Ericsson and Intel Team Up on 6G
Ericsson and Intel have announced a collaboration to accelerate the development of commercial AI-native 6G networks. The partnership aims to build a more open ecosystem, focusing on integrating AI across the core network, RAN, and Edge to move 6G from research into reality.
This collaboration extends a multi-decade relationship between the two tech giants. Ericsson and Intel have previously partnered on 5G infrastructure, including developing custom 5G system-on-chips (SoCs) and optimizing Intel's Xeon processors for Ericsson's Cloud RAN solutions. The term "AI-native" signifies a fundamental shift from 5G, where AI is often an add-on for optimization. In 6G, artificial intelligence will be embedded into every layer of the network from the ground up, enabling the network to autonomously manage resources, predict failures, and self-heal in real time. Under the agreement, Intel will contribute its most advanced process nodes for future "Ericsson Silicon." The collaboration will also leverage Intel's Xeon processors for creating a flexible, AI-ready Cloud RAN infrastructure. Commercial 6G deployment is not imminent, with most industry timelines pointing to initial rollouts around 2030. The standards body 3GPP is expected to finalize the first 6G specifications in Release 21, which is anticipated to be completed by the end of 2028. The push for 6G is a global race involving major technology players and national governments. Key initiatives include the Next G Alliance in the U.S., Europe's Hexa-X project led by Nokia, and significant government-funded programs in China, South Korea, and Japan. Beyond faster speeds, the goals for 6G include supporting one-microsecond latency, which is 1,000 times faster than the goal for 5G. This level of performance is intended to enable futuristic applications like holographic communication, large-scale digital twins, and advanced autonomous systems.
