T-Mobile builds AI agents into 5G network to translate calls

T-Mobile is wiring AI directly into its 5G core network to translate voice calls in real time. Instead of running translation as a separate app on a phone, the operator is testing agentic AI software as part of its core systems so calls can move between languages on the fly. The company has shown demos where callers speak in one language and hear responses in another, with the network handling the conversion.

Alongside this, T-Mobile is pushing ahead with AI in its radio access network (RAN) as a step toward 6G. The carrier has shifted the timing of an AI RAN field trial to later this year, saying it wants to understand how AI can manage radio resources and improve performance before the next generation of mobile technology arrives.