Details
- NTT DOCOMO launched commercial 5G Core services on a hybrid AWS and on-premises NFV environment on February 26, 2026, first in Asia-Pacific region.
- Involves NTT DOCOMO (91 million subscribers), NEC Corporation providing 5G Core software, and AWS with agentic AI capabilities.
- Agentic AI using Amazon Bedrock AgentCore and Strands Agents automates design, deployment via GitOps, cutting deployment time by 80% and incident response by 50% across 1M+ devices.
- Follows 2022 proofs-of-concept; uses AWS Graviton processors for energy efficiency (up to 70% power reduction in tests), enabling flexible scaling versus traditional setups.
- Showcased at MWC Barcelona 2026; Japan's first such launch, enhancing resiliency for carrier-grade operations in hybrid cloud.
Impact
NTT DOCOMO's pioneering hybrid 5G Core on AWS sets a benchmark for telcos adopting agentic AI, slashing deployment and response times to boost agility amid surging data demands. This accelerates 5G expansion in Asia-Pacific, pressuring competitors like Rakuten Mobile or SoftBank to hybridize, while advancing sustainable, scalable infrastructure for AI-driven telecom evolution.
