Ericsson and SoftBank have announced a strategic partnership to evaluate, promote, and co-develop what they call “NextWave Tech” for future mobile networks.
This collaboration, which extends through 2030, covers advanced technologies including artificial intelligence (AI), Cloud Radio Access Network (Cloud RAN), Extended Reality (XR), and early-stage research toward 6G.
Jawad Manssour, President and Representative Director of Ericsson Japan, said: “This new collaboration with SoftBank marks a significant step forward in realising the full potential of AI-powered connectivity technologies. By combining our expertise in RAN and AI, we are poised to drive innovation and shape SoftBank’s future mobile networks, empowering their technology leadership through 2030.”
Ericsson and SoftBank will jointly explore innovative use cases and pursue technological advances intended to transform cellular network architectures. Both companies have committed to actively invest in bringing these NextWave Tech innovations into commercial reality.
A central element of the partnership is the joint development of roadmaps and blueprints for future networks, ensuring alignment with each company’s long-term vision and positioning them to lead industry developments in the years ahead.
The Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed by the two companies highlights several priority areas where collaboration will deepen. These include:
- Assessing commercial readiness for Cloud RAN deployment: Collaboration will test Service Management and Orchestration (SMO) frameworks and Radio Access Network applications (rApps), integrating AI to improve network performance, automation, and operational efficiency.
- Designing efficient networks for XR and other immersive applications: Work will focus on architectures capable of meeting XR’s high bandwidth and low latency requirements to enable reliable, large-scale immersive experiences.
- Exploring new uses of radio waves: The partnership will investigate combining sensing and communication capabilities to enable novel services and expand the functional use of spectrum.
- Advancing centimetre-wave technologies: Efforts will push development and deployment of high-frequency solutions, supporting Japan’s ambition to lead in 6G research and high-capacity network capabilities.
Hideyuki Tsukuda, Executive Vice President and CTO at SoftBank, added: “Our new partnership with Ericsson allows us to explore cutting-edge solutions that will redefine network capabilities and customer experience. Our joint efforts in areas such as 6G and AI will not only enhance network performance but also create new business opportunities and technological breakthroughs.”
By combining AI with cloud-based network designs, the partners aim to accelerate connectivity improvements that will support digital transformation across industries and society. Key goals include greater automation, improved energy efficiency, enhanced user experiences for emerging services, and commercial readiness for next-generation RAN architectures.
(Photo by Hannah Gibbs)
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