2025 MWC Barcelona
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Highlights from MWC Barcelona
Views expressed are those of the presenting individuals and companies and may not necessarily represent views of Converge! Network Digest or AvidThink.
Building the Next Gen AI RAN
Shekar Ayyar, CEO of Arrcus, announced multiple strategic initiatives at MWC 2024, including the TGAX Telco-grade AI switch and partnerships with industry leaders like Broadcom, Liberty Global, and Fujitsu.
Taking the Pulse of AI at MWC Barcelona
Roy Chua, Principal and Founder of AvidThink, observes AI as the central focus at MWC 2025, spanning network optimization, operations, and infrastructure development. AI’s impact on networking will be the focus for interviews and discussions at the show.
The AI Services Revolution
Sandro Tavares, Director, Telecom Systems Marketing at Dell, discusses how service providers are adopting AI for customer care and network optimization while noting the need for infrastructure and operational changes. He outlines how telecom providers can become AI service providers given their data access advantages.
AI Transforms Network Security
Laura Wilber, Senior Analyst, Technology & Industry at Enea, explains how AI has become essential for network security applications and encrypted traffic analysis. She highlights AI’s expanding role in protecting critical infrastructure networks and implementing advanced security measures like zero-trust architecture and intrusion detection systems.
The Year of Agentic AI
Peter Jarich, Head of GSMA Intelligence at GSMA, discusses how operators have gained clarity on AI’s applications in their networks, especially with generative AI’s arrival.
The Right AI Model for Network Operators
Andrew Coward, GM, Software Networking at IBM, outlines three categories of AI offerings at Mobile World Congress: cloud providers with AI models, equipment vendors with integrated AI stacks, and end-to-end solution providers. IBM stands in the third category, focusing on solutions that leverage multiple AI models across vendor ecosystems while enabling specialized capabilities for specific tasks.
Business FWA Driven by 5G Advanced
CEO Juho Sarvikas of Inseego announced their FX 5000 FWA product as the first to complete a data call using Qualcomm’s Dragonwing FWA Generation 4 platform. The company’s focus on enterprise FWA markets aligns with the enhanced capabilities of 5G Advanced technology, which offers improved uplink and downlink speeds for wireless broadband deployments.
Power & Efficiency for Next-Gen RAN
Alex Quach, VP and GM of the Wireline and Core Network Division at Intel, explains how telecom providers are upgrading networks with AI capabilities and enhanced power efficiency through the company’s Xeon processor families. The new processors deliver significant performance gains and power savings while supporting both networking and AI workloads, particularly at network edges and cell sites.
AI's Dual Impact: Powering Next-Gen RAN & Network Management
Julius Francis, Senior Director, Product Marketing at Juniper, outlines how AI is reshaping networking through infrastructure requirements for AI systems and AI-powered networking solutions. He showcases how Juniper’s Paragon portfolio uses AI capabilities to solve routing and WAN challenges.
AI and RIC for Next Gen RAN
Constantine Polychronopoulos, GVP of 5G and Telco Cloud at Juniper, discusses key Mobile World Congress trends including the Radio Intelligent Controller’s growing adoption and AI integration in radio access networks.
Introducing the O-RU Alliance
Yoshihisa Nakagawa, Department Manager at Kyocera, announces the formation of the O-RU Alliance, a seven-member partnership to help operators manage diverse spectrum requirements and radio unit characteristics across vendors. Drawing from their mobile handset and infrastructure expertise, Kyocera positions itself as a trusted operator partner while promoting “no borders and go bold” at MWC Barcelona.
AI for Powering Next Gen RAN
Joel Brand, AVP of Product Marketing at Marvell, explains that AI in wireless networks is currently more hype than reality, despite its success in data centers. His insights highlight how Marvell’s AI-capable baseband devices allow customers to test algorithms in real networks.
Breakthrough Innovations for Networking
Peter Vetter, President of Bell Labs Core Research at Nokia, showcases Bell Labs’ century of achievements in modern technology, from transistors and cellular networks to Unix and neural networks. He outlines how Bell Labs maintains its innovative spirit through current work in AI, quantum technology, and space communication, including a lunar-orbiting network.
Welcome to AI World Congress
At Mobile World Congress, Nokia’s SVP and Chief Marketing Officer Manish Gulyani discusses how AI is driving increased networking demands for cloud interconnection and shaping the company’s strategic direction. Through the acquisition of Infinera and partnerships with Lenovo and Kyndryl, Nokia is expanding its optical and data center networking capabilities.
AI for Connecting Everything
Houman Modarres, Head of Enterprise Marketing at Nokia, discusses AI’s central role at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, focusing on how organizations are addressing infrastructure connectivity and network readiness for AI deployment.
AI's Rapid Rise in Networking
Parm Sandhu, VP Enterprise 5G Products & Services at NTT Data, highlights the rapid expansion of AI adoption across cloud and edge environments over the past year, with cloud AI reaching widespread implementation while industrial AI continues to develop.
The Year of Agentic AI
Phil Kippen, Global Head of Industry – Telecommunications at Snowflake, explains how 2024 will be defined by agentive AI and autonomous networks in telecommunications. He highlights the importance of legacy system integration, ecosystem development, and the progressive benefits of network automation as operators advance toward autonomous operations.
From Telco to TechCo with Supermicro
Michael Clegg, VP & GM 5G/Edge at Supermicro, outlines the company’s expansion from Open RAN to AI in telecommunications, highlighting their involvement in the growing ORAN Alliance and their platforms running on Nvidia HGX Grace Hopper technology.
AI-Powered Network Automation for 5G Operations
Ofir Zemer, Vice President, Product Management at Qualcomm Technologies, Inc., showcases the company’s RAN Automation Suite, which features AI-driven capabilities and a Service Management Orchestration foundation. The system’s agnostic layer enables carriers to express business objectives in natural language while leveraging predictive KPIs, RF analysis, and integration with various RAN vendor applications.
VeloSky Brings Next-Gen Converged Network Connectivity
Kishan Ramaswamy, Director, Product Management at VeloCloud by Broadcom, speaks with Roy Chua, Principal and Founder at AvidThink, on how VeloCloud’s VeloSky platform enables CSPs to maximize their 5G investments through enhanced user experience and network capabilities.
AI Network Evolution: Towards Agentic AI in Networking
Gabriele Di Piazza, Vice President of Products, Alliances & Architectures at Blue Planet (a Ciena Company), discusses key Mobile World Congress trends including AI-driven infrastructure for network automation and digital twin technology for network simulation. He emphasizes how service providers are adopting data management layers while shifting toward cloud-native environments, highlighting the importance of building comprehensive ecosystems that unite network, OSS, and BSS players with developer communities.