NTT Unveils Technology to Enhance AI Performance for 6G and Next Generation Computing

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NTT, Inc., NTT DOCOMO, Inc., and NTT DATA Group Corporation announced that they will exhibit at MWC Barcelona 2026, the world's largest connectivity exhibition, in Barcelona, Spain, from March 2 to 5. At the event, NTT, Inc. will showcase and promote initiatives centered around the Innovative Optical and Wireless Network (IOWN)‘s ability to meet the rising demands of networking, computing and AI workloads. With its high bandwidth and extremely low latency, IOWN accelerates the development of advanced solutions by replacing electronics with photonics in communication infrastructure, creating distributed and efficient networking and AI architecture for a sustainable, low power future. NTT’s exhibition and executive keynote presentations will highlight how photonics-based technologies, distributed computing and 6G integration are enabling energy-efficient, high-performance infrastructure designed to power a sustainable, AI-driven future.

Redefining Intelligence in the 6G Era: Supercharging AI Video Inference and AI Agents

Ahead of MWC, NTT announced two key initiatives around the advancement of AI to meet data processing needs of 6G use cases. The first is a joint project between The University of Tokyo, NTT and NEC Corporation (NEC), integrating 6G and IOWN technologies to achieve high-capacity data communication and optimization of computation processing required for AI agents.

The successful integration affirms the establishment of infrastructure for next-generation ICT systems to enable AI agents to act autonomously, processing and transmitting massive amounts of data with low latency and high reliability. To control computational resources used, reduce end-to-end delay and maintain AI inference accuracy, this approach combines small, specialized AI distributed in a network and external information sources, streaming semantic communication technology and selective media control technology.

The second announcement surrounded a successful demonstration by NTT and NTT DOCOMO of low latency and high-speed AI video analysis using In-Network Computing (INC) Edge. Traditionally, AI inference processing has been controlled by application and servers and data transfer controlled by the network. The proposed method uses INC edge to connect commercial 5G networks and IOWN All-Photonics Networks (APN) and enables distributed GPU resources to be used as part of the 5G network, reducing communication delays.

Experts anticipate that networks in the 6G era will control communication, data processing and inference to ensure high quality of service for data-intensive applications such as AI and robotics. This signals that INC Edge will form a fundamental component for 6G networks to effectively maintain high inference performance; the experiment illustrates that this robust result can be achieved even with geographically distant GPUs, maximizing the value of AI systems.

Photonics Innovation for an AI-Driven Society

Throughout MWC, the NTT Group booth will showcase a range of initiatives that leverage optical technologies to support the growing adoption of AI and drive global transformation of data center and compute infrastructure. These exhibitions will be structured around technologies that leverage IOWN to build energy-efficient infrastructure for an AI-driven society – “AI-Resilient Infrastructure with Photonics” – and real-world use cases for AI – “AI-Powered Services and Solutions.”

NTT will highlight IOWN technologies, including the photonics-electronics convergence (PEC) devices that will be spotlighted in NTT President and CEO Akira Shimada’s keynote, and how they improve energy efficiency in data centers and optical quantum computing to enable large-scale computation with lower power consumption, lower costs and high speed. NTT will also present recent advancements in the integration of AI within 6G mobile networks, inclusive of Network for AI, a concept envisioning seamless coexistence between humans, AI and robots.

Additional technology offerings across NTT operating companies that will be on display at the NTT Group booth will feature initiatives and solutions that drive global transformation across corporate activities and industries such as NTT DATA's Edge AI solutions for enterprise as well as NTT DOCOMO’s platform that enables remote robot operation and autonomous control through Physical AI, new personal AI agent and AI-driven solutions under development for immersive entertainment experiences.