AI was again at the centre of MWC. But now telcos are focused on what they can practically achieve with AI rather than on boosting investor perception. Satellites, 5G standalone, sovereignty, security and quantum are other themes we noted in Barcelona.
RAN autonomy will not deliver impact unless technical progress and value creation advance in parallel. Our dual-axis framework will help operators to assess where they are today, identify constraints across the lifecycle and the investments most likely to scale.
To deliver on their AI visions (especially agentic AI), operators must transform their data foundations and capabilities to avoid “garbage in, garbage out”. We identify the steps operators can take to get their data ready for AI on the journey towards level 4+ autonomy.