Ericsson unveiled a software subscription designed to bring telco-grade AI models directly into basebands and radios to enable operators to boost 5G performance, automation and energy efficiency without adding new hardware.

According to the vendor, the software uses AI models designed to operate in real time within the RAN, supported by continuous learning and agentic AI capabilities for more advanced network operations. The company stated its telco-grade models are built for ultra-low latency inference, with a focus on reliability across diverse RAN environments.

The service works with Ericsson 5G Advanced across purpose-built and Cloud RAN platforms. Ericsson stated the software uses its silicon in radios and the latest generation of RAN compute to employ “the right AI model in the right part of the radio network”, while its AI capabilities can also be deployed across partner platforms.

The first features are now available, with more to follow later in the year. Initial functions include AI-powered scheduler for link adaptation, beamforming and multi-layer coordination.

Ericsson claimed the technology has been deployed in more than 15 trials worldwide, delivering up to 20% higher downlink throughput and up to 10% better spectral efficiency, alongside support for up to twice as many high-traffic users. It also said AI in RAN could achieve up to 95% coverage prediction accuracy.

Marten Lerner, head of networks strategy and product management at Ericsson, said the company is “redefining what’s possible in mobile networks by bringing powerful AI capabilities to service providers”, adding “we are taking a major step toward AI-native networks”.

Further comments from Ericsson partners SoftBank, Bell, SK Telecom and Rogers focused on the software’s potential benefits around real-time optimisation, network performance, energy savings, automation and support for emerging AI-driven services.

Joe Madden, principal analyst at Mobile Experts, added: “With a software upgrade, operators can squeeze more capacity, better observability, and more accurate location-based services out of the 5G network they bought years ago.”

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Interview: AT&T completed a controlled introduction phase of its cloud RAN deployment, with roughly 25 sites running live traffic on Intel’s Sapphire Rapids processors as it plans to aggressively scale deployment when Intel’s next-generation Granite platform arrives over the coming months.

The Sapphire deployment is currently handling the TDD layers of the network, which represent the largest share of traffic, but not yet the full stack.

Rob Soni (pictured), VP of the operator’s RAN architecture, told Mobile World Live (MWL) Granite, which is already in AT&T’s labs, will enable a full stack covering FDD, TDD, NR and LTE from a single server design.

“This is all coming in phased pieces through the fall and early next year,” he said. “We plan to scale more aggressively on Granite than we did on Sapphire.”

He said AT&T expects to move from a few hundred Sapphire sites to thousands on Granite through 2026 and into 2028.

Performance on the Sapphire sites is matching traditional RAN on call drop rates and throughput, Soni said, and the team is beginning to utilise the platform’s promise of faster feature delivery.

The leading example is AI-driven link adaptation, developed with Ericsson, which replaces rules-based scheduling algorithms with a deep neural network.

Trials are showing roughly 10% gains in spectrum efficiency and 15% improvements in individual user throughput, with further benefits expected as AT&T tunes the global Ericsson model to its own network morphology.

“We’ve done a lot of trailing with the kind of global model of Ericsson,” Soni explained. “We’re now in the process of tuning the model to the AT&T morphology, the AT&T usage. That will change the nature, and we expect there to be more gain.”

Halfway point

In cellular networks, Soni stated a base station must determine on every transmission frame which users to serve, what modulation and coding scheme to use and how to balance competing demands across the spectrum.

It is a computationally intense optimisation problem, and the traditional approach has been to encode engineering judgment into static rule sets. The AI model Ericsson developed learns from network behaviour and adapts more fluidly to changing conditions.

Link adaptation is a critical algorithm for determining the overall multiple user performance in a cellular network,” he stated.

Rival T-Mobile US stated in May 2026 it is also trialling Ericsson’s AI-native scheduler with link adaptation on live 5G-Advanced traffic, but Soni noted AT&T has been trialling it since December 2025.

Soni told MWL AT&T is just past the halfway point for switching out Nokia’s RAN gear for Ericsson’s as part of a five year plan to transition 70% of its network traffic to run on open platforms by end of year.

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Ericsson dug deeper into a mining automation deal with Swedish equipment maker Epiroc, adding LTE and 5G equipment distribution to a near decade-long research arrangement.

The companies anticipate ever-growing demand for complete operational technology systems spanning mining equipment and connectivity. Ericsson cited ease of access to digitalisation techniques as among the benefits the expanded deal offers.

Epiroc Digital Solutions division president Paul Bergstrom said there is a rising need for connectivity systems from mining companies as they “advance automation and digitalisation throughout their operations”.

The equipment manufacturer plans to add Ericsson private 5G systems to its own telematics, remote control and position sensing products.

Last month, Epiroc advanced a deep automation product range with systems for drilling and material handling, expanding a portfolio offered since 2023 which it stated helped mines “unlock millions of tonnes of ore” they would not otherwise have been able to safely recover.

Ericsson Enterprise Wireless Solutions head of product and engineering Pankaj Malhotra said the updated deal with Epiroc ties into the operational goals involving safety, productivity and efficiency.

The pair is “helping mining companies modernise operations at scale”, he said.

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