WWT's Key Takeaways from MWC Barcelona 2025: Pioneering the Future of Connectivity

World Wide Technology (WWT) had incredible meetings this year at Mobile World Congress (MWC) Barcelona with our customers and partners, showcasing our commitment to driving digital transformation and connectivity innovation.  

In the days and weeks following MWC, you will find many articles summarizing the key announcements, innovations and press releases from the week. This blog will focus less on MWC's major announcements and more on the key topics and themes observed by the WWT team on the showroom floor and discussions had in WWT's meeting room – minus all the confidential details, of course! 

Our conversations revolved around two major themes: (1) next-generation infrastructure and platforms and (2) AI-driven transformation.  

 Here's a glimpse into our experience at one of the world's most influential connectivity events. 

6G and AI-RAN innovations, continued focus on 5G monetization 

6G was not a major topic this year but it did come up in discussions around AI-RAN. It looks like 6G is being rebranded more as an AI-centric technology advancement, moving away from the concept last year of super high-frequency radios with applications and services closely integrated into the radio access network (RAN). 

AI-RAN was displayed in several booths, including Nokia, ARM, Capgemini and Fujitsu to name a few, emphasizing the potential of AI-driven solutions in future networks. 

Overwhelmingly, conversations both in our meeting room and within panel discussions were focused on operators continuing to monetize 5G investments, looking at growing business in both fixed wireless access (FWA) and private 5G connectivity for enterprises. 

Integrating LEO Satellites into Cellular Networks 

Integrating Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellite connectivity into cellular networks has gained momentum in the mobility industry as a promising area for enhancing global connectivity and network resilience.  

For instance, T-Mobile highlighted its non-terrestrial network (NTN) initiatives, in partnership with Starlink, where they are in a beta phase of offering a direct-to-device (D2D) satellite service to consumers, including plans of selling the service to AT&T and Verizon customers for $20/month per line. The D2D satellite service provides users the ability to communicate via data messaging, with the goal of eventually adding voice communications, as well. 

Beyond mobile: Expanding service provider technologies 

MWC 2025 exhibited that the event is more than just mobile technology. There were many advancements showcased in service provider networking technology, with route/switch, optical and cable solutions all demonstrating substantial shifts, in part, driven by a continued convergence in wired and wireless access networks. 

 Virtualized, disaggregated network solutions leveraging a "white box" approach is a trend that continues to gain adoption by operators, with multiple operators either evaluating various solutions in a proof-of-concept stage are already in the midst of production-scale deployments. 

In addition to the white box approach, there is an increased push for converging IP and Optical solutions by leveraging pluggable coherent optics, with 400G and 800G optics being integrated into switches. 

It is safe to say, MWC Barcelona has become the large-scale network technology event, not just a mobile show. 

AI: From buzzword to reality 

AI was interwoven into every aspect of MWC 2025. If we were to make a rough guesstimate comparing AI branding from MWC 2024 to MWC 2025, MWC 2024 had AI branding within roughly 70 percent of booths on the showroom floor whereas MWC 2025 had AI branding in over 95 percent of the booths. In addition to an increase in AI branding, there seemed to be more tangible AI solutions with real-world applications, moving beyond mere marketing to deliver substantial content and proof points. 

Within WWT's meeting room, there was significant interest in WWT's internal usage of AI Assistants such as WWT's Atom Ai, RFP Assistant and Coding Assistants as well as how we are integrating AI Agents to improve the quality and precision of these AI solutions. There were also many discussions around the AI solutions we have delivered with and for our clients across various verticals, including use cases relevant to the service provider industry such as a Network Operations Center (NOC) AI Assistant. 

We had multiple discussions around data readiness, data governance, and innovative discussions around how operators can create new revenue streams by either leveraging AI in their current offerings or by providing net new AI as a Service (AIaaS) offerings leveraging their vast network of real estate assets with available space and power. 

Observability and automation 

The importance of observability and automation in enhancing network operations was emphasized in multiple conversations. By obtaining deep telemetry reporting, service providers are working to improve the end user's experience through application-specific metrics.  

Various approaches are being evaluated and implemented to perform passive (retroactive) monitoring and inline (proactive) monitoring, leveraging either third-party probing software platforms or using telemetry reporting features inherently built within the OEM-provided network nodes. 

ISV solutions are becoming better supported 

An issue WWT has seen in the market over the years, especially in the edge computing and edge AI space, has been the lack of adequate ongoing, operational support and lifecycle management services in newly introduced solutions provided by startup companies and independent software vendors (ISVs). This has created caution and concerns from many prospective clients, causing these clients to wonder who they would call if a problem arose and how would they prevent a "finger-pointing blame game" between the ISV and hardware vendor. 

WWT has been working closely with our partners, such as Intel and Dell, to deliver optimized and verified Edge AI applications. This ensures these ISV solutions are sufficiently packaged and alleviates many of the concerns a prospective client may have prior to making an investment.  

We believe the trend of larger OEMs, in partnership with WWT, leaning in to validate and support solutions from third-party ISVs will continue to increase in the coming years as clients look for easy-to-procure, ready-to-deploy solutions with relatively low maintenance to support over time. 

Telco cloud deployments… they are ramping up 

 Multiple operators are rolling out private telco clouds, focusing on the development of a centralized, common platform for all their network functions to plug into. The idea is to create a network API layer where the network orchestration is separate from the service orchestration. The end goal for these operators is to maintain a high-performing, quality network while lowering the overall cost to support it at scale. 

 In case you missed it 

 WWT's own Marlan Hardie participated in a panel discussion hosted by Sand Technologies where the group explored how AI, data and digital twins are enabling companies to improve decision making and grow profitability. Here is where you can find a video recording of the panel discussion: Increasing Profitability: Real AI Success Stories from Telecom Business Leaders 

 In closing 

WWT's participation at MWC Barcelona 2025 underscored our commitment to leveraging cutting-edge technologies and partnerships to shape the future of connectivity and digital transformation. We look forward to continuing our journey of innovation and collaboration with our partners and customers.