The webinars have given excellent insights into the technologies the analyst community expects to see leading the conversation in Barcelona. There’s much agreement on some of the themes that will dominate the show, and we’ve summarized a few key points. If you’d like to hear more straight from the much more intelligent horses’ mouths, the Omdia webinar is available on demand here.
AI will be everywhere
It won’t surprise telecom industry watchers that analysts expect AI to dominate at MWC this year. As the technology, particularly GenAI, matures, it is being integrated across the telecom ecosystem, from AI for RAN to autonomous networks and GPUaaS to CX hyper-personalization.
GSMA Intelligence highlighted the shift toward using AI not only to enhance network operations, but also to drive automation and improve overall performance.
Omdia explored the evolution of AI from a back‐office tool to a strategic driver for both customer experience and network innovation. Omdia’s analyst team views AI not only as a tool for operational efficiency but also as a strategic driver for innovation across both consumer and enterprise segments, inspiring a new wave of possibilities.
Expect to see technology and service providers, CSPs, and beyond showcasing their latest and greatest AI innovations and use cases.
5G evolution
As 5G standalone is becoming more widely deployed and many operators are planning 5G Advanced deployments, the telecom industry is pushing to develop enterprise and customer use cases that can deliver much-needed RoI.
GSMA Intelligence stressed the importance of technologies like RedCap for scalable, lower-cost IoT connectivity, whilst Omdia noted that 5G evolution is critical to unlocking new consumer and enterprise services, with emerging tariff innovations and performance improvements like network slicing and quality on-demand setting the stage for growth.
Also, expect to see private wireless high on the agenda as CSPs wrestle with developing enterprise services to monetise 5G investments.
GSMA Intelligence and Omdia highlighted 5G’s maturation as a crucial stepping stone to more transformative, revenue-generating services.
Network APIs
Analysts also expect network APIs to be high on the agenda at MWC, with commercialisation closer than ever to becoming a reality.
GSMA Intelligence emphasised the role of the Open Gateway initiative in encouraging industry collaboration so network APIs are exposed consistently, allowing developers to build scalable, cross-operator solutions.
Omdia expects another round of announcements from both hyperscalers and aggregators that will further drive the adoption of network APIs and support commercialisation.
What else to look out for?
In their excellent overviews, GSMA Intelligence and Omdia touched on a whole host of other technologies to watch out for, from 6G to non-terrestrial networks and OpenRAN to eSIM. I highly recommend catching the recording ahead of MWC to get the full picture of what to expect in Barcelona.
The CCGroup team will be on the ground at MWC, supporting our clients with everything from briefings to analyst events. We’d love to see you there! Please get in touch if you’d like to meet: [email protected]
