Network lifecycle automation firm Infovista has announced a global partnership with Nokia to accelerate the rollout and acceptance of 5G network deployments.

The partnership will see Infovista deliver its cloud-based, automated testing solutions to support the verification, optimisation and benchmarking of new 5G and legacy networks deployed and managed by Nokia.

The complexity of 5G, magnified by the environments in which networks are being deployed, make multi-site testing a costly and time intensive overhead. Infovista's cloud-based testing solutions enable Nokia to automate and centralise the management of testing routines, significantly streamlining backend reporting and freeing Nokia engineers and service companies from manual drive testing to focus on high value network optimisation tasks.

As part of the global partnership, Nokia will now be able to leverage innovative network testing solutions from Infovista such as Automated SSV solution. The solution not only predicts where to drive and what tests to perform, but also which hot spots and critical areas should be tested and then autonomously conducting the network testing routine. This automation of network testing processes removes trial and error and significantly impacts the time to market and efficiency of Nokias network deployments.

Infovista is delivering its TEMS testing solutions to Nokia. The cloud-based automation of network testing routines enables Nokia to centralise and automate reporting and real-time validation of testing, reducing the number of failed drive tests that must be repeated. The cloud-based solutions remove the need for Nokia to maintain dedicated servers and redundancy, reuse of licenses globally and use commercial off-the-shelf devices, significantly increasing the efficiency of network testing.

"5G network complexity combined with the proliferation of device types now requires a set of next generation testing solutions leveraging AI/ML, cloud and automation," says Faiq Khan, president global networks, Infovista.

"For operators that are racing to deploy new 5G sites, while continuing to optimise and expand existing network coverage, this new network testing approach is a game changer," he says.

"We are very pleased to be building on our long-standing partnership with Nokia, extending it from centralised reporting to deliver real innovation with cloud-based automation of critical 5G testing processes."

As part of the partnership, Nokia will have access to the latest AI/ML data-driven approaches and automation innovations in network testing, including Infovista's patent-pending Precision Drive Testing solution, which powers use cases including network acceptance automation, fine tuning 5G planning propagation models, geolocated troubleshooting and proactive network health monitoring.