN operations beyond static rules and fragmented analytics - enabling evidence-based reasoning, contextual awareness, and intelligent prioritization," said Anand Chandrasekher, Aira's Co-Founder and CEO. "This shift is fundamental to programmable networks and marks an early step toward unlocking their full economic and operational potential."
This collaboration shows how:
- Operators can convene open ecosystems that turn intent into deployable automation faster.
- Platforms can make openness real through standardized interfaces, validation environments, and ecosystem enablement.
- AI-native innovators can deliver measurable automation outcomes without locking operators into closed stacks.
Ericsson Intelligent Automation Platform (EIAP) provides a scalable, open foundation for network management and automation across multi-vendor, multi-technology networks supporting 4G and 5G RAN with inbuilt platform conflict management and traceability features to ensure the strongest possible platform for the execution of rApps. The successful development and execution of this collaboration made exemplary use of the tools and capabilities available through the EIAP ecosystem, of which Aira is a long-standing member, such as the Developer Portal, Developer Labs, and Community support infrastructure, which is available for all members to help deliver Gen AI capabilities, and for general rApp development. In the 2025 milestone, EIAP was hosted in Ericsson's Innovation Lab in a configuration closely matching AT&T's live environment. This enabled realistic validation of rApp behavior, interfaces, and operational integration.
Naavik AppGen is Aira's GenAI-powered engine for translating operational intent into applications designed for SMO environments. It turns operator intent into SMO-ready rApps, reframing rApp creation as a scalable software pipeline rather than a bespoke engineering exercise.
The three companies emphasize that this work defines a blueprint for AI-native operations built on openness, collaboration, and measurable outcomes. They are accelerating the transition from network optimization ideas to production-ready automation while strengthening the rApp innovation ecosystem.
ABOUT AIRA TECHNOLOGIES
Aira Technologies is an AI-native company reimagining how wireless networks are designed, deployed, and operated. Its Naavik platform powers GenAI-driven automation for anomaly detection, RCA, observability, and rApp generation. It enables operators to shift from intent to outcome with unmatched agility. Visit www.aira-technology.com for more details.
ABOUT AT&T
We help more than 100 million U.S. families, friends and neighbors, plus nearly 2.5 million businesses, connect to greater possibility. From the first phone call 140 plus years ago to our 5G wireless and multi-gig internet offerings today, we @ATT innovate to improve lives. For more information about AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T), please visit us at about.att.com. Investors can learn more at investors.att.com.
ABOUT ERICSSON
Ericsson's high-performing networks provide connectivity for billions of people every day. For nearly 150 years, we've been pioneers in creating technology for communication. We offer mobile communication and connectivity solutions for service providers and enterprises. Together with our customers and partners, we make the digital world of tomorrow a reality. www.ericsson.com
Media Contact
Malick Noor, Aira Technologies, 1 (972) 357-0098, [email protected], https://www.aira-technology.com/
SOURCE Aira Technologies
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