At Mobile World Congress 2025, Nokia, in collaboration with industry partners KDDI, SoftBank Corp., T-Mobile US, and NVIDIA, is showcasing significant advancements in the development and optimization of AI-powered Radio Access Networks (AI-RAN). These efforts aim to establish platform-as-a-service business models for Communication Service Providers (CSPs), enabling them to offer scalable computing infrastructure for AI and other services alongside connectivity. Nokia’s anyRAN approach is evolving Cloud RAN solutions to incorporate AI computing within shared infrastructure, enhancing resource efficiency for operators.
To further accelerate AI-RAN innovation, Nokia has established an AI-RAN Center at its Dallas, U.S. offices. This facility allows partners to develop and test AI-RAN solutions under real-world network conditions, focusing on creating innovative use cases, prototypes, and validating AI-RAN reference architectures. Collaborations include:
• Nokia and NVIDIA: Over the past year, the companies have evaluated NVIDIA’s accelerated computing infrastructure to harness the transformative potential of AI-RAN.
• Nokia and KDDI: A strategic partnership to research practical AI-RAN applications, aiming to enhance user experience, network quality, and reduce 5G-related costs and power consumption through automation. Plans include a commercial trial using AI-enabled RAN hardware.
• Nokia and SoftBank: The partnership has demonstrated the integration of optimized AI workloads within the AI and RAN platform based on Red Hat OpenShift. This integration allows both RAN and non-RAN AI workloads to share computing resources efficiently, improving operational efficiencies and accelerating returns on investment.
• Nokia and T-Mobile US: The collaboration explores innovative architectures for a multi-purpose cloud infrastructure, evaluating AI-RAN network architecture, the feasibility of using accelerated computing for Layer 1, and the coexistence of AI and RAN on shared infrastructure using Nokia Cloud RAN and NVIDIA platforms.
These collaborations underscore Nokia’s commitment to leveraging AI to transform telecommunications infrastructure and services, paving the way for smarter, intent-based networks.
