Ericsson expands cloud RAN and network infrastructure across US

Ericsson is scaling AI-native network infrastructure across US telecom operators to support private 5G and automated cloud RAN systems.

The US telecoms sector is transitioning toward fully automated, AI-native network infrastructure as the nation marks its 250th anniversary. Ericsson identifies that the next phase of American industrial leadership relies on connectivity architectures capable of delivering high-speed services to enterprises, consumers, and industrial sectors. Ericsson’s operations in the nation already span 120 years.

American communications service providers (CSPs) are actively integrating AI algorithms into their radio access networks to automate spectrum management. T-Mobile initiated commercial field trials of an AI-native scheduler designed to optimise network traffic. AT&T executed a deployment of AI-native software onto its Cloud RAN architecture to modernise its hardware footprint. Verizon Business continues driving the expansion of private 5G network installations tailored to enterprise clients.

Hardware manufacturing and supply chain localisation

Hardware provisioning to support these operator deployments originates from the Ericsson USA 5G Smart Factory in Lewisville, Texas.

Ericsson’s Texas facility spans 300,000 square feet and maintains continuous production lines to manufacture advanced telecoms equipment. Engineers build massive-MIMO arrays and RAN compute hardware tailored specifically to supply major American CSPs. Localising the manufacturing process simplifies complex operator supply chains and shortens hardware delivery timelines.

Production metrics at the Lewisville plant show continued capacity growth since operations commenced in March 2020. Facility management tripled the specialised workforce, bringing the total headcount to exceed 550 employees. Plant engineers combined industrial automation techniques with human manufacturing expertise to achieve an eightfold increase in total production volume.

Programmable networks and open APIs

Ericsson centralises its programmable network development at the D15 Innovation Hub in Santa Clara, California. Research teams at this facility coordinate with Silicon Valley partners and telecom operators to validate AI-driven automation protocols. The site acts as a dedicated testing environment to trial advanced network use cases, including network slicing architectures.

Enterprise adoption of these cellular technologies advances through specialised business divisions. Vonage operates alongside Ericsson Enterprise Wireless Solutions to facilitate corporate private 5G deployments. These subsidiaries provide enterprise directors with open APIs. Developers integrate advanced cellular communications capabilities directly into proprietary software applications using these open APIs.

Research operations and sensing technology

Ericsson employs upward of 6,200 staff members distributed across more than 30 locations spanning all 50 states.

Börje Ekholm, President and CEO of Ericsson, said: “The United States is one of our core markets and our most important innovation hub. The world’s first pre-standard 6G session happened here, and as AI reshapes what networks must do, this is where we are building the future.

“America’s next era of industrial leadership runs on connectivity, and we intend to help power it.”

Engineers operating out of the Americas headquarters in Plano, Texas, executed the world’s first pre-standard 6G over-the-air session. The Plano engineering teams also conducted a live field trial focused on Integrated Sensing and Communication (ISC) technology.

For the ISC trial, operators repurposed existing massive-MIMO radio hardware to detect drones flying in the surrounding airspace. The system successfully tracked the aerial vehicles using only the radio signals. This capacity demonstrates how future cellular networks will perform environmental sensing functions independent of standard data connectivity tasks.

See also: Military funds Cohere’s multi-waveform RAN for drone detection

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