Key Topics Innovation & Responsible Technology

Innovation & Responsible Technology

Investing in innovation and partnering with industry leaders to bring cutting-edge technologies to our network.

Click through to learn about our 2025 impact in action.

Our Approach

At AT&T, innovation is key to continuously improving our network in line with emerging technologies and growing customer demand for network capacity.

Enhancing Network Management

We use our open-source software to more efficiently and cost-effectively control, manage and deploy network services. Our core network is entirely software-defined. This allows us to rapidly scale capacity to respond to traffic volumes, quickly enable capacity enhancements and promptly address security concerns.

Even as we innovate to advance speed, coverage and reliability, we are doing so with sustainability in mind. Learn more about how we are optimizing network energy efficiency in our Energy Management issue brief.

To learn about our network management policies, see our Network Practices website.

Investing in Next-Gen Tech

Our network investments lay the foundation for new technologies—including artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning (ML), video analytics, virtual reality, augmented reality, edge computing, 5G, hybrid private cellular networks and the Internet of Things—to flourish. Our approach to technology innovation includes:

Research and Development: AT&T scientists and engineers explore areas such as AI/ML, data analytics, next-generation network technologies (e.g., 6G, satellite technologies), advanced network design and architecture, autonomous networks (from design to optimization and operations to decommissioning), cybersecurity, application and customer experience optimization (including video analytics), energy efficiency and new service innovations. Most development activities are aimed at creating new services and inventing and operationalizing tools and systems to manage secure, reliable networks.
Collaboration: The AT&T Innovation Studio features cutting-edge wireless and wireline technologies and brings together cross-company organizations to explore new enterprise and consumer use cases while accelerating paths to market for product offerings and strategic initiatives. Our scientists and engineers work with customers and industry peers to ideate, test and validate new applications, network architectures and product concepts across AT&T’s entire network, both wireless and wireline.

AI Adoption and Responsible Use

For nearly 70 years, AT&T has been a leader in innovative AI, continually evolving our approach to leverage and advance the application of the technology across operations, networks and customer experiences. We apply AI to drive innovation, from customer service technologies to internal generative AI (GenAI) platforms that help employees better serve customers. Learn more in our Responsible AI issue brief.

Evolving Technologies

The 5G space continues to offer opportunities for innovation, and we remain dedicated to exploring new avenues for 5G development. At the same time, we are looking ahead, reinforcing our leadership in “Beyond 5G” as a founding member of the Next G Alliance.

We also created the AT&T Network API Accelerator Program to give select developers early access to pre-release network application programming interfaces (APIs) that could support next-generation network capabilities. As network advances continue, developers will be able to create new, network-enabled experiences in spaces such as healthcare, transportation, security and entertainment.

We are proud to maintain one of the strongest patent portfolios in the industry, with over 10,000 issued patents to date. We create advanced technologies that drive innovations in AI and automation, software-defined networks, customer experience, media analytics and open-source platforms. To do so, we need to stay ahead of the curve, proactively researching and exploring emerging solutions.

We support our scientists, developers and engineers with resources to realize the full potential of their knowledge and expertise. This includes creating space for them to research and address evolving technology challenges and opportunities through:

AT&T Labs
AT&T Chief Data Office (CDO)
AT&T Innovation Studio
AT&T Intellectual Property Group

Open RAN

To move our network forward, we are opening it up, exploring open radio access network (Open RAN) opportunities that allow vendor diversity, innovation and network programmability.

AT&T is working with Ericsson to roll out Open RAN at scale in the U.S., investing about $14 billion over five years to grow a broader mix of network suppliers. By aiming for 70% of our wireless traffic to run on open-capable platforms by late 2026, we are tapping newer, more energy‑efficient tech and upgraded hardware. We also completed our first Open RAN call with third‑party radios at AT&T Labs, showing how an open approach speeds innovation and improves sustainability across the network.

We are a member of the Acceleration of Compatibility and Commercialization for Open RAN Deployments Consortium (ACCoRD), a federally funded industry consortium. ACCoRD accelerates the adoption of interoperable Open RAN by developing new methods to evaluate and commercialize innovations not covered by current best practices.

Harnessing the Power of Data

In today’s digital era, data is pivotal for driving innovation, enabling AI/ML, enhancing operational efficiency and maintaining a competitive edge. AT&T recognizes data as a strategic asset and is committed to unlocking its full potential while upholding the highest standards of customer trust and regulatory compliance. Our comprehensive data strategy focuses on five key pillars:

Data Protection: Ensuring data security across all platforms by adhering to AT&T Security Policies and Standards, employing robust encryption practices and preventing data exfiltration.
Operational Governance and Assurance: Strengthening data governance to ensure compliance, enhance accountability and effectively manage third-party risks.
Data Management: Aligning with a “single version of truth,” implementing target architecture and leveraging data products through an operational support framework to balance risk reduction with business value.
Data Culture and Literacy: Fostering a data-driven culture by improving data literacy across the organization, focusing on data democratization and reuse and empowering employees to make data-informed decisions.
Advancing Sophisticated Machine Learning: Using advanced AI/ML to optimize our network and services, including improved network planning, identification and remediation of misconfigured network elements, detection of security and operational anomalies, and to reduce our energy consumption (e.g., cell site sleeping).

