The AI-RAN Alliance has announced that it has added Vodafone to its ranks, with over 100 members.
The AI-RAN Alliance, launched in 2024, has a stated mission to accelerate the innovation of artificial intelligence (AI) deployed through the Radio Access Network (RANS) that functions to unlock the possibility of artificial intelligence transformation in wireless networks.
The Alliance has grown to include technology leaders, academic institutions, service providers, research labs and industrial associations across more than 17 countries, focusing on supporting the next generation of mobile infrastructure by sharing experiments, knowledge and real-world performance.
Part of the group's mission is to increase the efficiency of mobile networks, reduce power consumption, remodel existing infrastructure and set the stage for economic opportunities for telecommunications companies with AI, with Radio's transformation being carried out on 5G and upcoming 6G networks.
Founding members include Amazon Web Services, Arm, Deepsig, Telefonaktiebolaget, Ericsson, Microsoft, Nokia, Northeastern University, Nvidia, Samsung Electronics, SoftBank, and T-Mobile USA.
At the launch, Mohamed Awad, Senior Vice President and General Manager of the Infrastructure Lines at ARM, said:
Alliance members are looking to use technology expertise and collective leadership to focus on three key areas: research and innovation. AIFor RAN. ai and ran; and ran ai. In the first category, members are trying to advance RAN capabilities through AI to improve spectral efficiency, while the integration work of AI and RAN processes aims to use infrastructure more effectively and create new AI-driven revenue opportunities. AI on Ran considers deploying AI services via Network Edge, increasing operational efficiency and providing new services to mobile users.
Commenting on the addition of Landmark and Vodafone, Alex Jinzun Choi, chairman of the AI-RAN Alliance at SoftBank's Institute of Advanced Technology, said: “We are thrilled with the extraordinary growth of the AI-RAN Alliance. From basic research to real-world deployments, we will create intelligent, adaptive and efficient wireless systems in our radio access networks.”
Francisco Martin, Vodafone's Open Ran head, added: “Vodafone is committed to using AI to optimize and enhance the performance of radio access networks. It runs AI, increases the efficiency of shared infrastructure, and integrates AI and generated applications to enable new real-time capacity at the network edge.”
