The path to AI-RAN and the first 6G network is marked by many milestones—some that are still out of reach. But we predict it won’t be long. Like 5G Advanced, and 5G Standalone before it, T-Mobile is leading the way, laying the foundation, and running miles ahead of the competition. Together with our partners NVIDIA, Ericsson, and Nokia we’re developing and testing equipment and technologies we believe will unlock a 6G wireless network with AI at its heart. 

AI-RAN integrates AI into mobile networks to optimize radio signal processing. Alex Jinsung Choi, chair of the AI-RAN Alliance, might have said it best: the goal is to “weave AI right into the fabric of the radio access network.” Once that’s accomplished, AI-RAN will use billions of data points to create algorithms that predict real-time capacity and automatically make the adjustments needed for maximum network performance.   
  
AI will not only power RAN performance and automate operations but empower the wireless network infrastructure to run third-party AI application workloads at the network edge. At T-Mobile, we’re actively working to integrate AI into our network using AI-RAN, not only to optimize performance for our customers now, but to begin to pave the way for 6G.

As founding members of the global AI-RAN Alliance, T-Mobile, NVIDIA, Ericsson, and Nokia have made it their mission to make AI-RAN a reality for wireless networks. In September 2024, we made it official with the inauguration of the AI-RAN Innovation Center.     
  
Between T-Mobile’s 5G leadership, the NVIDIA AI Aerial platform, and Ericsson’s and Nokia’s groundbreaking telecommunications solutions, our super group of innovators are bridging the divide between RAN technology and AI innovation to revolutionize wireless experiences with a network powered by AI-RAN. 

Open RAN and Cloud RAN are closely related, but they represent different aspects of the evolution of Radio Access Networks (RANs). Open RAN allows for a more flexible and open architecture, while Cloud RAN virtualizes network functions in the cloud.  
  
AI-RAN concepts will be built in an open and containerized manner like Open RAN, with virtualized RAN and Core components managed from a central cloud. Only, AI-RAN will make the promises of Open RAN more viable with the addition of the accelerated computing that GPUs can bring to network processing workloads.   
  
Both Open RAN and Cloud RAN are in the interim stages now. There’s a lot to decipher before we get to AI-RAN. We have Cloud RAN systems in our lab today. We’re currently testing it out, probing its potential value, and searching for that first use case to bring to market.   

Improving the way existing bands of spectrum are being used will play a part in reaching 6G as well. The current midband range for 5G comes in at around 1GHz to 6GHz. The midband range for 6G will be somewhere between 7GHz to 15GHz.  

The FCC granted T-Mobile a testing permit to explore the development of frequency bands in the upper midband 7GHz range. Using Nokia's 6G experimental equipment for the trials, these frequencies will be used to transmit and receive data between mobile equipment installed in vehicles and fixed stations in and around T-Mobile’s home base in Bellevue, Washington. 

While much of AI-RAN and 6G remain in the experiment-and-test phase, the 5G network never rests. Many of the enhancements currently taking place in T-Mobile’s 5G Advanced network, like 6-Carrier Aggregation and New Radio Dual Connectivity (5G DC), are also preparing the network for the transition to 6G.  
  
The 6G network is happening. And while consumers are enjoying the immersive experiences, smart cities and homes, and advances in health and safety 6G delivers—T-Mobile will be focused on defining and reaching the milestones for whatever’s next.