VodafoneThree has deployed a world-first that will boost its network and AI capabilities

VodafoneThree has started rolling out Ericsson’s Air 3266 Massive MIMO radio across its London network – a move that’s a world-first, as no other network globally is yet commercially using this tech.

And it’s tech that sounds very promising, as according to VodafoneThree, this will allow the network to make greater use of its mid-band spectrum, thereby increasing its 5G coverage and capacity.

And that’s not all, Ericsson’s Air 3266 also has dedicated neural accelerators which boost AI-inference capabilities tenfold, allowing AI to optimise VodafoneThree’s network in real time, so that performance is smooth and consistent amid changing traffic patterns.

A boon to AI

It will also apparently help the network roll out new AI software capabilities quickly, with the example given of Ericsson’s AI-native Scheduler for Link Adaptation, which reportedly delivers up to 20% higher downlink throughput in congested conditions. That feature still needs to be trialled, but could be added to the network next year.

On top of all that, the Ericsson Air 3266 tech delivers energy savings of 30% or more and has up to 50% lower embodied carbon compared to currently deployed solutions, so it’s better for the environment as well. All that and it’s slim and light too, which VodafoneThree says makes it easier to install than some alternatives.

So this sounds like a substantial upgrade for VodafoneThree’s network, and hopefully it’s something that we’ll see used in places other than London too sooner or later.