Nokia Accelerates AI-RAN Testing as Operators Move to Field Trials

On September 16, Nokia announced that AI-RAN is gaining momentum worldwide, with multiple operators in North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and the Middle East advancing the technology from early assessments to lab tests and field trials. Participants include A1 Group, Chunghwa Telecom, du, e&, Mobily, stc, TPG Telecom, and Saudi Zain. The previously announced NTT DOCOMO test project is also progressing.

Nokia said it has already launched a commercial AI-native RAN platform and is conducting evaluations with T-Mobile, SoftBank, and Indosat Ooredoo Hutchison. The company has also expanded its OEM partner ecosystem and deepened collaboration with Nvidia on AI-RAN platform and software development tools.

Nokia's AI-RAN platform combines its AI-native anyRAN software with Nvidia's Aerial RAN Computer, enabling the radio access network to handle both communications traffic and certain AI compute tasks. According to Nokia, the platform has achieved a spectrum efficiency improvement of more than 20 percent, with further gains planned through software upgrades covering 2027 and 2028.