By reinforcing these areas, AT&T aims to safeguard sensitive information, maintain customers’ privacy and trust, streamline operations, reduce risks and drive value across the enterprise.

Innovation & Responsible Technology Governance

Board of Directors: Receives regular reports on innovation and responsible technology matters from executive leadership.
Chief Technology Officer (CTO): Is responsible for the technology platforms supporting all AT&T business units. The CTO also has management responsibility for new product development, network transformation, cybersecurity and the CDO.
Technology & Network Services Team: Oversees the network technology direction for AT&T, which includes network architecture, standards, planning, development, testing and certification of infrastructure and device technologies.

Impact in Action

Our 2025 Impact in Action

Opening Up Our Network

In 2025, we successfully tested a new technology with Ciena Corp that can transport data at 1.6 terabits per second over a 296-kilometer route – four times faster than the current top speed on our network. The 1.6-Tb/s wavelength carried two Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers standards-based 800 Gigabit Ethernet end-to-end circuits, an industry first. This proves our software-centric network can deliver faster, more efficient connectivity for streaming, AI, virtual reality and cloud computing.

In 2025, ACCoRD moved into its execution phase to advance interoperable Open RAN across the telecom ecosystem. Additionally, VIAVI Solutions announced a strategic partnership between its VALOR Automated Lab‑as‑a‑Service for Open RAN and ACCoRD. Under the partnership, VIAVI will equip ACCoRD labs with its NITRO Wireless Open RAN test suite and VAMOS platform, make VALOR’s full Open RAN tests available to ACCoRD‑referred customers and provide additional equipment and services to support long‑term testing.

In 2025, we also achieved a major milestone in network innovation by enabling the nation’s first native voice and text communications through AST SpaceMobile’s satellites, using AT&T spectrum and our core network infrastructure.

Accelerating AI-Powered Network Efficiency and Innovation

AT&T is creating industry-leading, AI-based innovations to manage our networks and services. To scale these innovations, AT&T has developed a Network Foundation Model (NFM) that lets us create and deploy AI tools faster across the business. Through NFM and other tools, we can deploy advanced AI/ML analytics across our network infrastructure to optimize the network and customer experience, manage changing networking conditions and deliver energy efficiencies. For more information on energy efficiencies, see our Energy Management issue brief.

We also invented and developed the AT&T Geo Modeler, a radio propagation tool that is roughly 4,000 times faster than existing solutions. In concert with our NFM, the Geo Modeler enables real-time, data-driven network decisions, supporting applications from cell site management to network planning while optimizing spectrum use and improving overall customer experience.

In addition to these innovations, AT&T is extensively using GenAI and agentic AI to deliver copilots that simplify and automate operational tasks, driving further efficiency across the organization.

Greater Innovation with Network APIs

We are expanding open network APIs that make AT&T network infrastructure accessible to developers at all levels, helping them build advanced connectivity directly into applications. As part of this, AT&T is redesigning the AT&T Developer Hub to expand technical details across our API offerings.

In 2025, AT&T expanded our ecosystem innovation through Aduna, a joint venture with Ericsson and other global telecommunications providers. Aduna provides a standardized, API-based platform that eliminates the need for app developers to work separately with individual carriers or navigate roaming complexities. Instead, Aduna intelligently routes developer requests to the appropriate carrier while maintaining a unified industry roadmap for standardized APIs. An AT&T representative serves on Aduna’s board.

5G and Beyond

AT&T’s 5G Standalone network is now live nationwide, and we’re thoughtfully moving more customers onto it every day to deliver faster uploads, ultra-low latency and higher reliability. In 2025, AT&T’s 5G Reduced Capability (RedCap) technology reached a major milestone with nationwide coverage, now serving over 283 million points of presence (POPs) across the country. This achievement marks a significant step forward in the advancement and expansion of our 5G network.

Building on this momentum, in 2025, we expanded 5G through our Ericsson partnership, adding spectrum and advancing Open RAN to boost performance and coverage. As we continue moving customers onto our nationwide 5G Standalone core, these upgrades unlock capabilities that power AI-enabled devices, real-time analytics and enterprise edge applications. With one of the nation’s most balanced mixes of low- , mid- and high-band spectrum, we’re laying the foundation for the next wave of 5G innovation and connected experiences.

Innovating Cutting-Edge Products

Throughout 2025, we launched various solutions and advanced existing tools to deliver more efficient, more responsible and more purposeful connectivity to customers.

AT&T Phone Advanced: We introduced AT&T Phone Advanced for homes, which replaces copper landlines with service over cellular and internet. It works with most existing phones, includes a 24-hour battery backup, helps block spam calls and supports accurate 911 location tracking. For businesses, we launched AT&T Business Voice, moving traditional phone lines onto a single internet-based service with remote monitoring, backup power, wireless failover and spam call protection.
AT&T Express Waves: We launched AT&T Express Waves, a high-capacity service that lets businesses quickly add more bandwidth, often within 24 hours. It’s available to 2.3 million business locations in our network.
AT&T Turbo for Business: Expanding on AT&T’s Turbo offering, we launched AT&T Turbo for Business to help businesses maintain productivity, efficiency and continuity. By delivering prioritized treatment of business data, Turbo for Business provides a more consistent network experience and enhanced data connectivity, offering applications on mobile business devices the highest data priority treatment commercially available on AT&T's wireless network.