MWC 2025: A tech show, not a telecom one
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It was no surprise that AI dominated MWC this year. But there were lots of other notable trends on the rise – including cybersecurity and data centres – and some that were disappointingly overlooked. Find out what the STL Partners team saw and missed at MWC 2025.
Description
Format: PDF filePages: 49Author: STL Partners research teamPublication Date: March 2025
The Mobile World Congress (MWC) is a tech show, not a telecom one. Overall, telcos themselves have a smaller presence and less floor space than in previous years, with only a handful of the large European and Middle Eastern operators maintaining sizable stands. Their technology suppliers – for networking capabilities, systems integrators, enterprise service partners, device and silicon manufacturers – continue to take a larger share of the floor and the newsreels.
The report explores the key themes across AI, telco organisational change, consumer and enterprise segments of telcos’ business, network innovation, private networks, edge computing, cybersecurity, sustainability, quantum, data centres and more.
Table of contents
- Overarching themes at MWC 2025
- Telecom vs tech and growth vs costs
- Pervasive AI
- Organisational change
- Changes in leadership, changes in tone at MWC?
- Consumer
- On the backburner
- AI taking centre stage in smartphones
- AI is all the rage across consumer services
- Other themes
- Enterprise platforms
- Telecom APIs: Building a commercial proposition
- Other notable innovations in the B2B2X space
- Network innovation
- Cloud is now table stakes
- Open RAN in two flavours
- Network autonomy – mind the gap
- NTNs – getting set for takeoff
- Private networks sit quietly in the background
- Edge computing
- Security was high on the agenda
- Trends in security within telcos
- Fraud and security propositions
- Data centres
- Sustainability
- Sustainability overshadowed by AI
- Key themes and announcements
- Key takeaways
- Quantum – A growing presence
- Telcos showcasing quantum-safe services
- Key announcements/demos
- Key takeaways
- Bonus section: The weird and wonderful
Technologies and industry terms referenced include: 5G, 6G, agentic AI, AI, APIs, AWS, B2B2x, cloud RAN, Cybersecurity, data centre, Ericsson, Fujitsu, Huawei, Innovation, KT, mwc, network autonomy, Nokia, NTNs, open RAN, Orange, Quantum, satellite, SK Telecom, smartphone, Strategy, sustainability, Technology, Telco, Use cases, Viettel
