New Nokia and Orange Collaboration Explores AI Native RAN Technologies for Future 6G Networks

New Nokia and Orange Collaboration Explores AI Native RAN Technologies for Future 6G Networks

(IN BRIEF) Nokia and Orange have expanded their collaboration to develop and evaluate AI-RAN technologies, supported by NVIDIA’s AI infrastructure. The initiative aims to integrate artificial intelligence into radio access networks to improve performance, energy efficiency, and enable new services such as predictive optimisation and integrated sensing. By combining Nokia’s anyRAN software with GPU-based processing, the partners are exploring more intelligent and automated network operations. The collaboration also aligns with Orange’s long-term strategy to evolve toward AI-native and 6G-ready networks across Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. Overall, the initiative represents a significant step in advancing next-generation telecommunications infrastructure driven by artificial intelligence.

(PRESS RELEASE) ESPOO, 15-Apr-2026 — /EuropaWire/ — Nokia and Orange have expanded their strategic collaboration to jointly advance artificial intelligence-driven radio access network (AI-RAN) technologies, with support from NVIDIA’s AI infrastructure. The partnership focuses on co-developing and testing new AI-enabled use cases aimed at improving network performance, efficiency, and service innovation.

The initiative combines Nokia’s anyRAN 5G software with NVIDIA’s GPU-based AI capabilities to explore how AI can be embedded more deeply into radio access networks. Through this collaboration, the companies aim to enhance spectral efficiency, enable predictive optimisation of radio performance, and support new functionalities such as integrated sensing and communication.

Working within a structured co-innovation framework, Nokia and Orange will jointly define, design, and validate AI-RAN solutions. This includes investigating how GPU-powered radio processing can improve receiver performance and how AI-driven algorithms can optimise key network functions such as scheduling, beamforming, and power management. The goal is to create more intelligent and automated network environments across both cloud-based and dedicated infrastructure.

Laurent Leboucher, Group Chief Technology Officer at Orange, highlighted the company’s commitment to building more adaptable and energy-efficient networks. He noted that integrating AI into the radio layer offers the potential to significantly improve both performance and energy consumption, while also enabling advanced capabilities such as predictive optimisation and radio sensing.

The collaboration also supports Orange’s broader network evolution strategy, particularly as the industry moves toward 6G. The partners will explore ways to maximise the efficiency of existing and future spectrum bands, including the upper 6 GHz range, while enabling a smooth transition to software-defined, 6G-ready network architectures.

By leveraging AI-native approaches, the initiative is expected to enhance how computing resources are utilised across Orange’s operations in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa, ensuring both sustainability and scalability in future network deployments.

Pallavi Mahajan, Chief Technology and AI Officer at Nokia, emphasised that AI is fundamentally transforming network design by introducing new levels of intelligence and flexibility. She noted that combining AI capabilities with radio access technologies in a unified architecture is a key step toward enabling cognitive, AI-native networks that will define the next generation of connectivity.

Through this partnership, Nokia, Orange, and NVIDIA aim to accelerate the development of AI-driven network technologies, laying the groundwork for more advanced, efficient, and intelligent telecommunications systems.

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SOURCE: Nokia