SoftBank Corp. and Ericsson Japan K.K. have announced a successful demonstration and deployment of an AI-powered, externally controlled optimization system for Massive MIMO, resulting in a 24% improvement in 5G downlink throughput, increasing speeds from 76.9 Mbps to 95.5 Mbps during periods of high traffic fluctuation.

• Dynamic Beam Patterns: The system automatically adjusts horizontal and vertical beam patterns every minute based on real-time user distribution.
• Packet Stalling Mitigation: By reacting to sudden traffic surges (e.g., during fireworks or concerts), the AI helps prevent “packet stalling,” where data transmission typically freezes due to congestion.
• Commercial Deployment: Following the successful trials at Expo 2025, SoftBank and Ericsson have begun deploying this AI-based system at other large-scale event venues, including major arenas and dome-type facilities in the Tokyo metropolitan area, to manage heavily fluctuating traffic patterns. 

Overview of the System:

• An external control device (server) uses user distribution data collected from base stations at one-minute intervals to automatically determine event occurrence using AI
• Dynamically and automatically optimizes the horizontal and vertical coverage patterns of Massive MIMO base stations

Overview of demonstration at Expo 2025:

An AI model was constructed using performance results obtained when multiple coverage patterns were changed in advance as training data. Based on user distribution-related data such as Massive MIMO beam estimation information^*2 acquired by an external control device from base stations at one-minute intervals, the system automatically determined event occurrence status and switched base station coverage patterns to optimal configurations.

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ABOUT SOFTBANK:

Guided by the SoftBank Group’s corporate philosophy, “Information Revolution – Happiness for everyone,” SoftBank Corp. (TOKYO: 9434) operates telecommunications and IT businesses in Japan and globally. Building on its strong business foundation, SoftBank Corp. is expanding into non-telecom fields in line with its “Beyond Carrier” growth strategy while further growing its telecom business by harnessing the power of 5G/6G, IoT, Digital Twin and Non-Terrestrial Network (NTN) solutions, including High Altitude Platform Station (HAPS)-based stratospheric telecommunications. While constructing AI data centers and developing homegrown LLMs specialized for the Japanese language, SoftBank is integrating AI with radio access networks (AI-RAN), with the aim of becoming a provider of next-generation social infrastructure. To learn more, please visit https://www.softbank.jp/en/corp/

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References:

https://www.ericsson.com/en/press-releases/2/2026/softbank-and-ericsson-to-deploy-ai-powered-external-control-system-to-optimize-massive-mimo-coverage

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