powered Autopilot for seamless network operations during Hajj
29 July 2025, Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia – stc group successfully deployed Nokia’s AI-powered MantaRay Autopilot during the annual Hajj pilgrimage in Makkah, Saudi Arabia – one of the world’s largest and most network-intensive events. The solution enabled fully autonomous network operations, helping stc deliver high-quality, uninterrupted service to millions of pilgrims. The deployment reflects Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 ambition to advance national digital infrastructure through smart technologies.
MantaRay Autopilot is designed to monitor radio access network (RAN) performance and make real-time adjustments without human intervention. It uses self-healing network technology to detect faults, redistribute load and optimize coverage. For this deployment, it also analyzed data on network behavior from previous Hajj seasons to help pre-empt congestion and support proactive planning by stc’s operational teams.
These capabilities enabled stc group to handle peak demand with greater agility. At its highest load, the system made over 15,000 autonomous network adjustments per hour, a 50% increase over 2024, and reduced cell outages by 60%. It delivered a 10% increase in peak throughput and boosted average speeds across the network by up to 20-30%.
Haytham Alfaraj, CTO of stc group, said:
“stc group is committed to using advanced and cutting edge technology to deliver the best experience to our customers, particularly when it matters most – such as during the Hajj. By leveraging Nokia’s Cognitive AI, we ensured millions of pilgrims remained connected throughout one of the world’s most dense and demanding environments.”
Mikko Lavanti, Senior Vice President of Nokia Mobile Networks MEA at Nokia said, “This deployment demonstrates the power of AI and automation in managing large-scale, high-pressure network environments. We are proud to support stc group in delivering reliable performance during Hajj and to showcase how our MantaRay Autopilot leads the way in autonomous network operations.”
MantaRay Autopilot is a key component of Nokia’s MantaRay Service Management and Orchestration (SMO) platform, which applies intent-based AI to automate and optimize radio access networks (RAN). It supports advanced automation tools including SON modules and rApps, and is the only SMO solution to achieve Level 4 certification under TM Forum’s Autonomous Networks Framework.
Multimedia, technical information and related news
Solution Page: MantaRay SMO
Product Page: MantaRay Autopilot
Solution Brief: MantaRay SMO: Advanced automation for advanced networks
Solution Brief: MantaRay AutoPilot: Powering AI-driven Autonomous RAN Operations
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