News summary
- Top operators and infrastructure providers such as Booz Allen, BT Group, Cisco, Deutsche Telekom, Ericsson, Maitreya, Nokia, ODC, SK Telecom, SoftBank Corp., and T-Mobile plan to use open, trusted software-defined wireless platforms.
- This commitment adds to NVIDIA’s ongoing work with industry and governments in Europe, Japan, Korea, the UK, and the US to push forward AI-native 6G innovation.
At Mobile World Congress, NVIDIA announced a joint commitment with Booz Allen, BT Group, Cisco, Deutsche Telekom, Ericsson, Maitreya, Nokia, ODC, SK Telecom, SoftBank Corp., and T-Mobile to build the next generation of wireless networks using AI-native, open, secure, and trustworthy platforms.
This effort demonstrates a shared commitment to making 6G infrastructure, which will serve as a foundation for future worldwide connectivity, open, intelligent, resilient, and able to drive innovation while protecting global trust.
6G wireless networks will go beyond basic connectivity and become the backbone for physical AI. They will support billions of self-driving machines, vehicles, sensors, and robots, requiring much higher levels of security and trust. Older wireless systems were not built for these needs, so new challenges will arise as networks become more complex.
To address these problems, NVIDIA is uniting the industry to develop AI-native software-defined wireless platforms based on open trusted principles by adding AI throughout the radio access network, edge, and core 16 network. We’ll need to provide:
- secure sensing and communication
- smart decision making
- support for interoperability
- supply chain resilience
- faster innovation
AI is changing computing and driving the largest infrastructure expansion ever. Telecommunications is the next step, said Jensen Huang, founder and CEO of NVIDIA, with a global group of industry leaders in media building AI RAN to run telecom networks into AI infrastructure everywhere.
Uniting On Openness And Trust For The AI-Native Software-Defined Era Of Connectivity
6G will be AI-native and software-defined, allowing wireless networks to keep up with rapid innovation. Networks built on AI/RAN architecture will evolve through software, providing real-time intelligence and quick progress. This change will welcome a wide range of participants, including global operators, tele-technology providers, start-ups, researchers, and developers, all working together on open and programmable platforms.
Alison Kirkby, Chief Executive of BT Group, said: “Connectivity is the backbone of economic growth, and with this cooperation, we are helping lay the foundations for a future ecosystem that is intelligent, sustainable, and secure by building on open and trustworthy AI-native platforms. We can simplify future technologies like 6G, making sure they build upon the strengths of today’s 5G networks while still unlocking powerful new capabilities at scale.”
Tim Hottges, CEO of Deutsche Telekom AG, said: “Best network, best customer experience: that remains our promise. With an open, intelligent, and trusted 6G infrastructure, we are laying the foundation for the era of physical AI and bringing new value to our customers for industry and for society.”
Arielle Roth, Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Communications and Information and Administrator at the National Telecommunications and Information Administration, said America’s 6G leadership will be critical to our nation’s global economic prosperity, national security, and global competitiveness. Today’s announcement demonstrates that the United States and our allies and partners around the world are leading in this next-generation technology. We look forward to the next steps from this International Industry Coalition as they advance and implement their common 6G vision.
Jung Jai-hun, President and CEO of SK Telecom, said, “SKT is evolving telco infrastructure to serve as the foundation for the AI era, in which connectivity acts as a platform for intelligence and innovation. Together, we can build an open, trusted infrastructure that drives a global ecosystem of AI innovation.”
Hideyuki Tsukuda, Executive Vice President and Chief Technology Officer of SoftBank Corp., said 6G will transform wireless networks into secure, software-defined infrastructure that supports the next wave of global innovation. SoftBank Corp. is driving this advancement with NVIDIA by advancing open and trusted platforms that enable interoperability, resilience, and steady evolution at scale.
Inigo Palan, CEO of T-Mobile, said we are at a key moment. In the US, we’ve laid the foundation for advanced, AI-native 5 G networks, where intelligence lives within the network. As 6G becomes the backbone of the AI era, telecom will serve as the nervous system of the digital economy, enabling autonomous and intelligent industries at scale and unleashing new value for customers and enterprises alike. T-Mobile is proud to help define what’s next through deep ecosystem collaboration and sustained innovation.
A Common Vision for 6G: Open Software-Defined AI-Native
NVIDIA participates in global private and public initiatives to advance 6G innovation, contributing open-source software, accessible platforms, and joint research and development projects:
- In the United States, NVIDIA has joined the Future-G office-led OCUDU initiative, collaborating with government and industry partners to accelerate open, software-defined, and AI-native 6G architectures.
- NVIDIA is the founding member of the AI/RAN Alliance, which now has over 130 participating companies driving AI/RAN innovation.
- NVIDIA, along with Booth Allen, CISCO, T-Mobile, MITRE, and ODC, launched the AI-native wireless networks (AI-WIN project) in October, an all-American AI RN stack to accelerate the pack to 6G.
- In Korea, NVIDIA is collaborating with an industry consortium to help shape intelligent, secure, programmable 6G networks from the ground up.
- In the UK, NVIDIA is collaborating with the Department of Science, Innovation, and Technology to advance applied research, ecosystem development, and trusted AI-native network design.
- Across Europe and Japan, NVIDIA is actively engaged with public and industry programs created to strengthen open innovation, interoperability, and trusted infrastructure.
Together, these joint efforts show a unified commitment, supported by like-minded governments, operators, and technology partners, to create secure, intelligent, and trusted worldwide connectivity for the next generation of wireless technology.
Source: NVIDIA and Global Telecom Leaders Commit to Build 6G on Open and Secure AI-Native Platforms
