- T-Mobile boasts a level 4.5 autonomous network implementation with its homegrown Dynamic Customer Experience (CX)
- Dynamic CX is an AI-powered network optimization capability that helps the network adapt automatically as demand shifts
- This summer’s World Cup soccer tournament will test Dynamic CX in stadiums across the U.S. – but it’s not just for the big events
T-Mobile isn’t the official communications provider for the FIFA World Cup 2026 – that distinction goes to Verizon. But the Bellevue, Washington-based carrier is betting its new AI-powered Dynamic CX will score major points in stadiums across the country.
That’s in part because Dynamic CX expands on T-Mobile’s self-organizing network (SON) technology, which continuously monitors and optimizes network performance so that the network is ready for increased traffic during major events.
More specifically, Dynamic CX uses AI to help identify mass gatherings – from sporting events to concerts and everything in between – and prepares the network in advance, adapting and enhancing network performance in real time.
Dynamic CX achieves what constitutes a level 4.5 autonomous network implementation based on the TM Forum’s Level 0-5 rating system, T-Mobile Chief Network Officer Ankur Kapoor said.
“This is the first solution that I would say is the closest thing to the Level 5 that we’ve seen,” he told Fierce.
Generally speaking, most operators are between Levels 2 and 3, with some reaching Level 4 in certain domains, according to a TM Forum report earlier this year. The goal is for operators to reach Level 5, which means no human intervention.
Dynamic CX might even be considered Level 5, but Kapoor said he’s being conservative.
“The only reason I say it’s a little bit less than that is because I’m still trying to frame up this event calendar,” which was kind of the starting point for the whole thing.
T-Mobile’s events calendar
That leads to another reason Dynamic CX is not your run-of-the-mill network optimization tool: the events calendar.
Everyone knows when and where the World Cup 2026 soccer matches are taking place. Same goes for other major events – concerts and holiday celebrations, for example.
But Kapoor and this team wanted to capture all the other events – small ones that happen in communities every day – where larger-than-normal groups gather and require more than the usual network resources. Think high school graduations, neighborhood watch parties and college festivals.
They searched public databases, schedules and online activity and came up with a list of more than 40,000 events in the U.S. in 2026, which amounts to about 100 events a day.
“I’m telling the team, I will call it [Level] 5 on the day when you tell me we captured 99% of the events, and I think today we have 95%-plus of the events” identified, he said.
During the month of May, they conducted tests at about 380 events across the country. “The results that we saw were actually extremely positive. We saw that we were connecting more customers,” he said.
T-Mobile conflict resolution
The industry often talks about the importance of energy savings and powering down equipment – or “putting it to sleep” – at night when few people are using the networks. Fierce asked Kapoor what role that plays in all of this.
Separate from Dynamic CX, T-Mobile has a module that works on energy savings. That was something they thought about during the Dynamic CX development phase.
“As an industry, something we have to evolve … is what I call conflict management,” he said.
That happens when two things conflict with one another. Traditionally, the network at a given site might assume not much is happening because it’s nighttime. If an unforeseen event actually happens at midnight, the system gets confused.
Therefore, “we came up with what we call a conflict resolution module, where it goes back in an autonomous way and checks where the traffic levels are coming from,” he said. Basically, it’s a system of checks and balances, where if something changes and more traffic occurs, Dynamic CX will override the energy-savings routine.
Real-world tests
Third-party tests show T-Mobile was in pretty good shape even without Dynamic CX. In an analysis of the 11 host World Cup venues published this month, Opensignal found T-Mobile led U.S. host cities on download speed and posted broad wins across several experience metrics.
The introduction of Dynamic CX kicks it up a notch. At the June 10 Knicks game at Madison Square Garden in New York City, T-Mobile saw a 58% improvement in throughput and 21% more connected users versus prior comparable scenarios, according to Kapoor.
Over this past weekend, Dynamic CX had a chance to prove itself on T-Mobile’s home turf of Seattle, where scores of graduation celebrations occurred. On a grander scale, it will have a chance to perform when Seattle hosts its first FIFA game today, with Belgium vs. Egypt. Six matches total are happening this summer in Seattle, including the United States vs. Australia on Friday.