BARCELONA: NVIDIA said it has joined a group of global telecommunications operators and network technology providers in a commitment to build 6G wireless networks on AI-native platforms designed to be open, secure and trustworthy. The companies named in the announcement were Booz Allen, BT Group, Cisco, Deutsche Telekom, Ericsson, MITRE, Nokia, OCUDU Ecosystem Foundation, ODC, SK Telecom, SoftBank Corp. and T-Mobile. The commitment was announced during Mobile World Congress in Barcelona.
The group said the initiative is intended to shape next-generation wireless infrastructure around software-defined platforms that can incorporate artificial intelligence across the radio access network, the network edge and the core. NVIDIA said future 6G networks will need to support integrated sensing and communications, along with intelligence and decision-making capabilities, while also addressing interoperability, supply-chain resilience and security requirements as wireless systems grow more complex.
NVIDIA Chief Executive Jensen Huang said AI is redefining computing and telecommunications is next, adding that the company is building AI-RAN to transform telecom networks into AI infrastructure. In its statement, NVIDIA described 6G as a shift to AI-native, software-defined connectivity that can be updated through software and supported by open and programmable platforms. The company said the work complements its collaborations with public and private initiatives across Europe, Japan, South Korea, the United Kingdom and the United States.
Operators and vendors sign on
The participants span network operators, equipment suppliers and technology organizations that develop and validate telecom architectures. The operator names listed by NVIDIA included BT Group, Deutsche Telekom, SK Telecom, SoftBank Corp. and T-Mobile, alongside infrastructure and technology providers Ericsson, Nokia and Cisco. Booz Allen and MITRE were also listed, along with ODC and the OCUDU Ecosystem Foundation, which is tied to efforts to develop open software components for parts of the radio access network.
NVIDIA said it has joined the FutureG Office-led OCUDU Initiative in the United States and is a founding member of the AI-RAN Alliance, which it said has more than 130 participating companies. It also pointed to the AI-Native Wireless Networks project, known as AI-WIN, launched on Oct. 28, 2025 with Booz Allen, Cisco, MITRE, ODC and T-Mobile, as an effort aimed at an AI-RAN stack intended to accelerate the path to 6G and showcase early applications.
Open source efforts expand at MWC
On March 1, the Linux Foundation announced the formation of the OCUDU Ecosystem Foundation, describing it as an open collaboration hub for open source centralized unit and distributed unit software for the radio access network, along with development and testing assets intended to help establish a reference platform for 5G and early 6G. The Linux Foundation said the effort began with investment from the National Spectrum Consortium and the FutureG Office, which awarded funds to DeepSig and Software Radio Systems to build initial software.
Separately, T-Mobile and Deutsche Telekom said on Feb. 28 they launched a joint 6G Innovation Hub anchored by T-Mobile’s Innovation Lab in Bellevue, Washington, and Deutsche Telekom’s T-Labs in Berlin, aimed at designing 6G as a fully AI-native system. They said the hub will focus on AI-native and autonomous networks, secure wide-area sensing and positioning, and the convergence of connectivity and high-performance compute, alongside work with ecosystem partners on research, prototyping and field trials. The companies said the broader industry push is centered on open, secure and AI-native foundations for 6G. – By Content Syndication Services.