Catenaa, Saturday, February 07, 2026-SoftBank and Ericsson have developed an AI-driven massive MIMO solution that dynamically adjusts network coverage in real time to handle sudden surges in mobile traffic, the companies said.
The system uses AI hosted on base station servers to monitor user distribution minute by minute.
By analyzing data such as beam estimation and historical traffic patterns, the AI detects ad-hoc events like concerts, parades, or expos and automatically optimizes the horizontal and vertical coverage of the MIMO network.
SoftBank and Ericsson trialed the technology at the 2025 World Expo in Osaka, Japan, where it improved downlink throughput by 24%, raising speeds from 79.9 Mbps to 95.5 Mbps during peak fluctuations.
The enhancement reduced “packet stalling,” a common problem when networks become congested during rapid traffic surges.
The partners have since expanded testing to other high-traffic venues.
The collaboration builds on a longstanding partnership between SoftBank and Ericsson, which in March 2025 agreed to a five-year R&D program covering AI, cloud RAN, extended reality, and early 6G development.
Ericsson also won a contract in 2025 to supply SoftBank’s 4G and 5G network upgrades, including its latest massive MIMO base stations and RAN compute solutions.
Executives said the AI-powered approach allows mobile networks to adapt automatically to unpredictable events, overcoming the limitations of conventional planning based on expected daily traffic patterns or pre-deployed infrastructure.
The technology positions both companies to maintain leadership as 5G Advanced and early 6G deployments expand globally.
