NTT Data and Ericsson have signed a multi-year partnership to promote enterprise adoption of private 5G networks and edge AI. The collaboration aims to deliver managed services at global scale, embedding AI directly into connectivity for real-time, autonomous decision-making.
The partnership addresses a persistent challenge. As it turns out, moving private 5G from pilot programs to production-grade deployments is something few accomplish. NTT Data will act as Ericsson’s global system integrator and MSP, combining Ericsson’s Private 5G and Edge platforms with NTT Data’s enterprise network services, wireless expertise, and IT/OT security capabilities.
Four priority areas define the collaboration. First, global Private 5G will be delivered as a fully managed service with consistent architecture, operations and security worldwide. Second, NTT Data Edge AI agents will run on Ericsson’s enterprise Edge platforms, enabling real-time intelligence where data is generated. Third, the companies will deliver repeatable industry solutions across manufacturing, mining, ports, airports, energy, transportation and smart cities. Fourth, a unified global go-to-market approach will give enterprises a single path to deployment.
Market timing favors private 5G
“As enterprises adopt AI at the edge, they need partners who can bring connectivity, intelligence and security together in a way that actually works in production,” said Shahid Ahmed, Global Head of Edge Services at NTT Data. “Together with Ericsson, we can deploy these solutions faster, operate them at scale and deliver outcomes.”
Ericsson has positioned itself in the private 5G space through its enterprise connectivity portfolio. Asa Tamsons, Senior Vice President and Head of Business Area Enterprise Wireless Solutions at Ericsson, noted that the company has been advancing enterprise connectivity for over a decade. “By combining our global platforms with NTT Data’s engineering and managed services, industry expertise and AI-driven operations, enterprises can move from experimentation to always-on, production-grade operations,” he said.
Industry-specific deployments
The partnership will focus on high-impact use cases across multiple sectors. Manufacturing applications include automated quality inspection, predictive maintenance and real-time safety monitoring using sensor and vision data. In transportation, ports and logistics, the solution enables autonomous operations driven by real-time vehicle and asset data for dynamic routing and tracking.
Energy and mining operations can leverage remote and autonomous operations, intelligent inspection and AI-driven monitoring in hazardous environments. Smart cities applications encompass intelligent traffic management, public safety monitoring and real-time optimization of municipal services.
NTT Data previously partnered with Nokia to deploy private 5G networks in areas lacking fast connectivity, such as Brownsville, Texas, and at German airports including Fraport and Cologne-Bonn. The company has also collaborated with Cisco for global eSIM-based 5G access in 180 countries via Transatel.
We’ve also discussed private 5G at length during a Techzine Talks on Tour episode last year: