T-Mobile US paired with Nvidia and Nokia to complete what the companies claim to be the world's first AI radio access network (RAN) voice call.

The call was completed from a commercial cell site in Bellevue, Washington, where the carrier is headquartered. The call was carried over T-Mobile US’ live network using Nokia massive multiple-input, multiple-output (MIMO) radio, Nokia 5G anyRAN software, and server infrastructure built on the Nvidia Aerial RAN Computer platform.

Nokia in a blog post explained that the site was connected to a commercial 5G core and commercial user equipment. The vendor added that the voice call is significant as it means that AI-RAN is moving out of controlled lab environments and into live operator network with real spectrum and commercial network infrastructure.

The test builds on comments made by T-Mobile US CTO John Saw who at the Mobile World Congress (MWC) event earlier this year said the operator was hopeful it would have trial units to play with this year. This was based on Nokia's mapped AI-RAN masterplan that had support from Nvidia and a clutch of carriers, including T-Mobile US.

The next phase of field trials will extend to new AI-for-RAN algorithms and AI workloads running alongside RAN on a shared accelerated computing platform.

Nokia has big ambitions to push AI-RAN and sees the technology as a key cog in helping to evolve the RAN into a more software-defined, AI-native platform ahead of the 6G era.

"AI-RAN represents an important evolution of the radio network. Nokia’s vision is to evolve the RAN into an increasingly software-defined, AI-native platform, creating a common foundation for future AI-enabled services and the evolution toward 6G," Pallavi Mahajan, chief technology and AI officer at Nokia, noted. "With AI-RAN, we are on a path to [two-times] spectral efficiency, an ambition that puts more capacity from the same spectrum at the heart of what comes next."

The company's vision around implementing AI into the RAN is one of the main reasons the vendor formed closer ties to GPU giant Nvidia. The two companies first penned an agreement to develop AI-ready RAN solutions back in 2024, long before Nvidia became an investor in the vendor.

But mobile carriers have also been looking into AI-RAN during this timeframe, including T-Mobile US, which announced an AI-RAN Innovation Center in Bellevue back in September 2024.

Earlier this year, the three companies also announced they were working with other partners to deliver physical AI applications over distributed edge AI networks.

"The next phase of field trials will build on this milestone, exploring additional spectrum bands and the ability to support AI inferencing workloads alongside RAN functions," Pallavi added. "Each step brings us closer to understanding how AI-RAN can deliver meaningful benefits in real-world network environments and ultimately operate at scale."

Nokia's first commercial AI-RAN products aren't expected to go live until next year.

T-Mobile US isn't the only carrier working with Nokia and Nvidia to push AI-RAN. A host of other carriers, including Indosat, SoftBank, BT, Elisa, Vodafone Group, Orange Group, A1 Group, Chunghwa Telecom, du, e&, Mobily, stc, TPG Telecom, and Zain Saudi are also working with the companies.