- Nvidia claimed it has built a U.S.-centric telecom computing stack
- It is investing $1 billion in Nokia to further development of AI-RAN solutions
- T-Mobile is planning to test the pair's technologies starting next year
NVIDIA GTC, WASHINGTON DC – If you thought Ericsson, Nokia or even Huawei would be driving the 6G train, think again. Nvidia has just come out of the gate with what it claimed is the first “all-American, AI-native wireless stack” for 6G. But it's hedging its bets with a huge investment in Finnish telecom vendor Nokia.
The stack is built around Nvidia's AI Aerial platform and includes 5G RAN software from ODC, user plane function and 5G core software from Cisco, and specialized 6G applications from MITRE and Booz Allen. T-Mobile is also a partner on this initiative.
Speaking at GTC, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang said that for too long, the U.S. has depended on foreign communications technology but argued the platform shift to 6G and AI offers a chance to “bring telecommunications technology back to America.”
To that end Nvidia also introduced its Aerial RAN Computer (ARC) Pro. The ARC Pro will run 5G, 6G and AI together at existing cell sites, with the goal of enabling operators to move from 5G to 6G via software upgrades alone.
One billion dollars
But while Nvidia pushed the “Made in America” line hard at GTC, it couldn’t avoid the inconvenient truth that the three largest telecom vendors in the world are not U.S.-based. Thus, Nvidia is investing $1 billion in Nokia and working with the Finnish vendor to “rewrite their stack” to incorporate Nvidia’s ARC Pro system into its AirScale RAN portfolio.
“We’re going to create for the first time a software-defined, programmable computer that is able to communicate wirelessly and do AI at the same time,” Huang said.
U.S. operator T-Mobile, which is a member of the AI-RAN Alliance alongside Nvidia, and Nokia, is in the mix here as well. It plans to trial Nvidia and Nokia’s new AI-RAN solutions starting next year, with a focus on performance and efficiency gains.
“Beginning in 2026, T-Mobile will conduct field evaluations and testing of advanced AI-RAN technologies to ensure they meet the evolving needs of our customers as we move toward 6G,” T-Mobile CTO John Saw said in a statement.
A beat too soon?
If you’re wondering why Nvidia is going on about 6G when operators have yet to achieve meaningful returns from 5G, you’re not alone. But Nvidia balked at the idea that its efforts might be at all premature given 3GPP doesn’t expect to finalize 6G standards for some time yet.
“6G standards are being finalized but they’re actually quite far in the standardization process already and what’s coming out clearly is that AI is … a critical factor in the formation of these new standards to meet the requirements of 6G,” Nvidia’s SVP of Telecom Ronnie Vashishta said on a call ahead of the event. “T-Mobile is one carrier that has recognized that and is working with Nokia and us on an AI-native implementation for 6G so that they can actually deploy 5G equipment and upgrade that to 6G because it’s now software-defined.”
Given telcos tend to move at a glacial pace, perhaps it’s best not to complain about them doing something early.