Nokia unveils Mika, a digital assistant that’s meant only for telecom operators

Image: Reuters

  28 Jan 2017 , 15:16

Finnish telecommunications giant Nokia has created a customised digital assistant “MIKA” that will improve telecom operators’ efficiency by providing engineers faster access to critical information.

MIKA that stands for ‘Multi-purpose Intuitive Knowledge Assistant’ — is the first digital assistant trained specifically for the telecom industry, designed to provide automated assistance that saves time and frees highly skilled workers to focus on critical tasks.

“MIKA taps into the power of the Nokia AVA platform to provide quick and accurate answers, avoiding time wasted on fruitless searches. It is customised to support the specific needs of telecoms, and can deliver recommendations based on experience from networks around the world,” said Igor Leprince, Head of Global Services at Nokia, in a statement.

MIKA combines augmented intelligence with automated learning to provide access to an extensive range of tools, documents and data sources.

These include the Nokia AVA knowledge library, a repository of best practices gathered from Nokia projects around the world.

Using the knowledge library MIKA can provide recommendations based on similar issues seen in other networks.

MIKA is available via a web interface and mobile agent so that engineers can tap into its knowledge base, wherever they are.

In addition to launching MIKA, Nokia introduces ‘Predictive Repair’, a service that will enable operators to reduce costs and improve network quality by moving away from break-fix approaches to hardware maintenance.

“The care service can predict hardware failures and recommend replacements up to 14 days in advance, with up to 95 per cent accuracy,” the company said.

IANS

Call drop issue: Many telcos have executed 100-day call drop plan, says COAI

  01 Nov 2016 , 12:09

Many telecom service providers have executed the 100-day plan to tackle the call drop menace and achieved positive results, Rajan S Mathews, Director General, Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI), said on Monday.

“Many of the operators have executed the 100-day plan. There is substantial reduction in call drop problem now,” Mathews told IANS ahead of Communications Minister Manoj Sinha’s 1 November meeting with CEOs of telecom companies to take stock of the call drop issue.

“But problems still remain in some areas, like Lutyens’ Delhi, south Delhi and some other places,” he added.

Earlier, Telecom Secretary JS Deepak said the sectoral regulator — Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) — has informed that there has been a substantial improvement in the call drop situation.

“We had a meeting in June, they (telecom service providers) gave us a 100-day plan. There has been, we believe, from TRAI figures lot of improvement in call drops. There were 54 networks which were not performing up to the standard in December 2015, and now it is down to only 19,” Deepak added.

The telecom companies had given a 100-day roadmap to the government in June to improve the call drop situation.

“They assured us that the target for the 100-day programme, as committed to the (telecom) secretary, will be met. They indicated that from the beginning of 10 June (when the 100-day programme started), there will be addition of around 60,000 BTS (base transceiver station) in 100 days across the country, out of which 48,000 have been installed in the first 45 days,” Manoj Sinha said on 25 July.

The service providers have committed an investment of Rs 12,000 crore for installing 60,000 BTS to address the situation by arresting call drops.

IANS