US Cellular and Nokia have now revealed a joint effort to deploy a new enterprise application founded on machine learning in order to streamline the carrier’s network rollout. US Cellular hopes to use the new system in order to more efficiently manage resources with regard to building new cell sites and small cell sites. Additionally, the system will allow the carrier to take a more proactive approach to resolving problems in its network and keeping customers happy. Meanwhile, the companies plan to implement the Nokia-built system beginning as early as the second quarter of this year, with a full system rollout planned by the end of 2018.
With regard to the system itself, the new tool is actually a combination of several products Nokia has on offer via its Customer Experience Management suite. However, according to the joint press release, Nokia’s Cognitive Analytics for Customer Insight application will play a pivotal role in bringing the whole thing together. That particular module of the system is driven by machine-learning and will give US Cellular a clearer insight into trends in overall customer satisfaction, network and customer device performance, and revenue streams. Beyond that, U.S. Cellular’s executive vice president and CTO, Michael S. Irizarry, says that it will allow the company to better understand the demands of customers and whether those are being met. Furthermore, Irizarry says, it will provide an efficient way to predict outcomes of network growth and to ensure that resources are properly allocated for the best possible results.
With that said, the application will go far beyond redirecting the US Cellular’s attention and assets to where they will be most useful. The new system is also being designed with network triggers in place that, once tripped, will result in automated action. For example, the system will be able to notify the company’s Network Operations teams about problems within the network, enabling more rapid and accurate responses. Meanwhile, network parameters will be set by location in order to prioritize the services that are most used by the carrier’s customers. If the system works as planned, it could provide a substantial boost to US Cellular. The company has seen little growth over previous fiscal quarters despite remaining relatively stable. Better still, if the improvements are substantial, it could result in the more widespread use of similar AI-powered systems. That, in turn, could result in a better user experience for mobile customers across every carrier and a more profitable future for those carriers.