Ericsson plans to acquire US-based service assurance company CENX as part of a bid to bolster its offerings around orchestration and network functions virtualisation (NFV).

Through the deal, Ericsson said it will gain access to CENX’s closed-loop automation and cloud-native service assurance capabilities. It noted closed-loop automation in particular will be a key tool in a 5G environment, allowing operators to orchestrate multiple network slices and automatically implement service changes based on set policies.

Financial terms of the deal weren’t disclosed, but Ericsson, which has owned a minority stake in CENX since 2012, said it will purchase 100 per cent of the company’s shares. Around 185 CENX employees will join Ericsson, it added.

Mats Karlsson, Ericsson’s head of OSS solutions said in a statement: “Dynamic orchestration is crucial in 5G-ready virtualised networks. By bringing CENX into Ericsson, we can continue to build upon the strong competitive advantage we have started as partners.”

Ericsson said it plans to couple its global sales footprint with R&D investments to create economies of scale in the CENX portfolio and ultimately offer in-house products for automation and assurance.