Nvidia teams with Nokia, T-Mobile and telecom giants to build AI-powered 6G networks

Nvidia Forms Alliance to Make Sure 6G Networks Embrace AI

Nvidia Corp., the world's most valuable company, is throwing its weight behind an effort to make sure the forthcoming 6G phone networks provide a strong platform for services and devices that take advantage of artificial intelligence. Nvidia is teaming up with a group of telecommunications companies including Nokia Oyj, SoftBank Group Corp. and T-Mobile US Inc. that will commit to building sixth-generation networks based on computers and software capable of using AI to help direct radio traffic safely and efficiently. The change is necessary because of myriad devices that will be attached to networks in the future and their more complex requirements, Nvidia said Sunday in a statement timed for the opening of a telecom industry conference in Barcelona. The current generation, 5G, was designed to connect people via voice and data and provide them with retrieved information. It isn't capable of supporting the widespread use of AI, Nvidia said. "The networks of today simply aren't ready for the use cases of tomorrow," said Ronnie Vasishta, who heads Nvidia's telecommunications business and strategy. "In the AI era, everything changes. Networks will deliver intelligence, not just for humans on their phones, but for machines." Telecommunications networks will require "hundreds of thousands of times" more efficiency because there isn't enough radio spectrum to support the new uses, he said. The chipmaker, whose gear is at the center of the AI explosion, is trying to carve out a new market and clear a potential roadblock. Nvidia already offers versions of its chips, computers and software for use in networks and hopes to expand that business. At the same time, the company needs AI to spread to more areas -- in things termed physical AI, like robots and vehicles -- to continue to fuel demand and pay for the data centers that are currently the biggest consumers of its technology. Without wireless networks enabled for AI traffic, Nvidia's vision of a world full of humanoid robots and self-driving cars might be slower to emerge. Get the Tech Newsletter bundle. Get the Tech Newsletter bundle. Get the Tech Newsletter bundle. Bloomberg's subscriber-only tech newsletters, and full access to all the articles they feature. Bloomberg's subscriber-only tech newsletters, and full access to all the articles they feature. Bloomberg's subscriber-only tech newsletters, and full access to all the articles they feature. Bloomberg may send me offers and promotions. Plus Signed UpPlus Sign UpPlus Sign Up By submitting my information, I agree to the Privacy Policy and Terms of Service. Every decade or so the telecommunications business shifts to a new generation of wireless technology, the next "G." In the run-up to setting standards that determine the parameters of new hardware and software, companies form alliances to steer the industry in a direction they believe will favor their products. That approach has a mixed record and has been undermined by competing efforts that have sometimes delayed new deployments or resulted in networks that are incompatible. Nvidia argues that new gear and software needs to be fundamentally open. Instead of locked-down devices with bespoke hardware, the radios that send and receive wireless traffic should be controlled by software that can be updated and runs on more general purpose computers. The data traffic should be routed by AI software that's capable of responding to rapidly changing patterns and priorities in a way that's simply not currently possible, according to the chipmaker. In such an environment, the telecommunications industry will be far more open to the emergence of new providers, including startups that might rapidly attain billion-dollar valuations, Nvidia's Vasishta said. "This will be how a new telecom unicorn is born," he said. There have been far too few new entrants into the industry over the last decade, he added.

NVIDIA and Global Telecom Leaders Commit to Build 6G on Open and Secure AI-Native Platforms

