What’s up with… NGMN, AT&T and Cisco, Firecell

• NGMN tackles AI’s impact on 6G planning
• AT&T and Cisco bring 5G SA to IoT
• Firecell and Accelleran merge

In today’s industry news roundup: Industry body NGMN has issued a new document that looks at the impact that AI is having in telco 6G developments; AT&T and Cisco have joined forces to offer 5G standalone capabilities in the IoT market; European tech developers Firecell and Accelleran have merged to focus on the private 5G sector in Europe; and more!

The Next Generation Mobile Networks Alliance (NGMN) has addressed one of the most pressing issues currently facing mobile network operators (MNOs) in its latest publication – how AI-related requirements should be addressed in the evolution towards 6G. The paper, AI Surge and its Implications for 6G, consolidates the perspectives of multiple MNOs on “how AI may impact 6G standardisation and provides guidance to support ongoing 6G studies within 3GPP” by examining three key dimensions: The impact of AI-driven traffic on networks; network capabilities required to support AI-based services; and the role of AI as an enabler for future network architecture evolution. Laurent Leboucher, chairman of the NGMN Alliance board and Orange’s Group CTO and EVP Networks, stated: “As 6G standardisation enters a critical phase, the rapid growth of AI and AI agents presents both opportunities and challenges for mobile network operators… Given the variety of future AI use cases and applications, it is essential that 6G standards enable adaptability without forcing disruptive architectural changes. Flexibility will be critical to accommodate evolving AI use cases across devices, networks and regions.” 

AT&T and Cisco have teamed up to bring the functionality of 5G standalone networks to the IoT sector. “This collaboration commercially activates a 5G standalone-native IoT platform that tightly integrates AT&T’s nationwide 5G SA core with Cisco’s industry-leading Mobility Services Platform portfolio (including IoT Control Center and Converged Core offerings),” a move that will “unlock programmable network capabilities such as network slicing, and application-aware performance at scale,” noted Cisco in this announcement. “Together, AT&T and Cisco are laying the foundation for AI-driven IoT, where connectivity, compute, and control dynamically adapt in real time to business and application needs, enabling businesses to move faster, operate smarter, and stay secure in an increasingly connected world,” added Cisco. 

Nice, France-based Firecell and Antwerp, Belgium-based Accelleran have merged to create “a complete private 5G solution for industrial autonomy, critical infrastructure, and defense connectivity,” the companies have announced. The move enables the merged company, which will operate under the Firecell name, brings together Firecell’s core network and network management system with Accelleran’s programmable RAN, management and AI capabilities “into a pre-integrated sovereign private 5G solution” that is suitable for deployment at ports, factories, defense installations, and logistics facilities, “where connectivity is critical for operations,” the companies noted. The merger is backed by a €7.9m investment round led by existing investors Matterwave Ventures, BPI France, Qbic, and Cogito Capital Partners. 

Radio access network (RAN) technology vendor Airspan has launched its MobileAccess Digital DAS platform, which has already been deployed in the US by mobile operators and enterprises, across Europe (including the UK). The company notes that the MobileAccess portfolio “operates in private 5G spectrum and is pre-integrated with Airspan’s AOS 5G baseband software via open O-RAN {alliance] interfaces – creating the industry’s first DAS with a fully integrated private network solution for seamless private 5G activation inside enterprise facilities.” The announcement came just days after the company reported a 20% increase in full year revenues to $115m and (unspecified) “operating profitability” for the whole of 2025. 

– The staff, TelecomTV