Nokia and Partners Advance AI-RAN Development for 5G and Beyond

Nokia, Nvidia, and Telcos Collaborate to Accelerate AI-RAN Development: MWC25

AI-based solutions enhance network efficiency, reduce costs, and optimize performance. Nokia and its industry partners -- KDDI, SoftBank, T-Mobile US, and Nvidia -- outlined advancements in the deployment and optimisation of AI-powered Radio Access Networks (AI-RAN) as well as the future architecture for AI-RAN at the Mobile World Congress 2025. According to Nokia, these developments aim to integrate artificial intelligence (AI) into RAN infrastructure, unlocking new monetization opportunities for communication service providers (CSPs) for developing platform-as-a-service (PaaS) business models. Also Read: SoftBank and Nvidia Build AI-Powered 5G Network Using AI Aerial Nokia says that under its anyRAN approach, the company is focusing on transforming Cloud RAN solutions to include AI computing in the shared infrastructure to maximize resource efficiency for operators. These joint efforts will lay the foundation for developing Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS) models, allowing CSPs to offer scalable AI-based solutions. To accelerate AI-RAN development, Nokia is establishing an AI-RAN Center in Dallas, where partners can test AI solutions in real-world network conditions. The center will support the creation of innovative use cases and validate AI-RAN reference architectures. Over the past year, Nokia said it has worked closely with Nvidia to assess and evaluate multi-purpose Nvidia accelerated computing infrastructure to enable the transformative power of AI-RAN. Nokia said it has also formed a strategic partnership with KDDI to research the practical applications of AI-RAN, including use cases and architectures, to make it commercially viable in the future. The companies will explore how AI applications can enhance the user experience, enhance network quality, reduce 5G network-related costs and power consumption through automation, and create monetization opportunities that leverage GPUs and Generative AI. The companies will conduct a commercial trial using AI-enabled RAN hardware and research AI utilization to optimize network performance. Nokia said that its partnership with Japan's SoftBank has showcased the integration of multi-purpose, optimized AI workloads within the AI and RAN platform based on Red Hat OpenShift, the hybrid cloud application platform powered by Kubernetes. This is managed through Nokia's MantaRay NM solution for network management and SoftBank's AITRAS Orchestrator. "This collaboration illustrates how both RAN and non-RAN AI workloads can efficiently share the computing resources, significantly enhancing resource utilization. This not only leads to improved operational efficiencies but also accelerates the return on investment for network operators," Nokia explained. Also Read: SoftBank Signs MoU for AI-RAN and 6G Network Research In another partnership, Nokia and T-Mobile are evaluating AI-RAN architectures, the feasibility of AI-driven accelerated computing for L1, and the integration of AI and RAN on shared cloud infrastructure. They are also exploring new monetization opportunities within AI-RAN ecosystems. "Since the announcement of the AI-RAN collaboration last year, both companies are working together to evaluate AI-RAN network architecture, the feasibility of using accelerated computing for L1, and to understand the co-existence of AI and RAN on the shared infrastructure using Nokia Cloud RAN and Nvidia platforms", the official release said. "To fully harness the transformative power of AI-RAN, Nokia is working hand-in-hand with an ecosystem of leading industry partners. We enable the evolution of 5G networks toward a multi-purpose cloud platform that unlocks new revenue models and infrastructure synergies for AI and RAN while already today enhancing RAN performance and efficiency with AI-powered products and services," commented Tommi Uitto, President of Mobile Networks at Nokia. "Alongside AI-RAN Alliance co-founders Softbank and T-Mobile US, it is encouraging to see new operators such as KDDI collaborating with Nokia to explore AI-RAN technologies, use cases and business models. This growing industry participation shows the strong appetite for AI integration with radio access networks," said Remy Pascal, Senior Research Manager for Mobile Infrastructure at Omdia. Also Read: NVIDIA AI Aerial: Merging Wireless Networks and Generative AI on a Unified Platform "We are thrilled to have signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Nokia to collaborate on the research and development of AI-RAN. This collaboration will accelerate the path to commercial viability by exploring practical applications of AI-powered networks. We anticipate that AI-RAN will unlock significant network optimization, enhance user experiences, reduce costs, and generating new services and revenue, leading to a more efficient and intelligent 5G ecosystem," noted Kazuhiro Furuhata, Executive Officer and General Manager, Network Node Technical Development Division Core Technology Sector at KDDI. "Through the monitoring of hardware resources by the AITRAS Orchestrator, we have successfully enabled the coexistence of vRAN and AI applications. This advancement facilitates the more efficient utilization of base station equipment," said Hideyuki Tsukuda, Executive Vice President and CTO, SoftBank Corp. "T-Mobile's collaboration with Nokia on AI-RAN is driving the future of network innovation. By exploring AI-driven architectures and leveraging multi-purpose cloud infrastructure, we're evaluating how accelerated compute for Layer 1 (L1) and the seamless integration of AI and RAN on shared platforms with our industry partners will enhance network performance and efficiency. Beyond technical advancements, we're also exploring new monetization opportunities and the broader techno-economics of AI-RAN, paving the way for smarter, intent-based networks," added John Saw, Executive Vice President, Chief Technology Officer, T-Mobile.

