ZTE AIR Core unleashes a new era of agent services beyond connectivity
PARTNER CONTENT: Shifting from legacy "connectivity pipes" to intent-driven intelligent services, the 6G-ready architecture introduces an Agent Service Network designed for the era
By The Register
ZTE has unveiled its AIR Core network architecture at MWC Shanghai 2026, marking a decisive shift from traditional connectivity pipes to intent-driven intelligent services designed for the era of AI agents and human collaboration. This 6G-ready system introduces an Agent Service Network that spans devices and ecosystems, empowering diverse demands from individuals, smart homes, connected vehicles, and massive emerging AI agents .
By integrating AI, computing, data, and security capabilities, the architecture constructs a unified platform where service targets expand beyond humans and machines to include AI entities such as home robots, digital humans, and virtual assistants . The core integrates ZTE's AI User Plane Function, known as AI-UPF, which evolves into a converged computing-network-intelligence gateway to ensure precise AI service identification and on-demand resource scheduling .
This evolution supports a Unified Data Plane for centralized data collection, storage, and analysis, facilitating user profiling, experience monetization, and data value realization . AIR Core represents a fundamental architectural leap from Cloud Native to AI Native, laying the foundation for agentic communication in 5G-Advanced and 6G networks .
Currently in pilot and early commercial deployment, ZTE is partnering with global operators to accelerate their transformation from connectivity providers to intelligent service enablers, jointly exploring new monetization pathways for the agentic era . At the Shanghai event, ZTE highlighted key features including personalised call assistants that enhance voice quality and apply AI-driven noise cancellation .
Chief Development Officer Cui Li noted that as AI becomes more powerful and pervasive, agent-driven connections are set to grow exponentially, redefining network value from simple connectivity to reachable intelligence, guaranteed experiences, and monetizable services . To truly support agent services in the mobile AI era, ZTE believes network capabilities must improve across four key dimensions: enhanced uplink, ultra-low latency, deterministic experience, and ubiquitous coverage .
The company also showcased its full-stack AI capabilities, including the TCO-optimal AI factory and the AIOS-powered ecosystem spanning scenario-based applications and innovative terminals . Through the extreme synergy across computing, network, storage, energy, and software, ZTE has fully unlocked new momentum for token operations, addressing the challenge of low-cost token production while playing a critical role in token scheduling and orchestration .
Built on the AIOS technological foundation, the Co-Claw enterprise-level agent platform is fully integrated into ZTE terminals, extending AI services to production and daily life . ZTE transforms tokens into schedulable, serviceable, and monetizable resources by leveraging the AIOS foundation, the agent platform, and a full lineup of AI devices .
From the AI factory to AIOS, the agent platform, and future networks, ZTE demonstrated an end-to-end capability system at MWC Shanghai 2026 that covers token production, scheduling, and circulation . This system integrates computing, network, terminals, and agents to accelerate AI from technological breakthroughs to large-scale deployment .
The AIR Core architecture establishes a new 6G agentic communication paradigm, empowering agent scaling through network upgrades while driving architectural evolution via the integration of AI capabilities . ZTE views 6G not merely as a generational upgrade in communication technology but as a new foundational infrastructure for the harmonious symbiosis of humans and machines .
The company's approach to AI-RAN architecture adopts a decoupling design for AI for RAN and RAN for AI, allowing the two to evolve in synergy . This cost-efficient design ensures that network capabilities can adapt to the rapidly changing demands of the mobile AI era .
The integration of the 3GPP-standardised network data analytics function with the AI-UPF unlocks quality of service improvements essential for agent-driven applications . ZTE's service AI agent, based on this AI core foundation, enables personalised customer experiences in 5G networks, demonstrating the practical application of the new architecture .
The AIR MAX solution comprehensively upgrades the network architecture with AI at its core, delivering a three-tier capability system involving the AI factory, AIOS, and the agent platform . This end-to-end capability system integrates computing, network, terminals, and agents to accelerate AI from technological breakthroughs to large-scale deployment .
ZTE has launched the NewStart AIOS and positioned it as the technological foundation in the AI era, supporting the deployment of advanced agent services . The Co-Claw agent platform extends AI services to production and daily life by integrating with ZTE terminals .
By leveraging the AIOS foundation and the agent platform, ZTE transforms tokens into schedulable, serviceable, and monetizable resources . The system covers token production, scheduling, and circulation, integrating computing, network, terminals, and agents to accelerate AI from technological breakthroughs to large-scale deployment .
ZTE demonstrated this end-to-end capability system at MWC Shanghai 2026, showcasing its ability to support the next generation of agent-driven networks . The AIR Core architecture is designed to support the exponential growth of agent-driven connections as AI becomes more powerful and pervasive .
This signals that mobile AI is redefining network value, moving from connectivity to reachable intelligence, guaranteed experiences, and monetizable services . To truly support agent services in the mobile AI era, ZTE believes that network capabilities must be improved across four key dimensions: enhanced uplink, ultra-low latency, deterministic experience, and ubiquitous coverage .
