Vodafone and Ericsson have partnered to carry out trials of network-native AI for voice services.

The two companies announced this week that they have combined in lab conditions to successfully demonstrate two AI-powered voice services, with these services being real-time noise cancellation and language translation.

According to the duo, the demos showcase the ability to utilize AI technologies to "transform the experience of a standard mobile phone call."

The trial aimed to showcase real-time noise cancellation for clearer audio and in-call language translation to break down communication barriers, all without requiring specialized apps or new phone hardware, stated Vodafone.

The call integrated a Vodafone-developed application server and AI engines with Ericsson’s IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS), using APIs to seamlessly bridge telecom and AI domains.

Ericsson notes that such architecture allows the network to apply AI-driven intelligence to voice calls as they are processed.

Through this, two key applications were showcased, the first being the ability to utilize AI-based noise cancellation, a service that "intelligently identifies and removes background noise in real time," for greater clarity.

The second use case focuses on language translation, which again heavily leverages AI in real time to translate a conversation between two different languages live during the call.

“AI is giving the mobile network back its voice. More than 50 years after the first mobile call, innovation is accelerating and shifting back into the network," said Marco Zangani, director of network strategy and architecture, Vodafone. "Over the past few years, we have built the infrastructure, data capabilities and safeguards needed to unlock AI for our customers to converse more clearly.”

Nadine Allen, head of UK and responsible for Vodafone Group at Ericsson, added: "This is a crucial step toward creating more intelligent, programmable networks that unlock new value for customers."