Vodafone Egypt has trialed Ericsson’s AI-native Scheduler for Link Adaptation on its commercial 5G network, software that adjusts how radio resources are shared among users in real time. According to Ericsson, the trial, carried out in the 2,600 MHz band, achieved up to 14% higher spectral efficiency and up to 50% faster downlink speeds. The vendor announced it on November 9, 2026.
Key points of the Vodafone Egypt and Ericsson trial in 20 seconds
- Trial on Vodafone Egypt’s commercial 5G network, in the 2,600 MHz band.
- Up to 14% higher spectral efficiency, according to Ericsson.
- Up to 50% faster downlink speeds, with gains in interference zones.
Link adaptation is one of the most frequent decisions a base station makes: choosing, for each user and at each instant, which modulation and coding level to use based on the state of the radio channel. Choose too aggressively and errors and retransmissions increase; choose too conservatively and capacity goes to waste. Traditional algorithms rely on fixed rules, and Ericsson proposes replacing them with AI models that better predict how the channel will behave.
Results, and what the announcement doesn’t detail
According to the announcement, the software improved performance especially in areas with heavy interference, which is where fine-tuning link adaptation makes the biggest difference. The figures are maximums (“up to”) supplied by the vendor itself, and the announcement does not say in which city or at how many sites the trial took place, how long it lasted, or any latency data. Nor does it specify under what conditions the 50% downlink improvement was reached — it only appears in the summary.
The scheduler is part of Ericsson’s AI in RAN software portfolio, through which the Swedish vendor wants operators to get more performance out of the spectrum they already have without deploying more antennas. In parallel, the company is pushing automation and agentic AI more broadly across its enterprise connectivity strategy — see Ericsson bets on enterprise connectivity and agentic AI to lead the next digital wave.
Catalin Buliga, Vodafone Egypt’s chief technology officer, said the company continues adding AI to its network to make it more efficient, as part of its modernization agreement with Ericsson. Dalia Merheb, head of Ericsson in Egypt, argued that native AI capabilities are shaping the next evolution of radio access networks. The announcement comes as Egypt accelerates its AI infrastructure.
Frequently asked questions
What did Vodafone Egypt trial?
Ericsson’s AI-native scheduler for link adaptation, on its commercial 5G network in the 2,600 MHz band.
What improvements did it achieve?
According to Ericsson, up to 14% higher spectral efficiency and up to 50% faster downlink speeds, especially in areas with interference.
What is link adaptation?
The continuous choice of modulation and coding for each user based on radio channel conditions, to balance speed and errors.
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This article is also available in Spanish: «Vodafone Egipto prueba el planificador de radio con IA de Ericsson en su 5G», on revistacloud.com.
