Nokia has announced the industry’s first commercial AI-native radio access network (AI-RAN) platform, built on Nokia’s anyRAN software and NVIDIA’s Aerial AI-RAN platform. The launch marks what Nokia describes as one of the most significant shifts in radio network architecture in decades, moving RAN from hardware-defined infrastructure to software-defined, AI-accelerated systems that can improve continuously without requiring hardware replacement cycles.
The platform has already demonstrated more than 20% spectral efficiency gains in testing. Nokia is targeting 50% spectral gains by 2027 and more than 100% by 2028 — meaning operators could effectively double the capacity of their existing spectrum assets through software and AI upgrades rather than purchasing additional spectrum or deploying new radios. The platform supports 4G and 5G workloads on a common architecture and is designed to provide a software upgrade path toward 6G.
Nokia is offering the platform through three hardware paths to accommodate the diversity of operator infrastructure and transformation strategies. For existing Nokia AirScale customers, a new GPU-powered capacity plug-in unit integrates NVIDIA accelerated computing into current network infrastructure with a simple upgrade process, preserving existing radio investments while delivering AI-accelerated capacity gains. That expansion card is also supported by AI-accelerated merchant silicon from Marvell. For operators seeking maximum flexibility, Nokia is introducing what it describes as the industry’s first GPU-powered standalone AI-RAN node, deployable as a standalone unit, in clustered configurations, or alongside AirScale as a single logical base station. For operators pursuing cloud-native architectures, Nokia is offering GPU-powered AI-RAN COTS server solutions through ecosystem partners on industry-standard accelerated computing infrastructure.
All three paths share a common anyRAN software foundation and are fully compliant with Open RAN standards, enabling open, interoperable multi-vendor deployments. Nokia is introducing a subscription-based commercial model through which operators receive ongoing access to new AI algorithms, spectral efficiency enhancements, and network optimization capabilities as software updates — shifting the economics of network improvement from hardware capital expenditure cycles to continuous software delivery.
Pilot deployments are planned for the end of 2026, with commercial availability targeted for 2027.
KEY QUOTES:
“AI-RAN is the biggest innovation in radio in decades. AI-RAN makes the network intelligent, extends AI into the physical world, and allows telcos to get more from their existing infrastructure, including a software upgrade path to 6G. Nokia’s anyRAN software, powered by NVIDIA’s Aerial AI-RAN platform, unlocks greater performance from the spectrum operators already have and can be deployed with existing Nokia or ORAN-compliant radio units. For operators, that means more performance, better returns and faster delivery of new services.”
Justin Hotard, President and Chief Executive Officer, Nokia
“Telecommunications is entering the AI era — the radio access network is the next AI infrastructure. Together with Nokia, we are bringing NVIDIA CUDA and AI into the baseband, transforming RAN into a planet-scale AI computer. This is a generational shift for operators — unlocking more capacity and efficiency from today’s spectrum while creating the foundation for new AI services and the 6G era.”
Jensen Huang, Founder and Chief Executive Officer, NVIDIA
