When will the field trial take place?

The companies agreed to conduct the AI-RAN field trial in 2027 on SoftBank's commercial network environment.

What software will be tested?

Nokia's RAN software anyRAN will run on SoftBank's AITRAS platform, and SoftBank's AITRAS orchestrator will be linked with Nokia's MantaRay network management and automation solution.

What is the goal of the trial?

The trial aims to verify technology that lets AI and RAN workloads coexist and be managed cooperatively on the same platform while maintaining the communication quality and stability required of RAN.

Top Companies' AI MovesAI Business & IndustryTop Companies AI7h agoOct 21, 2026, 06:30 JST

SoftBank, Nokia set 2027 AI-RAN field trial on commercial network

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3 Key Points

What happened
SoftBank and Nokia agreed to conduct an AI-RAN field trial in 2027 on SoftBank's commercial network, running Nokia's anyRAN software on SoftBank's AITRAS platform.
Why it matters
The trial is meant to verify whether AI and RAN workloads can coexist and be managed together on one platform without sacrificing the quality and stability telecom networks require, a step toward commercial deployment of AITRAS.
What to watch
The field trial is scheduled for 2027 on SoftBank's commercial network.

WHO IT HITSTelecom network engineers and operators evaluating whether AI workloads can run alongside radio access workloads on shared infrastructure stand to gain evidence from this trial, while Nokia and SoftBank gain a testbed for their respective platforms.

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Context & Analysis

SoftBank has been developing AITRAS as its AI-RAN product, and this agreement marks the first stated plan to test it in a commercial network setting. The trial pairs SoftBank's platform with Nokia's anyRAN radio access software, and links SoftBank's AITRAS orchestrator with Nokia's MantaRay management and automation solution.

The technical question the trial is designed to answer is whether AI and RAN workloads can share a single platform without compromising the quality and stability that telecom networks demand. If validated, SoftBank says it aims to promote application of AITRAS to commercial networks and realize next-generation infrastructure that fuses communications and AI. The agreement sets 2027 as the timeframe for that verification.

FAQ

When will the field trial take place?: The companies agreed to conduct the AI-RAN field trial in 2027 on SoftBank's commercial network environment.
What software will be tested?: Nokia's RAN software anyRAN will run on SoftBank's AITRAS platform, and SoftBank's AITRAS orchestrator will be linked with Nokia's MantaRay network management and automation solution.
What is the goal of the trial?: The trial aims to verify technology that lets AI and RAN workloads coexist and be managed cooperatively on the same platform while maintaining the communication quality and stability required of RAN.

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