BARCELONA, Spain - A new consortium, the AI-RAN Alliance, has been formed to integrate artificial intelligence into radio access networks (RAN).
Founding members include a mix of technology giants and telecom operators such as Amazon Web Services, Inc. (AWS), Arm, DeepSig Inc. (DeepSig), Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson (Ericsson), Microsoft Corporation (Microsoft), Nokia, NVIDIA, Samsung Electronics, SoftBank Corp. (SoftBank), and T-Mobile USA, Inc. (T-Mobile), as well as academic such as Northeastern University.
The move comes as telecommunications companies seek to harness the potential of AI to improve efficiency and reduce costs.
The alliance will focus its research on improving spectral efficiency, optimizing infrastructure usage, and developing new AI-powered services.
"Ericsson sees AI-driven RAN automation as a critical shift," said Ericsson's Per Beming.
"Emerging services in the 6G era will revolutionize how people interact with technology, and AI will be an integral part of this trend," said Charlie Zhang, Senior Vice President at Samsung Research America.
The alliance signals a growing industry recognition that AI is key to transforming mobile networks and unlocking new revenue streams in the 5G and 6G era.
