Nokia, again – but, in ways, its story and strategy is about the most interesting in the telecoms market. Last week, RCR suggested Ericsson is playing the long game in this AI ‘supercycle’, biding its time by hoovering up 5G SA upgrade contracts, waiting on the edge-wards of AI workloads and a 6G refresh. It is distinguished in the market as the last western pure-play 3GPP vendor, and it is winning a better share than Nokia. That is the argument, anyway. But you look at Nokia – and its disruption has clearly been disruptive, including to its own people and operations (and messaging) – and its logic makes sense, too. It is playing a short game and a long game. Because it has all the optical DCI pieces – fiercely augmented, newly integrated, with the acquisition of Infinera a year ago. So it can catch a sail on the AI training winds, blowing between data centers on fiber networks.
Its latest quarterlies are way more dynamic than Ericsson’s – there the same sluggishness with mobile carriers, but there is a giant upswing with hyperscalers and the like, which Nokia reckons will sustain it for three years on a growth spiral. And when the mobile piece comes around, with progressive SA build-outs for metro-based inference and slicing, plus whatever 6G brings, it will be in the game, as well. It might not have the same 5G creds as Ericsson right now, but who else will western carriers go to maintain RAN variety? Its problem, arguably, has been its AI-RAN messaging with Nvidia – lots of investment, for sure, but the ends still seem unclear, in terms of GPU architecture and usage at the edge.
And then there is its brave little private networks business, of course. Still mad that it can’t see the value or logic to play there, as an end-to-end provider – with improving sales, profits, margins, and lots of influence in critical markets. But maybe its late turnaround there is just because of cost-cutting. Anyway, a good show in the quarter – which has the analysts gushing (see the report).
James Blackman
Executive Editor
RCR Wireless News
RCR Top Stories
Big US value play: Analysts say Deutsche Telekom’s proposed full combo with T-Mobile US is driven by valuation and structure rather than control, though regulatory scrutiny of foreign ownership of critical infrastructure might derail it.
Nokia’s AI scores: Modest top-line growth masks a more dramatic shift at Nokia, where a surge in optical networking for AI infra is reshaping its revenue mix. In line with demand, the firm has raised projections for fiber and IP sales through 2028.
Sold in six months: Debate at FutureNet World shifted from strategy to execution, as telcos BT and Orange outlined platform-led models, while Telus and Rakuten pressed for faster moves into AI-led solutions and infrastructure plays.
AI SME security: Google Cloud and Vodafone have a new suite of new AI tools for SMEs, including managed detection and response to combat sophisticated cyber threats and a multimodal AI concierge to handle autonomous voice and data tasks.
Science realities: Conversations about orbital data centers have begun to shift from if to when. But advocates and skeptics agree on one thing: there are some very tall barriers to cross before it gets off the ground.
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Beyond the Headlines
AI assurance: As the AI footprint expands across telcos, old assurance models are a constraint on performance and reliability. A new RCR report breaks down how AI adoption trends are changing networks, and why AI-ready assurance matters.
AI-RAN potential: AI-RAN marks an architectural shift to something different and essential where networks become an active part of the AI stack. This piece highlights strategies, challenges, and the role of AI-native RAN in 5G and 6G.
Wi-Fi residencies: Master-planned and built-to-rent communities are new markets for community-wide managed Wi-Fi, and service providers entering this space must learn the specific requirements and use cases of these markets.
Telco AI tactics: At FutureNet World, Rakuten and Telus pushed for bold AI-led reinvention, while BT and Orange argued for a measured evolution. But a shared strategy is taking shape, with a message: don’t just sell connectivity, they said.
Giant AI agents: Nvidia and Google Cloud are deepening their ties to streamline the transition from AI prototyping to full-scale production. The deal includes the introduction of A5X bare-metal instances powered by Nvidia Vera Rubin GPUs.
What We’re Reading
Comcast rebound: Comcast’s quarterlies showed narrowing broadband losses and record wireless adds, signaling stronger telco momentum as the company shifts toward mobile growth and converged connectivity to offset legacy cable pressures.
Quantum switches: Cisco has a quantum switch prototype that connects different quantum computers by translating between encoding methods without destroying quantum info. It works over standard fiber at room temperature.
Mineral plant 5G: Mariana Minerals and Celona have deployed private 5G at Copper One in Utah for low-latency mining operations to support autonomous equipment and monitoring, and power industrial AI decision-making.
AI B2B agents: Accenture and Google Cloud are to scale enterprise AI agents using Gemini Enterprise, combining industry expertise and cloud AI to accelerate large-scale, agentic digital transformation.
AI for Industry 4.0: Germany Trade & Invest says Industry 4.0 is mainstream in manufacturing, with AI increasingly integrated into smart factories to boost efficiency, competitiveness, and production optimization.
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Join industry stakeholders and innovative leaders in the communications service provider community this spring at CCA’s 2026 Mobility & Connectivity Show, April 14-16 in Louisville, KY. Register now
Industry Resources
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Securing telecom infrastructure for the quantum era
Report
AI in testing – Developing trust, delivering results
Whitepaper
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Networks at the frontline: How 6G, ISAC and NTNs will redefine defense technologies
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Test, measurement and service assurance in the AI era
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GSMA Device Enablement Summit: How operators can fix device-network fragmentation
