Nokia and Databricks have successfully completed a joint proof of concept (PoC) demonstrating a unified, substrate-agnostic data platform designed to support AI-driven autonomous networks. The collaboration, announced on 24 June 2026, shows how telecommunication providers can simplify fragmented data environments and deploy real-time analytics at scale, enabling faster decision-making, improved network performance, and more efficient operations. The PoC addresses the industry challenge of siloed operational and business support systems by validating a common data platform that runs seamlessly across different cloud environments or on-premise infrastructure.

Technical validation and architecture

The PoC confirmed the ability of Databricks and Nokia to develop a joint architecture that efficiently handles the massive scale and real-time ingestion speeds required to feed network data to AI agents for automated, cross-domain decision-making. Engineering teams focused on a real-time performance management use case, simulating analytics ingestion with an intent to scale quickly to match tier-1 operator scale in the cloud.

Key technical breakthroughs

The collaboration delivered several technical advancements designed to simplify how telecom operators build and run data-driven services across different environments:

Data fabric capabilities

The project highlighted a data fabric built for the agentic world, featuring query-time data products that compute derived metrics on read rather than duplicating data. It also validated zero-copy sharing for lightweight, real-time cross-domain data consumption and a mechanism to selectively feed upper temporal layers in the cloud for retrospective tasks like root-cause analysis.

Strategic outlook

Nokia and Databricks plan to continue their collaboration around enhancing autonomous network capabilities. The goal is to help operators transition to a future where AI applications increasingly access, correlate, and act on large-scale network data in real time.

Nokia announced a comprehensive upgrade to its autonomous networks portfolio on 23 June 2026, introducing agentic AI capabilities designed to help telecommunication providers improve network performance, reliability, and operational efficiency. Unveiled at DTW in Copenhagen, the new portfolio includes the Autonomous Networks Agent Library, an updated Autonomous Networks Suite, and enhanced RAN automation. These tools aim to enable operators to manage unpredictable traffic patterns driven by AI-intensive workloads while maintaining control over live network environments.

Portfolio Enhancements

The Autonomous Networks Agent Library delivers pre-built AI agents that combine reasoning and autonomous action to solve operational problems across security, assurance, and service operations. Nokia stated that productivity gains typically range from 60 to 80% compared to traditional operations. The Autonomous Networks Suite introduces on-premise deployment options and new use cases for improved VoLTE service quality and optimized subscriber experiences.

Network-Specific AI Frameworks

Nokia’s MantaRay SMO solution now features Non-Real-Time RIC functionality with AI-enabled rApps for managing complex radio networks. The company is collaborating with NTT DOCOMO to advance SMO-driven autonomy. Additionally, Nokia introduced specific agentic AI frameworks for different network domains:

Strategic Context

These advancements follow a recent JP Morgan upgrade, where analyst Sandeep Deshpande raised the price target for Nokia from $14 to $21 while maintaining an Overweight rating. The analyst cited AI-related product catalysts as a key driver for the revised forecast. Nokia targets commercial availability for its agentic AI framework by the end of 2026, aligning with its broader strategy to transition networks from static infrastructure to programmable, AI-native platforms.