O2 and Nokia have deployed an AI-powered radio network feature on a live 5G site in London, with the trial reporting about 20% better spectral efficiency. The result suggests AI can help a busy mobile network carry more data using the spectrum and equipment it already has, rather than waiting for another round of infrastructure spending.
Nokia Watch analysis
What happened
The trial ran at O2’s Giga Site in Paddington, serving customers on the live network, according to The Fast Mode. Nokia’s AI-powered feature analyses network conditions and adjusts spectrum and capacity allocation as demand shifts, rather than relying on largely static resource management.
The report says spectral efficiency improved by approximately 20%, allowing the site to carry more data using the same spectrum and existing capacity. It also describes throughput gains during high-demand periods, while network accessibility and reliability remained stable. The report calls this the UK’s first live deployment of an AI-powered RAN feature.
Why it matters
Radio spectrum is a finite resource, and busy sites have to make careful use of it as mobile data demand grows. If the reported improvement holds beyond this trial, operators could get more capacity from existing network assets. For people using a crowded site, that could mean better performance when demand rises, although the report does not provide a customer-level speed figure or details of how long the trial ran.
Our read
This is a more useful AI-networking story than another promise about a future smart network: the feature was tested on a live site carrying customer traffic, and the report gives a concrete efficiency result. One site is not a national rollout, though. The next question is whether the gain can be repeated in other places, at different demand levels, without trading away reliability.
What to watch
- Whether O2 expands the feature to other live sites.
- Whether further trials publish their duration, test conditions and measured results.
- Whether operators report customer-facing benefits alongside efficiency gains.
Discussion spark: If a live trial can carry more data on the same spectrum, should operators prioritise rolling out AI-RAN quickly, or wait for results across a wider range of sites and conditions?
Sources and evidence
- O2, Nokia Deploy AI Technology to Improve 5G Network Performance (26 October 2026, 23:19 UTC)
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