The decoupling design for AI for RAN and RAN for AI allows the two to evolve in synergy, ensuring cost-efficient AI-RAN architecture . This approach ensures that network capabilities can adapt to the rapidly changing demands of the mobile AI era .
The integration of the 3GPP-standardised network data analytics function with the AI-UPF unlocks quality of service improvements essential for agent-driven applications . ZTE's service AI agent, based on this AI core foundation, enables personalised customer experiences in 5G networks, demonstrating the practical application of the new architecture .
The AIR MAX solution comprehensively upgrades the network architecture with AI at its core, delivering a three-tier capability system involving the AI factory, AIOS, and the agent platform . This end-to-end capability system integrates computing, network, terminals, and agents to accelerate AI from technological breakthroughs to large-scale deployment .
ZTE has launched the NewStart AIOS and positioned it as the technological foundation in the AI era, supporting the deployment of advanced agent services . The Co-Claw agent platform extends AI services to production and daily life by integrating with ZTE terminals .
By leveraging the AIOS foundation and the agent platform, ZTE transforms tokens into schedulable, serviceable, and monetizable resources . The system covers token production, scheduling, and circulation, integrating computing, network, terminals, and agents to accelerate AI from technological breakthroughs to large-scale deployment .
ZTE demonstrated this end-to-end capability system at MWC Shanghai 2026, showcasing its ability to support the next generation of agent-driven networks . The AIR Core architecture is designed to support the exponential growth of agent-driven connections as AI becomes more powerful and pervasive .
This signals that mobile AI is redefining network value, moving from connectivity to reachable intelligence, guaranteed experiences, and monetizable services . To truly support agent services in the mobile AI era, ZTE believes that network capabilities must be improved across four key dimensions: enhanced uplink, ultra-low latency, deterministic experience, and ubiquitous coverage .
The decoupling design for AI for RAN and RAN for AI allows the two to evolve in synergy, ensuring cost-efficient AI-RAN architecture . This approach ensures that network capabilities can adapt to the rapidly changing demands of the mobile AI era .
The integration of the 3GPP-standardised network data analytics function with the AI-UPF unlocks quality of service improvements essential for agent-driven applications . ZTE's service AI agent, based on this AI core foundation, enables personalised customer experiences in 5G networks, demonstrating the practical application of the new architecture .
The AIR MAX solution comprehensively upgrades the network architecture with AI at its core, delivering a three-tier capability system involving the AI factory, AIOS, and the agent platform . This end-to-end capability system integrates computing, network, terminals, and agents to accelerate AI from technological breakthroughs to large-scale deployment .
ZTE has launched the NewStart AIOS and positioned it as the technological foundation in the AI era, supporting the deployment of advanced agent services . The Co-Claw agent platform extends AI services to production and daily life by integrating with ZTE terminals .
By leveraging the AIOS foundation and the agent platform, ZTE transforms tokens into schedulable, serviceable, and monetizable resources . The system covers token production, scheduling, and circulation, integrating computing, network, terminals, and agents to accelerate AI from technological breakthroughs to large-scale deployment .
ZTE demonstrated this end-to-end capability system at MWC Shanghai 2026, showcasing its ability to support the next generation of agent-driven networks . The AIR Core architecture is designed to support the exponential growth of agent-driven connections as AI becomes more powerful and pervasive .
This signals that mobile AI is redefining network value, moving from connectivity to reachable intelligence, guaranteed experiences, and monetizable services . To truly support agent services in the mobile AI era, ZTE believes that network capabilities must be improved across four key dimensions: enhanced uplink, ultra-low latency, deterministic experience, and ubiquitous coverage .
The decoupling design for AI for RAN and RAN for AI allows the two to evolve in synergy, ensuring cost-efficient AI-RAN architecture . This approach ensures that network capabilities can adapt to the rapidly changing demands of the mobile AI era .
The integration of the 3GPP-standardised network data analytics function with the AI-UPF unlocks quality of service improvements essential for agent-driven applications . ZTE's service AI agent, based on this AI core foundation, enables personalised customer experiences in 5G networks, demonstrating the practical application of the new architecture .
The AIR MAX solution comprehensively upgrades the network architecture with AI at its core, delivering a three-tier capability system involving the AI factory, AIOS, and the agent platform . This end-to-end capability system integrates computing, network, terminals, and agents to accelerate AI from technological breakthroughs to large-scale deployment .
ZTE has launched the NewStart AIOS and positioned it as the technological foundation in the AI era, supporting the deployment of advanced agent services . The Co-Claw agent platform extends AI services to production and daily life by integrating with ZTE terminals .
By leveraging the AIOS foundation and the agent platform, ZTE transforms tokens into schedulable, serviceable, and monetizable resources . The system covers token production, scheduling, and circulation, integrating computing, network, terminals, and agents to accelerate AI from technological breakthroughs to large-scale deployment .
ZTE demonstrated this end-to-end capability system at MWC Shanghai 2026, showcasing its ability to support the next generation of agent-driven networks . The AIR Core architecture is designed to support the exponential growth of agent-driven connections as AI becomes more powerful and pervasive .
This signals that mobile AI is redefining network value, moving from connectivity to reachable intelligence, guaranteed experiences, and monetizable services . To