Telecommunications providers are on the brink of a technological revolution with the introduction of NVIDIA AI Aerial. This cutting-edge AI computing infrastructure is designed to revolutionize wireless networks, catering to the evolving needs of generative AI. Launched on September 18, 2024, this platform marks a significant milestone in the convergence of AI and telecommunications, propelling the industry into a new era of innovation.

Reinventing Networks with AI-RAN

NVIDIA AI Aerial is a groundbreaking AI-RAN (Radio Access Network) platform that revolutionizes network optimization by hosting generative AI and RAN traffic while integrating AI capabilities. This high-performance, energy-efficient, software-defined RAN not only enhances network experiences but also unlocks new revenue opportunities through edge AI applications. It is the foundation for the multi-purpose networks of the future, leveraging AI-powered telecommunications to meet the demands of tomorrow.

Empowering the Telecom Industry with NVIDIA AI Aerial

The NVIDIA AI Aerial platform offers a comprehensive suite of capabilities, including high-performance software-defined RAN, training, simulation, and inference. Telecom operators can engage at various stages of development to deployment for next-generation wireless networks, driving innovation and efficiency in the industry.

Key components of the NVIDIA AI Aerial platform include:

• NVIDIA Aerial CUDA-Accelerated RAN: Software libraries enabling high-performance virtualized RAN workloads on NVIDIA-accelerated compute platforms.
• NVIDIA Aerial AI Radio Frameworks: PyTorch- and TensorFlow-based software libraries for developing and training models to enhance spectral efficiency and improve 5G and 6G radio signal processing. The platform also includes NVIDIA Sionna, a simulator for neural network-based radio algorithms.
• NVIDIA Aerial Omniverse Digital Twin (AODT): A system-level network digital twin development platform that allows realistic simulations of wireless systems, integrating software-defined RAN and user-equipment simulators.

Collaborating for Innovation at the AI-RAN Innovation Center

NVIDIA has partnered with industry leaders like T-Mobile, Ericsson, and Nokia to accelerate the commercialization of AI-RAN through the AI-RAN Innovation Center. This collaborative effort aims to merge RAN and AI innovations, delivering transformative network experiences for customers.

According to Tommi Uitto, president of Mobile Networks at Nokia, “AI-RAN is set to revolutionize the telecom industry, and the AI-RAN Innovation Center will drive industry collaboration. By uniting leading companies in telecom and AI, we can unlock AI’s full potential in our networks, improving performance, reducing costs, and creating new opportunities for our customers.”

Fredrik Jejdling, EVP and head of Business Area Networks at Ericsson, added, “Ericsson has invested in our AI-RAN solution, enabling communications service providers to deploy portable RAN software across multiple platforms. We are now evaluating NVIDIA accelerated computing’s performance and cost in this context.”

Expanding the NVIDIA AI Aerial Ecosystem

The growing ecosystem of NVIDIA AI Aerial includes key partners such as Softbank and Fujitsu. Ansys and Keysight leverage the NVIDIA Aerial Omniverse Digital Twin for testing and simulation, while institutions like Deepsig, ETH-Zurich, Northeastern University, and Samsung collaborate on 6G research and the NVIDIA Aerial AI Radio Frameworks.

Cloud stack software providers like Aarna Networks, Canonical, Red Hat, and Wind River, along with networking stack providers like Arrcus and server infrastructure providers such as Dell Technologies, Hewlett Packard Enterprise, and Supermicro, are significant partners. Edge solution providers like Vapor.io and system integrators like World Wide Technology, with its AI Proving Ground, are accelerating AI solution decision-making.

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