Nvidia said at GTC Berlin on 21 October that nearly 20 telecom operators had announced AI-RAN collaborations using its Aerial RAN Computer and Nokia’s anyRAN software, as the companies extend accelerated computing across data centres, metro sites and cell sites. AI-RAN lets operators run AI workloads alongside mobile services on computing equipment in the radio network.
Nvidia said T-Mobile had completed what it called the world’s first AI-RAN call on a commercial network in Bellevue, Washington. The call used commercial ARC servers, Nokia’s CUDA-accelerated radio software and massive MIMO radios connected to an existing 5G core and a commercial smartphone. Elisa has also run voice, mobile data and video analytics together on ARC in a 5G field trial, according to Nvidia.
Nine operators across Europe, the Middle East and Africa are building or expanding Nvidia-powered infrastructure, the company said. New builds include CRA in the Czech Republic, etisalat in the United Arab Emirates, Silknet in Georgia and TIM in Italy. Nvidia said Nokia is integrating its Nemotron models into the Autonomous Networks Suite for agents that manage fixed, radio, core and transport networks.
BT plans live AI-RAN trials with Nokia and Nvidia in Birmingham, England, in 2027, according to Nvidia.
