Industry Leaders in AI and Wireless Form AI-RAN Alliance

BARCELONA, Spain, Feb. 27, 2024 — The AI-RAN Alliance, a new collaborative initiative aimed at integrating artificial intelligence (AI) into cellular technology to further advance radio access network (RAN) technology and mobile networks, was launched this week at the GSMA Mobile World Congress in Barcelona.

Bringing together technology, industry, and academic institutions, the alliance’s founding members include Amazon Web Services, Inc. (AWS), Arm, DeepSig Inc. (DeepSig), Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson (Ericsson), Microsoft Corporation (Microsoft), Nokia, Northeastern University, NVIDIA, Samsung Electronics, SoftBank Corp. (SoftBank) and T-Mobile USA, Inc. (T-Mobile). The group’s mission is to enhance mobile network efficiency, reduce power consumption, and retrofit existing infrastructure, setting the stage for unlocking new economic opportunities for telecommunications companies with AI, facilitated by 5G and 6G.

Alliance members will leverage their technology expertise and collective leadership to focus on three main areas of research and innovation:

• AI for RAN – advancing RAN capabilities through AI to improve spectral efficiency.
• AI and RAN – integrating AI and RAN processes to utilize infrastructure more effectively and generate new AI-driven revenue opportunities.
• AI on RAN – deploying AI services at the network edge through RAN to increase operational efficiency and offer new services to mobile users.

Network operators in the alliance will spearhead the testing and implementation of these advanced technologies developed through the collective research efforts of the member companies and universities.

Ronnie Vasishta, Senior Vice President for Telecom at NVIDIA, said, “The AI-RAN Alliance marks a critical step toward a future in which the full power of AI and digital twins can be harnessed for mobile networks and the transformation of the telecom industry. The alliance’s work will help accelerate the pace of AI innovation, driving unprecedented levels of efficiency across the industry.”

Charlie Zhang, Senior Vice President at Samsung Research America, said, “Emerging services in the 6G era will revolutionize the way people interact with technology, and AI will be an integral part of this trend. The AI-RAN Alliance will foster collaboration, drive innovation and usher in a new era of transformation around AI and 6G networks. We believe this coalition will create new value for end users and operators through AI-based use cases and innovations.”

Junichi Miyakawa, President & CEO of SoftBank, said, “The AI-RAN Alliance has been formed with the vision to spearhead the advancement of society through AI innovations, particularly from the telecom industry. Through our collaborative efforts, SoftBank aims to drive change toward a better future, leveraging the vast potential of AI to enhance every aspect of our lives. We are committed to leading the shift from traditional communication infrastructure to AI-powered next-generation social infrastructure.”

Mobile World Congress Barcelona 2024

If you are attending MWC and would like to schedule time to see the AI-RAN Alliance demo showcasing the transformative potential of AI in RAN technology, please reach out to [email protected].

• Date: February 26 – 29, 2024
• Location: Arm booth at Hall 2, Stand I60

For more information about the AI-RAN Alliance, please visit https://ai-ran.org.

Source: AI-RAN Alliance