Ericsson and Intel have announced a strategic collaboration to accelerate the commercial development of AI native 6G technologies. The partnership was unveiled at Mobile World Congress 2026 in Barcelona and marks a significant step towards moving 6G from research to real world deployment.
The companies will focus on advancing AI powered radio access networks, packet core solutions, cloud infrastructure and computing capabilities. Their goal is to build high performance and energy efficient architectures that can support AI within networks and across devices, the edge and the cloud.
Focus On AI Driven Infrastructure
The collaboration will cover cloud RAN, 5G Core and open network infrastructure. By combining programmable networks with advanced computing and real time sensing, Ericsson and Intel aim to create more responsive and intelligent network services.
Börje Ekholm, President and CEO of Ericsson, said that 6G will serve as infrastructure that distributes AI across devices and cloud environments, rather than being just another mobile upgrade.
The companies also plan to align their work with global standards bodies and industry organisations to ensure deployable and interoperable 6G infrastructure.
Demonstrations At MWC 2026
Ericsson and Intel will showcase their joint progress during MWC 2026 across their exhibition spaces and partner venues. These demonstrations will highlight developments in AI RAN ready cloud RAN powered by Intel Xeon processors.
Lip-Bu Tan, CEO of Intel, said the partnership would help deliver open, secure and power efficient network connectivity grounded in intelligent AI inference.
Both companies expect the initiative to accelerate ecosystem readiness and reduce time to market for next generation cloud native network technologies.
