AI is rapidly emerging as a defining force in telecom network evolution, driving both unprecedented traffic growth and a new wave of infrastructure investment. A recent report from Nokia forecasts that WAN traffic could surge as much as 700% by 2034, fueled largely by inference and agentic AI workloads that generate bidirectional, latency-sensitive flows across clouds, edge sites, and data centers. In an interview with RCR Wireless News, Megaport CTO Cameron Daniel said AI “adds traffic everywhere,” creating compounding demand that will stress interconnect and data center links first.
In response, operators are accelerating investment in the network core to support this shift. Dell’Oro Group reports that global mobile core network revenues rose 15% in 2025, with 5G core representing half the market for the first time. Dell’Oro noted that alongside standalone rollouts and MEC growth, AI-driven service requirements are increasingly reshaping operator priorities and spending. Read the interview with Dell’Oro here.
Ultimately, AI is redefining traffic patterns, performance expectations, and where carriers spend next.
Catherine Sbeglia Nin
Managing Editor
RCR Wireless News
RCR Top Stories
AI fuels WAN traffic boom: Nokia forecasts WAN traffic could surge 700% by 2034 as AI inference and agentic workloads scale. In an interview with RCR, Megaport CTO Cameron Daniel explains what’s driving demand.
MCN market rebounds: Global mobile core network revenues rose 15% in 2025, with 5G core accounting for half the market for the first time, as standalone deployments, MEC growth, and AI trends reshape operator investment.
MasOrange activates 5G-A: MasOrange and Ericsson have deployed 5G- Advanced across 20 Spanish cities, adding carrier aggregation, RedCap, and L4S capabilities to the operator’s 5G standalone network while expanding services.
A maritime 5G SA trial: Ericsson, in collaboration with defense company, Leonardo, and the Italian Navy, test a 5G Standalone network aboard naval ships, signaling a strategic push into the defense sector.
What happens to old AI GPUs? Every new Nvidia accelerator reshapes AI overnight, but older GPUs don’t disappear. A secondary market is emerging where enterprises can repurpose last-gen hardware for chatbots and inference workloads.
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Beyond the Headlines
India AI Impact Summit: At the India AI Impact Summit in New Delhi, leaders emphasized moving AI from theory to large-scale deployment. Here are key highlights from major stakeholders shaping India’s ambitions as a global AI hub.
Texas challenges Virginia: North America’s data center market is expanding into new regions as vacancy stays near zero, hyperscalers commit massive AI spending, and Texas positions itself to surpass Virginia by 2030.
The neocloud moment: According to JLL, AI infrastructure is reshaping data centers, driving higher power densities, premium lease rates and rapid growth for neocloud providers as hyperscalers increasingly partner rather than compete.
Wi-Fi 8 needs 6 GHz: As AI-heavy devices proliferate, Wi-Fi 8 introduces several features that require a wide, low-interference spectrum to function as intended, including Multi-AP Coordination, uplink enhancements, and low-latency roaming.
AI for satellites: AI could be key to managing NTNs by handling complex handovers between fast-moving satellites and ground networks, optimizing spectrum and resources, and improving connectivity, despite key challenges.
What We're Reading
Google to link U.S., India: Google CEO Sundar Pichai has announced ‘India-America Connect’ for subsea cable routes at the India AI Impact Summit in New Delhi. He said the company is also investing heavily in AI skilling.
VMO2 satellite greenlight: U.K. regulator Ofcom has approved VMO2’s license change to enable direct-to-device satellite services, allowing standard smartphones to connect in rural and remote areas once new regulations take effect.
Boldyn upgrades F1 venue: Boldyn Networks is installing a permanent high-capacity 5G network across the Silverstone circuit, replacing temporary systems and supporting year-round connectivity for operators, fans, teams, and events.
Arrcus intros AI network fabric: A new AI-policy-aware network fabric from Arrcus aims to help operators handle growing inferencing demands with smarter routing, lower latency, and real-time policy control for distributed AI workloads.
Ericsson pushes AI RAN: Ericsson has introduced AI-ready radios, antennas and RAN software with neural-network accelerators, aiming to boost uplink performance, enable real-time optimization, and support AI-driven services.
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