* Leading operators and infrastructure providers including Booz Allen, BT Group, Cisco, Deutsche Telekom, Ericsson, MITRE, Nokia, ODC, SK Telecom, SoftBank Corp. and T-Mobile will build on open and trusted software-defined wireless platforms. * The commitment complements NVIDIA's ongoing collaborations with industry and governments across Europe, Japan, Korea, the U.K. and the U.S. to advance AI-native 6G innovation. Mobile World Congress -- NVIDIA today announced a commitment -- together with Booz Allen, BT Group, Cisco, Deutsche Telekom, Ericsson, MITRE, Nokia, OCUDU Ecosystem Foundation, ODC, SK Telecom, SoftBank Corp. and T-Mobile -- to build the world's next generation of wireless networks on AI-native, open, secure and trustworthy platforms. The initiative represents a shared commitment to ensure 6G infrastructure -- the foundation for the world's future connectivity -- is open, intelligent, resilient and accelerates innovation and safeguards global trust. Beyond traditional connectivity, 6G wireless networks will become the fabric for physical AI, enabling billions of autonomous machines, vehicles, sensors and robots and significantly increasing demands for security and trust. Legacy wireless architectures were not designed to meet these requirements, creating challenges as networks increase in complexity. To address this, NVIDIA is bringing the industry together to advance AI-native, software-defined wireless platforms built on open and trusted principles. By embedding AI across the radio access network (RAN), edge and core, 6G networks must enable secure integrated sensing and communications, intelligence and decision-making while supporting interoperability, supply-chain resilience and faster innovation. "AI is redefining computing and driving the largest infrastructure buildout in human history -- and telecommunications is next," said Jensen Huang, founder and CEO of NVIDIA. "Together with a global coalition of industry leaders, NVIDIA is building AI-RAN to transform the world's telecom networks into AI infrastructure everywhere." Uniting on Openness and Trust for the AI-Native, Software-Defined Era of Connectivity 6G will be AI-native and software-defined, enabling wireless networks to advance at the pace of innovation. 6G networks, built on AI-RAN architecture, will continuously evolve through software, enabling real-time intelligence and rapid advancement. This transformation opens the door for a diverse ecosystem of participants -- from global operators and technology providers to startups, researchers and developers -- all contributing through open and programmable platforms. Allison Kirkby, chief executive of BT Group, said: "Connectivity is the backbone of economic growth, and with this collaboration, we're helping lay the foundations for a future ecosystem that is intelligent, sustainable and secure. By building on open and trustworthy AI native platforms, we can simplify future technologies like 6G, ensuring they build upon the strengths of today's 5G networks while still unlocking powerful new capabilities at scale." Tim Höttges, CEO of Deutsche Telekom AG, said: "Best network, best customer experience -- that remains our promise. With an open, intelligent and trusted 6G infrastructure, we are laying the foundation for the era of physical AI and unlocking new value for our customers, for industry and for society." Arielle Roth, Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Communications and Information, and Administrator at the National Telecommunications and Information Administration, said: "America's 6G leadership will be critical to our nation's economic prosperity, national security and global competitiveness. Today's announcement demonstrates that the United States and our allies and partners around the world are leading in this next-generation technology. We look forward to the next steps from this international industry coalition as they advance and implement their shared 6G vision." Jung Jai-hun, president and CEO of SK Telecom, said: "SKT is evolving telco infrastructure to serve as the foundation for the AI era, where connectivity serves as a platform for intelligence and innovation. Together, we can build open, trusted infrastructure that drives a global ecosystem of AI innovation." Hideyuki Tsukuda, executive vice president and chief technology officer of SoftBank Corp., said: "Al-native 6G will transform wireless networks into secure, software-defined infrastructure that supports the next wave of global innovation. SoftBank Corp. is driving this innovation with NVIDIA by advancing open and trusted platforms that enable interoperability, resilience and continuous evolution at scale." Srini Gopalan, CEO of T-Mobile, said: "We're at a pivotal moment. In the U.S., we've laid the foundation with 5G Advanced and AI-native networks where intelligence lives inside the network. As 6G becomes the backbone of the AI era, telecom will serve as the nervous system of the digital economy, enabling autonomous systems and intelligent industries at scale and unlocking new value for customers and businesses alike. T-Mobile is proud to help define what's next through deep ecosystem collaboration and sustained innovation." A Shared Vision for 6G: Open, Software-Defined, AI-Native NVIDIA participates in global private and public initiatives to advance 6G innovation, contributing open source software, accessible platforms and joint research and development projects: * In the United States, NVIDIA has joined the FutureG Office-led OCUDU Initiative, aligning with government and industry partners to accelerate open, software-defined and AI-native 6G architectures. * NVIDIA is a founding member of the AI-RAN Alliance, which now has over 130 participating companies driving AI-RAN innovation. * NVIDIA, along with Booz Allen, Cisco, T-Mobile, MITRE and ODC, in October launched the AI-Native Wireless Networks (AI-WIN) project, an all-American AI-RAN stack to accelerate the path to 6G. * In Korea, NVIDIA is collaborating with an industry consortium to help shape intelligent, secure, programmable 6G networks from the ground up. * In the U.K., NVIDIA is collaborating with the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology to advance applied research, ecosystem development and trusted AI-native network design. * Across Europe and Japan, NVIDIA is actively engaged with public and industry programs aimed at strengthening open innovation, interoperability and trusted infrastructure. Together, these collaborations represent a unified commitment -- supported by like‑minded governments, operators and technology partners -- to shape secure, intelligent and trusted global connectivity for the next generation of wireless technology.

