Nokia is opening its Mobile Core Early Access program globally, giving telecom operators and enterprises access to a live hosted environment where they can evaluate 5G Core, automation, analytics, network exposure and emerging AI-enabled network capabilities before committing to commercial deployment.
The move could help operators shorten technology evaluation cycles at a time when mobile core networks are becoming increasingly important for 5G Standalone (5G SA), network APIs, enterprise applications, automation and AI-native network operations.
Nokia initially launched the program in June 2026 with a select group of 30 companies. Registration is now being extended across the telecom industry.
Unlike conventional product demonstrations, Mobile Core Early Access provides access to a live end-to-end environment incorporating core network functions, radios and devices. This allows customers to examine how technologies operate across network functions, user interfaces and operational workflows before establishing their own testing infrastructure.
Nokia Targets Faster 5G Core Technology Adoption
The central objective is to reduce the gap between seeing a new network technology and deciding whether it should move toward deployment.
Telecom operators typically have to evaluate new network functions in labs, establish test infrastructure, integrate multiple systems and involve different engineering and business teams before a technology reaches commercial networks.
That process becomes more complicated as 5G networks introduce cloud-native software, network slicing, APIs, analytics and increasing levels of automation.
Nokia’s Mobile Core Early Access environment allows operators to explore these technologies without initially creating a dedicated testing environment.
Participants can evaluate new capabilities as they become available, examine real end-to-end use cases and understand deployment requirements earlier.
Operators requiring more extensive testing can move to a paid option providing longer access, greater flexibility and deeper integration with their own environments.
The Nokia Mobile Core Early Access program also provides a path from initial exploration toward deeper evaluation and experimentation.
Nokia Builds on Strong 5G Standalone Core Position
The Early Access initiative is particularly relevant because Nokia already has a sizeable installed base for its mobile core software.
At the end of Q3 2025, Nokia reported 127 5G Standalone Core operator customers, including 55 live deployments. Nokia said these figures represented the highest number of 5G SA core operator customers and live deployments globally at the time.
Earlier, Omdia’s 2025 Core Vendors assessment ranked Nokia first for overall portfolio competitiveness and gave it leading scores across cloud-native readiness, automation, Core SaaS, 5G Standalone deals and core portfolio breadth.
Nokia’s latest corporate disclosures also indicate that its technology was present in approximately 65 percent of telecom providers’ 5G SA networks as of December 2025, based on Nokia’s analysis of reported live commercial networks.
This installed base provides an important commercial backdrop for Early Access. Nokia is effectively creating another channel through which existing and potential customers can experience future capabilities before deciding whether to introduce them into production networks.
Mobile Core Shifts From Cloud-Native to AI-Native
The larger technology transition is the evolution of mobile core networks from cloud-native software platforms toward what vendors increasingly describe as AI-native networks.
Nokia says its core strategy incorporates large language models, machine learning and agentic AI alongside automation and analytics.
Potential applications include predictive network operations, anomaly detection, automated troubleshooting, self-healing networks and intent-driven operations.
This matters because network complexity is increasing while operators remain under pressure to control operating expenses.
Rather than engineers manually identifying every network problem and deciding how to respond, AI and closed-loop automation can potentially detect abnormal conditions, recommend actions and eventually execute predefined responses under operator policies.
The mobile core therefore becomes more than a system responsible for subscriber connectivity. It increasingly acts as an intelligence and control layer connecting users, devices, applications, cloud infrastructure and network resources.
Network APIs Create Another Opportunity
Network exposure is another important component of Nokia’s core strategy.
5G Core allows selected network capabilities to be exposed to applications through APIs. Developers and enterprises could consequently use network information and functionality when building applications requiring capabilities such as authentication, quality of service, location or connectivity control.
This creates an opportunity for telecom operators to generate revenue from network capabilities beyond traditional consumer connectivity.
However, operators first need to understand how network exposure technologies integrate with their existing infrastructure and operational systems.
Providing those capabilities through the Early Access environment could allow technical and commercial teams to evaluate potential API use cases before committing resources to larger trials.
Cloud-Native Deployment Gives Operators More Flexibility
Nokia’s 5G Core portfolio is cloud-native and can operate across private, public and hybrid cloud environments, giving telecom operators greater flexibility over infrastructure strategies.
One notable deployment is Boost Mobile in the United States, which launched a Nokia 5G Standalone Core on AWS public cloud infrastructure.
Nokia says Boost Mobile subsequently deployed its IMS Voice Core on AWS and estimated that the approach could deliver a 70 percent reduction in network infrastructure costs.
This highlights why early testing environments could become increasingly useful. Operators are no longer evaluating only the telecom software itself. They must assess combinations of network functions, cloud platforms, automation systems, security architectures and devices.
A hosted end-to-end environment allows more of those interactions to be examined before a full trial is established.
AI Supercycle Changes Nokia’s Network Strategy
The Early Access initiative also fits into Nokia’s broader repositioning around AI-driven connectivity.
Nokia estimates that its serviceable addressable market among telecom providers was approximately €69 billion in 2025, up 2 percent year-on-year. The company expects the market to grow at roughly a 1 percent CAGR between 2025 and 2028.
Within telecom software, Nokia expects continuing 5G deployment to support demand for 5G Core and software associated with 5G operation and monetisation.
AI is becoming another driver.
Nokia says rising adoption of AI-enabled devices and intelligent edge applications could eventually create additional demand for mobile network capacity and intelligence.
The company has consequently placed Core Networks and Radio Networks together within its Mobile Infrastructure organization as it targets AI-native networks and ultimately 6G.
Its Nokia Core Networks strategy for the AI era includes cloud-native infrastructure, automation, analytics, AI, security and network exposure capabilities.
Early Access Could Reduce Operators’ Innovation Costs
The commercial importance of Mobile Core Early Access may ultimately lie in reducing the cost and complexity of experimentation.
Operators frequently face a difficult decision when evaluating emerging technology: they need substantial testing to establish whether a business case exists, but building the test environment itself requires engineering resources and investment.
A vendor-hosted environment lowers that initial barrier.
Engineering teams can evaluate functionality, operations teams can understand management requirements and business teams can examine potential use cases before an operator commits to a larger proof of concept.
Roberto Kompany, Principal Analyst for Mobile Infrastructure at Omdia, said the initiative addresses a longstanding problem for operators and enterprises seeking practical exposure to emerging core technologies before deployment decisions.
The regularly updated environment covering 5G Core, automation, analytics and network exposure could also become increasingly important as the industry progresses toward AI-native core networks.
From 5G SA Deployment to 5G Monetisation
The telecom industry’s 5G challenge is gradually changing.
The first phase focused primarily on spectrum, radio coverage and increasing mobile broadband speeds. The next phase depends more heavily on 5G Standalone Core, automation, network slicing, enterprise services, APIs and AI-driven operations.
That shift increases the strategic importance of the core network.
For Nokia, Mobile Core Early Access provides an opportunity to expose customers to emerging capabilities earlier in the purchasing cycle while creating a potential pathway toward paid trials and eventually commercial deployments.
For telecom operators, the attraction is different: lower upfront testing effort, faster validation and earlier visibility into potential business value.
With an initial 30 companies already participating and global registration now open, the program could also give Nokia continuous feedback from operators and enterprises while technologies are still evolving.
That feedback loop may become increasingly valuable as Nokia moves from today’s cloud-native 5G Core toward AI-native, increasingly autonomous networks and 6G — where operators will need to evaluate not only what new technology can do, but whether the operational savings and new revenue opportunities justify investment.
BABURAJAN KIZHAKEDATH