Nokia to 'revolutionise' mobile networks

Nokia is collaborating with NVIDIA to revolutionize the future of AI-ready radio access network (RAN) solutions. The collaboration, which further enhances Nokia’s anyRAN approach, aims to position AI as fundamental to transforming the future of the telecommunications network business. As AI is poised to change the landscape of telecommunications infrastructure and services within the mobile operator sector, this collaboration aims to deliver incremental value to end users through the introduction of innovative telco AI services.

Nokia will collaborate with NVIDIA on Cloud RAN solutions that leverage the NVIDIA Grace™ CPU Superchip for Layer 2+ processing, Nokia’s high-performance, energy-efficient In-Line Layer 1 (L1) accelerator technology, and Cloud RAN software. Additionally, Nokia will use NVIDIA GPUs for AI applications and vRAN acceleration, paving the way for AI-RAN.

The NVIDIA Grace CPU is based on the latest and most advanced Arm Neoverse V2 CPU reference architecture. It delivers incredible performance, power efficiency, and high-bandwidth connectivity covering all data center requirements. Nokia’s customers will benefit from diversity and choice in selecting CPUs for Cloud RAN networks.

The announcement is a continuation of Nokia’s flexible anyRAN approach that supports any purpose-built, hybrid or Cloud RAN environment. It’s designed to help customers get their Cloud RAN services up and running much faster, removing complexity and ensuring openness and flexibility. Nokia’s high-performance, energy-efficient In-Line acceleration architecture seamlessly integrates with all leading cloud or server infrastructures. Nokia has successfully performed end-to-end 5G data calls (Layer 3 calls) in multi-vendor setups with several partners.

Tommi Uitto, President of Mobile Networks at Nokia, said: “This is an important collaboration with NVIDIA that will explore how artificial intelligence can play a transformative role in the future of our industry. It is a further example of our anyRAN approach that is helping to make Cloud RAN a commercial reality. The strength of our industry collaborations means we can drive efficiency, innovation, openness, and scale by delivering competitive advantage to operators and enterprises.”

Ronnie Vasishta, Senior Vice President of Telecom at NVIDIA, said: “Bringing the power of NVIDIA’s advanced computing to Nokia’s platform will deliver more performant and energy-efficient Cloud RAN solutions. Plus, as AI creates unprecedented transformational opportunities across industries, our collaboration with Nokia deepens AI-enabled innovation in radio access networks for improved operational efficiency in telecommunications.”