Nokia Bell Labs showcased Natural-Language Networks, a proof-of-concept enabling networks to be operated through speech or text prompts, in what it claimed was a step towards autonomous capabilities.

It stated Natural-Language Networks use verbal or text inputs to automatically allocate network resources, a feature Nokia said will make it easier to manage infrastructure and respond to changing requirements.

“By leveraging AI, these networks will allow service providers to deliver and maintain the ideal network configuration for any customer the moment it is requested.”

The networks continuously learn from their actions to optimise set-ups based on each new request

Nokia Bell Labs stated the networks would understand the intention of users “and have the intelligence to act upon them autonomously”.

Natural-Language Networking is a component of UNEXT, a Nokia Bell Labs research initiative which it explained would “redefine network software and systems the same way UNIX reshaped computing” by “evolving the network itself into an operating system”.

Csaba Vulkan, network systems automation research leader for Nokia Bell Labs, stated Natural-Language Networks would remove the need for operators to “explore technical catalogues or complex API descriptions when they configure networks”.