Ericsson and Intel have announced a new collaboration focused on advancing AI-native 6G technologies, with the aim of supporting the industry’s transition from research to commercial deployment.
The companies disclosed the partnership at Mobile World Congress (MWC) Barcelona 2026.
Their joint efforts will target mobile connectivity, cloud infrastructure, and computing capabilities across AI-powered radio access networks (RAN), packet core use cases, platform security, and network functions.
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The initiative builds on the longstanding relationship between Ericsson and Intel.
Both firms intend to align their work with global standards bodies and industry organisations to develop deployable 6G infrastructure.
The collaboration aims to create high-performance, energy-efficient computing architectures designed for AI within both networks and to support AI-driven applications.
Ericsson president and CEO Börje Ekholm said: “6G is not merely an iteration of mobile technology. It is the infrastructure that will distribute AI across devices, the edge and the cloud.”
Ericsson and Intel plan to demonstrate their collaborative progress at MWC 2026 through various showcases in their respective exhibition spaces as well as partner venues.
These demonstrations will highlight developments achieved in areas such as cloud RAN, 5G Core, and open network infrastructure.
By combining programmable networks with advanced computing and real-time sensing, the companies aim to provide a foundation for more responsive services within future networks.
Over time, the partners expect this evolution to draw sensing and computing processes closer together within network environments.
Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan said: “Together with Ericsson, we will continue to demonstrate that the future of network connectivity is open, power-efficient, secure and grounded in intelligent AI inference.
“With future Ericsson Silicon, powered by Intel’s most advanced process nodes, ongoing multi-year research plans, and flexible AI-RAN ready Cloud RAN powered by Intel Xeon, we are well on our way to delivering the future performance, efficiency, and supply security that the world’s leading operators require.”
Previous joint projects between Ericsson and Intel have resulted in advancements in cloud-native solutions for communication service providers.
With this latest effort, they intend to facilitate ecosystem readiness and reduce time-to-market for operators deploying next-generation cloud-native network technologies.
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