Ericsson announced a collaboration with Intel to help accelerate the transition from 6G research to commercial deployment by advancing AI-native network infrastructure across the telecommunications ecosystem. The partnership, unveiled at Mobile World Congress Barcelona 2026, expands a long-standing relationship between the two companies and focuses on integrating compute, connectivity, and cloud technologies across next-generation mobile networks.
The companies said the collaboration will support development across multiple layers of telecom infrastructure, including the radio access network (RAN), packet core, and edge environments. The initiative aims to combine AI-driven networking capabilities with advanced compute architectures to enable more efficient, intelligent, and programmable networks designed for future 6G use cases.
According to the announcement, the partnership will explore technologies that enable both AI for networks and networks for AI, combining real-time sensing, intelligent compute, and programmable connectivity. Ericsson and Intel plan to develop high-performance and energy-efficient compute architectures to support the next generation of telecom infrastructure.
Ericsson said the effort is designed to help the telecom industry move from early-stage 6G research toward commercially deployable infrastructure, while fostering collaboration with global standards bodies and industry organizations to ensure interoperability and ecosystem readiness.
The companies also highlighted previous joint milestones across cloud RAN, 5G core infrastructure, and open networking systems. Demonstrations of their ongoing collaboration are being showcased at Mobile World Congress 2026 across multiple ecosystem partner venues and company exhibits.
Ericsson noted that AI-native 6G networks are expected to bring compute and sensing capabilities closer together across distributed infrastructure, enabling more responsive and efficient services across devices, edge environments, and cloud platforms.
KEY QUOTES
“6G is not merely an iteration of mobile technology. It is the infrastructure that will distribute AI across devices, the edge and the cloud. Ericsson’s long history of network innovation and large-scale operator deployments positions us to lead practical integration across the value chain and move 6G from research into commercial reality.”
Börje Ekholm, President And CEO Of Ericsson
“Intel’s ambition is to be the undisputed technology leader in unifying RAN, Core and edge AI to enable a seamless transition to AI-native 6G environments. Together with Ericsson, we will continue to demonstrate that the future of network connectivity is open, power-efficient, secure and grounded in intelligent AI inference. With future Ericsson Silicon, powered by Intel’s most advanced process nodes, ongoing multi-year research plans, and flexible AI-RAN ready Cloud RAN powered by Intel Xeon, we are well on our way to delivering the future performance, efficiency, and supply security that the world’s leading operators require.”
Lip-Bu Tan, CEO Of Intel
