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Microsoft announced a product that stems from its investment in Metaswitch.
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The UAE operator e& (formerly known as Etisalat) is now using Microsoft Azure Operator Nexus.
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The cloud giant is also making its Azure Operator Nexus available to run radio access network (RAN) workloads.
MOBILE WORLD CONGRESS, BARCELONA — A number of years ago Microsoft bought two wireless companies — Affirmed Networks and Metaswitch — and they both got absorbed into the giant cloud company and were nary heard from again. But now, at Mobile World Congress (MWC) this week in Barcelona, Microsoft is announcing a new product that stems, at least somewhat, from its investments in Metaswitch.
More specifically, the software giant announced Azure Operator Call Protection — a service that uses real-time artificial intelligence (AI) to analyze voice calls and alert people if the call might be a scam.
Jason Zander, executive vice president of Strategic Missions and Tech at Microsoft, said the new call protection service resonates with him because he has elderly parents and it can protect them from fraudsters. Customer must opt-in to the service, but if they do, it allows their service provider to interrupt suspicious calls.
“Right now, BT is trialing this Azure protection,” said Zander. “It’s a great example of bringing AI. This is out of the Metaswitch team. But it’s very modern.”
The software can be used for any voice service, mobile or landline, and it works entirely through the network without needing to install an app. Zander said generative AI (GenAI) analyzes voice patterns and emotions that scammers might use. For example, they often convey a sense of urgency.
“Typically, they try and get you to make a decision quickly, often with a threat of some kind of issue,” Zander said. “That’s when they come back with the hook. There is a set of those things we train the model to look for.”
Microsoft already predicts that scammers will change their pitches to adapt to the safeguards, but then GenAI will then also adapt.
Zander predicts that this early foray into GenAI will also morph into new business opportunities.
Azure Operator Nexus
Last year around this time, Microsoft unveiled Azure Operator Nexus. The software for the product was originally purchased from AT&T, which the carrier developed in-house to run its core network. Microsoft subsequently re-worked and enhanced the software to sell it to other operators around the world.
“The goal of it is to bring cloud development patterns and a hybrid cloud approach in the telecommunications space. The key thing is, it provides the ability to run network functions with cloud dev patterns," Zander said.
Operators can run Azure Operator Nexus in their own data centers or in the Microsoft cloud. Notably, Microsoft is now also making Nexus available to run virtual radio access network (vRAN) workloads.
“We’re stretching the tech to not just be the core, but vRAN scenarios,” Zander said.
He indicated that Microsoft continues to work with AT&T, collaborating on the vRAN solution, and is also working with Ericsson and Nokia to include other network functions on top of the platform.
Zander said it will be an “open platform,” but will need the Azure Operator Nexus core for everything to work. Microsoft is working hard on the hardware and acceleration in the core platform to make everything work.
Asked if Microsoft was doing any work with open RAN, Zander said, “Not for this go-round. We’re trying to get the underlying infrastructure correct. That’s the role you should expect us to play.”
Besides AT&T, the only other operator Microsoft named as using Azure Operator Nexus is the United Arab Emirates operator e& (formerly known as Etisalat).
Data mesh rears its useful head
Microsoft also discussed its Azure Operator Insights, which uses AI to provide real-time insights into telecom networks. The company said Three UK is using the service to eliminate data silos and collect massive quantities of network data.
Azure Operator Insights uses a data mesh architecture to integrate large datasets from different sources.
Recently, Chivas Nambiar, the general manager of the global telecom business unit at Amazon Web Services (AWS) told Fierce about “data mesh.” He said operators have struggled in the past because they had data in a lot of different places, and they felt the need for a centralized data lake. With data mesh, data can be stored in silos and still accessed in a safe and secure manner. Then GenAI can start to query that data. Sounds handy for sure.
We expect to hear more about data, data lakes and GenAI at Mobile World Congress. Follow our coverage from the show in our dedicated channel here.