Nokia and NVIDIA Expand AI-RAN Trials, Evaluating GPUs for AI-Driven 5G

Nokia has announced that it is expanding its collaboration with Nvidia to test AI-RAN for 5G. The move comes as the industry prepares for 6G. Credit: Cristina Arias, Getty Images. Nokia has announced it is expanding its collaboration with Nvidia to test GPU-powered artificial intelligence Radio Access Networks (AI-RAN) for 5G and beyond. The Finnish telecom giant's announcement signals a potential shift from relying on its proprietary accelerator cards as the industry looks toward 6G's potential. Over the past twelve months, Nokia said it had been working closely with Nvidia to explore the chip maker's accelerated computing infrastructure enabling AI-RAN in its devices. Nokia has also formed a strategic partnership with telecom company KDDI to research the practical applications of AI-RAN, intending to make it commercially viable in the future. KDDI and Nokia's research will explore how AI-RAN can boost user experience and create new monetization opportunities. The research will also focus on how AI applications can reduce 5G network costs and power consumption. Kazuhiro Furuhata, Executive Officer & General Manager, Network Node Technical Development Division Core Technology Sector at KDDI, said: "We are thrilled to have signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Nokia to collaborate on the research and development of AI-RAN." "This collaboration will accelerate the path to commercial viability by exploring practical applications of AI-powered networks," Furuhata added. Furuhata said the company anticipates that AI-RAN will unlock "significant network optimization, enhance user experiences, reduce costs, and generate new services and revenue." "In practice, 6G will be AI-native with AI being considered right from the beginning of the design process," Tommi Uitto, President of Mobile Networks at Nokia said. As the industry moves towards 6G, traditional RAN architectures will struggle to handle the complexity and massive device connectivity that next-generation networks require. AI-RAN can help overcome these challenges by optimizing resource allocation and improving signal processing. "The convergence of AI, RAN, and Cloud, and 6G evolution are not just changing how we build and monetize radio access networks - they are empowering us to create a future filled with unprecedented opportunities," Uitto said. AI-RAN Alliance In February 2024, Nokia and other mobile networks launched the AI-RAN Alliance, a telecoms sector initiative to help boost the integration of AI into cellular technology. The alliance brought together several members from technology, industry, and academic institutions, with members including Amazon Web Services, Arm, Microsoft and SoftBank. The alliance aims to reduce power consumption while updating existing infrastructure to support new opportunities. "AI will fundamentally change the way wireless services are deployed and enable broad innovation and operational efficiency across the telco sector," Senior Vice President of Arm, Mohamed Awad, said. "The AI-RAN Alliance brings together industry-shaping companies with expertise from silicon through software to deliver on the promise of ubiquitous AI and 6G," Awad added.