Ahead of MWC Barcelona, Nvidia bets AI-native platforms will carry telecom into 6G - SiliconANGLE

Ahead of MWC Barcelona, Nvidia bets AI-native platforms will carry telecom into 6G Nvidia Corp. early Sunday announced ahead of the MWC Barcelona conference that its joining global telecom leaders in a commitment to build 6G on open and secure artificial intelligence-native platforms, bringing software-defined networking to the future of telecommunications. As it rolled out, 5G helped offer enough bandwith and opportunity to blaze a trail for the much-anticipated "metaverse," but that hype has been quickly supplanted by another darling: artificial intelligence. The promise of AI -- and thinking machines acting autonomously across networks -- have greatly increased potential demands for switching and traffic. The current evolution, 5G Advanced, will turn early 5G deployments into something more capable and programmable and, frankly, more useful at scale. It represents a bridge that operators can tune using software-defined networking, allowing AI- and machine learning-assisted radio and operations to achieve better energy efficiency and improved coverage capacity, while supporting new devices. The expectation is that this will eventually grow into 6G, which is expected to launch commercially around 2030, with initial trials starting as early as 2028. Aside from transforming traditional connectivity, 6G wireless networks will accelerate advancements in physical AI, allowing millions of autonomous machines, sensors, vehicles and robots to interact with the real world. "AI is redefining computing and driving the largest infrastructure buildout in human history -- and telecommunications is next," said Jensen Huang, founder and chief executive of Nvidia. "Together with a global coalition of industry leaders, Nvidia is building AI-RAN to transform the world's telecom networks into AI infrastructure everywhere." AI-RAN, or artificial intelligence radio access networking, represents the next evolution of telecommunications architecture: incorporating AI-driven networking that can continuously evolve through software, enabling real-time intelligence and faster advancement. Nvidia joined with leading operators and infrastructure providers including Booz Allen Hamilton Inc., BT Group plc, Cisco Systems Inc., Deutsche Telekom AG, Nokia Corp. and T-Mobile US Inc. to build open and trusted wireless platforms. "As 6G becomes the backbone of the AI era, telecom will serve as the nervous system of the digital economy, enabling autonomous systems and intelligent industries at scale and unlocking new value for customers and businesses alike," said Srini Gopalan, chief executive of T-Mobile. To support this onrushing technological wake, Nvidia announced new AI-RAN collaborations with industry pioneers including T-Mobile US, SoftBank and Indosat Ooredoo Hutchison. These partnerships bring AI-RAN out of the lab and into the field, providing platforms for commercialization of products. This includes a growing ecosystem around Nvidia-powered solutions such as Quanta Cloud Technology off-the-shelf systems; WNC Corp.'s AI-optimized indoor-outdoor radio unit; Eridan Communications Inc.'s 4T4R O-RU; and Lite-On Technology Corp.'s completed integration for sub-6 GHz units and millimeter wave. This would allow companies to deploy wireless networking for high-capacity, short-range coverage and dense infrastructure in urban environments, as needed, depending on deployment requirements. Autonomous networks -- intelligent, self-managing telecommunications operations -- would mean telecoms operating themselves like thinking machines. That will require large language models and reasoning systems that can automate networks from within. Nvidia argues that for networks to become autonomous, agentic AI will need to run using specialized telecom network models that can talk to each other across networks and use simulation tools to validate actions. In its announcement, the company unveiled a Nemotron-based large telco model, or LTM, along with a guide for building agents for network operations and an operations blueprint. These Nvidia Blueprints include energy savings, network configuration with multi-agent orchestration and advanced autonomy. The company said its Nemotron framework is open and gives telcos transparency into how it was trained and what data was used. That, Nvidia argues, enables secure and fast on-premises deployment within networks. Nvidia and Tech Mahindra Ltd. published an open-source guide showing operators how to fine-tune domain-specific reasoning models and build agents for network operations center workflows.