• Vodafone joins the AI-RAN Alliance
• Dell’Oro issues AI RAN investment forecast
• T-Mobile US courts regulators by ditching DEI policies

In today’s industry news roundup: Vodafone is now one of more than 100 companies to have joined the AI-RAN Alliance; research house Dell’Oro Group expects AI RAN investments to top $10bn by 2029; T-Mobile US abandons its diversity, equity and inclusion policies in the hope of getting M&A deal approvals; and much more!

Vodafone Group is the latest company to join the AI-RAN Alliance, which says it now has more than 100 members. The industry group was launched in late February 2024 by 12 companies, including Japan’s SoftBank Corp, T-Mobile US, Ericsson, Nokia and Nvidia, with a mission to promote the potential of AI for RAN, AI and RAN, and AI on RAN (you can find out what these terms mean in this article). More than 80 companies have since joined the founders, though not many are network operators (most are vendors, research labs and academic institutions), so the addition of Vodafone will come as a boost to the industry group, which is seeking to persuade the mobile network operator community to revamp their radio access networks (RANs) as soon as possible to integrate AI infrastructure (compute, storage, software). Francisco ‘Paco’ Martin, head of Open RAN at Vodafone, stated: “Vodafone is committed to using AI to optimise and enhance the performance of our radio access networks. Running AI and RAN workloads on shared infrastructure boosts efficiency, while integrating AI and generative applications over RAN enables new real-time capabilities at the network edge.” The alliance is pumped about signing up more than 100 members. Alex Jinsung Choi, chair of the AI-RAN Alliance and principal fellow at SoftBank Corp’s Research Institute of Advanced Technology, noted: “This milestone underscores the global momentum behind advancing AI for RAN, AI and RAN, and AI on RAN. Our members are pioneering how artificial intelligence can be deeply embedded into radio access networks – from foundational research to real-world deployment – to create intelligent, adaptive and efficient wireless systems.” The potential of AI-RAN, as well as some of the concerns about the impact of deploying graphics processing units (GPUs) in the radio access network, is explored in our latest DSP Leaders report, Trends in Telco AI Infrastructure, which can be downloaded for free here. 

Whatever blueprint or model is used, there’s an expectation that the mobile operator community will be investing in AI capabilities in the RAN during the next five years. Research firm Dell’Oro Group has just published a forecast suggesting that AI RAN investments will be worth more than $10bn per year by 2029, accounting for about a third of the total RAN equipment market by that time. (It should be noted that the Dell’Oro team previously outlined its views on AI RAN when it stated that, for the purposes of its market view, the “AI-RAN Alliance version of AI RAN is a subset of the broader AI RAN opportunity”.) According to Dell’Oro analyst and VP Stefan Pongratz, the “near-term priorities [for operators investing in AI RAN] are more about efficiency gains than new revenue streams. There is strong consensus that AI RAN can improve the user experience, enhance performance, reduce power consumption, and play a critical role in the broader automation journey. Unsurprisingly, however, there is greater scepticism about AI’s ability to reverse the flat revenue trajectory that has defined operators throughout the 4G and 5G cycles,” added Pongratz. In the initial phases of AI RAN investments, Pongratz believes the existing RAN radio and baseband vendors – the likes of Ericsson, Huawei, Nokia, Samsung Networks and ZTE – will pick up the initial AI RAN opportunities as these will likely involve “upgrades leveraging the existing [RAN] hardware. 

T-Mobile US has opted to drop its diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) policies at a time when it is seeking regulatory approval from the anti-DEI Trump administration for two M&A deals, reports Reuters. The operator wrote to US telecom regulator the  Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to note it is ending its DEI policies “not just in name, but in substance.” T-Mobile US is hoping to acquire most of USCellular’s assets in a $4.4bn deal announced in May 2024 and is seeking to invest $4.9bn in a 50% stake of a new venture with private equity firm KKR that will acquire US fibre player Metronet, with both deals needing the green light from US regulators. Verizon agreed to ditch its DEI policies earlier this year in order to get approval for its $20bn deal to acquire Frontier Communications, while AT&T is currently holding firm on its HR policies, even though it also needs regulatory approval for its planned $5.75bn acquisition of Lumen’s fibre access assets.  

Back to the RAN sector… Ericsson has pipped Huawei to top the RAN vendor market landscape assessment conducted by industry research firm Omdia. “The Omdia assessment covered 11 radio access network (RAN) vendors, categorising them into three groups: Leaders, major challengers, and upcoming vendors,” noted Ericsson in this announcement. “They were evaluated based on two key dimensions: Business performance and portfolio. Ericsson emerged as the top performer in both, solidifying its position as a market leader,” boasted the vendor. Rémy Pascal, practice leader for mobile infrastructure at Omdia, stated: “Ericsson stands as the market leader in both business performance and portfolio dimensions. The company secured more 5G deals and expanded market share in 2024 versus 2023. Its portfolio excellence is demonstrated through flagship radio products, such as the AIR3266 and AIR3265, and baseband products, such as the RAN Processors 6672 and 6655. Additionally, Ericsson has strengthened its partner ecosystem, further solidifying its industry position.”

Positioning, modelling and analytics company Trimble has teamed up with telco KT Corp to “deliver precise positioning services across South Korea with the Trimble RTX Fast network,” the vendor has announced. “Together, the companies will provide bundled telecom, correction and precise positioning services to automotive original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and internet of things (IoT) companies throughout South Korea,” added Trimble. The vendor’s real-time global navigation satellite system (GNSS) correction services are “purpose-built for the connected future with expansive global coverage via IP/cellular and satellite delivery. Trimble RTX Fast provides real-time centimetre-level positioning to enhance safety, unlock greater performance, automate workflows and enable increased productivity,” the vendor added. 

– The staff, TelecomTV