AT&T and Ericsson have completed over half of their five-year wireless network upgrade. The project aims to transition to an open cloud-native radio access network (RAN) and replace Nokia equipment. At the recent Network X Americas event, AT&T executives shared the project’s progress: Network CTO Yigal Elbaz stated that 70% of wireless traffic is expected to run on open hardware interfaces by the end of the year, with over half already operating on “open-capable” hardware. The replacement of Nokia equipment has reached nearly 60%, “with zero impact on customers and comprehensive improvement in key performance metrics.” This aligns with Ookla network test results: as aging Nokia equipment was replaced by Ericsson, AT&T’s wireless performance improved from the first half to the second half of 2025.

AT&T is scaling up the deployment of open RAN, including the integration of third-party small cell radio frequency units from 1Finity. Small cells have been activated in Dallas and New York, with plans to expand to Phoenix this year, aiming for thousands of installations within the year. Elbaz noted that the 1Finity radio frequency unit integration is progressing well, but open architecture extends beyond third-party RF. The key lies in running RAN software on selected hardware platforms (currently Intel Xeon 6 “Granite Rapids”) and having a unified Service Management and Orchestration (SMO) layer (Ericsson’s EIAP) to automate the entire RAN. While the single-vendor management raises concerns about openness, Elbaz pointed out that the SMO platform supports wireless applications (rApps) from AT&T, Ericsson, and third parties, and has partnered with startup Aira Technologies to build an agent-based framework for creating rApps.

Cloud RAN is on the verge of scaling up. AT&T is driving an open, programmable software architecture aimed at achieving “continuous innovation and continuous improvement.” The core is the decoupling of software and hardware, bringing openness and flexibility. However, transitioning to cloud RAN based on Dell servers and Intel processors takes longer, as AT&T decided to wait for Intel’s next-generation Granite Rapids. Previously, the previous-generation Sapphire Rapids had been temporarily deployed at 21 sites across two cities. Since Sapphire Rapids couldn’t meet the requirement of deploying one server per base station, AT&T only began “expanding and scaling up” cloud RAN now that Granite Rapids has been fully launched.

At the macro site level, AT&T’s wireless network is still primarily dominated by Ericsson (accounting for 84.21% at the end of last year), with minimal third-party involvement. RAN Technology Vice President Rob Soni acknowledged “significant skepticism” in the industry but defended the push for open architecture: Open RAN has expanded to New York and Phoenix, marking “the first large-scale deployment of radio units compliant with ORAN standards by an existing network operator,” free of “tricks, backdoors, or falsehoods.” Interoperability testing is underway at the NTIA-funded Accord lab, involving approximately seven radio units from suppliers such as JMA Wireless, Airspan, Andrew, 1Finity, and Nokia. AT&T had also previously worked to integrate Commscope and Corning’s small cell radios with Ericsson via the O1 interface. The ACCORD project is operated by a coalition led by AT&T and Verizon, supported by the U.S. Public Wireless Supply Chain Innovation Fund.

This year marks the 150th anniversary of AT&T and Ericsson. The five-year wireless transformation and shift toward an open architecture are preparations for the future network. Soni stated, “We have been reborn like a startup… Only with a programmable and open network can we create a deterministic wireless experience in the AI era.”