Nokia and MEO have extended their partnership and launched a joint innovation programme to test AI applications in live network environments, moving beyond research into daily operations.

The programme targets network management, monitoring and optimisation, with the two companies examining how AI can help networks spot problems earlier, anticipate shifts in demand and react faster to changing conditions. Portugal's MEO, the country's largest operator, will run the trials in real-world conditions rather than in isolated labs.

What does the partnership actually cover?

The scope is deliberately practical. The two companies plan to test use cases for AI in day-to-day network operations, including ways to improve efficiency and customer experience — not only theoretical research.

Three areas anchor the work:

• Network management – applying AI to routine operational decisions
• Monitoring – detecting faults and anomalies before customers feel them
• Optimisation – tuning the network as demand patterns shift

The stated ambition is that networks become more responsive: catching problems earlier, forecasting traffic changes and adapting to conditions without waiting for manual intervention.

From experiment to operations

Nokia's framing makes clear the companies see this as a transition point for AI in telecoms. John Harrington, Nokia's Senior Vice President and Head of European Operations, said: "Our collaboration with MEO demonstrates how AI can move beyond the experimental phase to have a tangible impact on communications networks."

He added: "By working together on real-world use cases, we are exploring new ways to make networks smarter, more adaptable, and more autonomous, while delivering tangible benefits for network performance and the customer experience."

The commercial claim and the engineering reality sit close together here. Operators across Europe have talked about autonomous networks for years; the distinguishing feature of this programme is that it explicitly targets operational deployment rather than proof-of-concept work.

Why MEO sees infrastructure value

MEO's leadership frames the programme as part of a broader national story, tying network AI to Portugal's economic position. José Pedro Nascimento, MEO's CTO, said: "Artificial Intelligence is transforming the way communications networks are designed, operated, and experienced. At MEO, we are developing the capabilities needed to turn this evolution into concrete applications, combining the expertise of our teams with the experience of leading technology partners."

He continued: "This program allows us to explore new ways to build smarter, more resilient, and more efficient infrastructure, creating greater value for our customers and also helping to strengthen Portugal's position in the digital economy."

That second claim — national economic benefit — is a vendor-and-operator narrative rather than a measurable outcome. The concrete deliverables, for now, are the trials themselves: management, monitoring and optimisation use cases running on MEO's network.

Context: AI moves onto the network floor

The extension fits a wider pattern across the European telecoms sector. Operators under margin pressure are looking to AI-driven automation to cut operational costs and lift service quality, while vendors such as Nokia, Ericsson and Huawei compete to embed AI into their network portfolios. For Nokia, AI in networking has become a central sales pitch — its UK and Ireland managing director, Paul Alexander, recently described AI as a "network super-cycle" — and deals like this one extend that positioning into concrete operator engagements.

For MEO, part of the Altice group, the programme builds on an existing vendor relationship with Nokia rather than opening a new procurement. The companies have not disclosed financial terms, subscriber impact targets or a rollout timeline for the trials.

What happens next

The immediate next step is operational testing: the joint innovation programme will run AI applications in MEO's live network environments and assess how they perform against the efficiency and customer-experience goals both companies have set. Results from those trials will determine whether the partnership moves from exploration to wider deployment across MEO's Portuguese infrastructure.