AI-Enabled Network Ops & Automation at MWC26

What were the biggest takeaways from MWC Barcelona 2026? In this blog, originally published on Communications Today, Radhika Gupta (She/Her), examines the key themes emerging from this year’s #MWC26 as the telecom industry begins its transition toward a more intelligent, AI-driven future. Read the full blog to explore how AI is reshaping network strategy and industry priorities, the growing importance of sovereignty and national technology ambitions and what these shifts mean for operators and the wider telecom ecosystem: https://lnkd.in/drh8imtk

#GSMAIntelligence #MWC26 - For a quick take on the highlights of this year's Mobile World Congress event in Barcelona, please read my colleague Radhika Gupta (She/Her)'s blog post at: https://lnkd.in/ettiSDNG? For a more in-depth overview, please have a look at the full report at: https://lnkd.in/eSjnxzBK

Live from MWC Barcelona! Great conversation with Rhys Oxenham from SUSE team on how the Frontier Telco model resonates with the shifts we are seeing in AI-driven telecom transformation. Reece highlighted how Frontier Telco provides a clear way to think about the evolving landscape, where AI optimizes infrastructure, unlocks operational efficiency, and frees up space for real innovation. Exciting to see partners align so strongly with this vision. More updates from #MWC26 coming soon. #InfosysAtMWC #FrontierTelco #MWC2026

❔ ... 𝗢𝗻𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗺𝗼𝘀𝘁 𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗿𝗲𝗻𝗱𝘀 𝗮𝘁 #MWC 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝘆𝗲𝗮𝗿? 𝗠𝗲𝗱𝗶𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗺𝘀. Not exactly the most glamorous topic at an event like Mobile World Congress. No flashy demos. No robot dogs. No AR glasses. But if you looked closely at many conversations across telecom and AI infrastructure, mediation kept showing up in the background. For years, mediation platforms were seen mainly as a 𝘁𝗲𝗹𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗺 𝗽𝗹𝘂𝗺𝗯𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗹𝗮𝘆𝗲𝗿 - collecting, normalizing and distributing network data for billing and operations. Today, that role is expanding. As networks become more software-driven and AI enters the operational stack, mediation platforms are quietly 𝗯𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮 𝗱𝗮𝘁𝗮 𝗳𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗺𝘂𝗹𝘁𝗶𝗽𝗹𝗲 𝗱𝗼𝗺𝗮𝗶𝗻𝘀: ✔️ Telecom charging and billing ✔️ Network analytics and observability ✔️ AI/ML model pipelines ✔️ Fraud detection and security ✔️ Partner ecosystems and APIs In other words, mediation is evolving from 𝗱𝗮𝘁𝗮 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗰𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗺𝗶𝗱𝗱𝗹𝗲𝘄𝗮𝗿𝗲 to 𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗴𝗶𝗰 𝗱𝗮𝘁𝗮 𝗶𝗻𝗳𝗿𝗮𝘀𝘁𝗿𝘂𝗰𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲. And in a world where telecom operators are trying to operationalize AI, the question becomes simple:   𝗛𝗼𝘄 𝗱𝗼 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗳𝗲𝗲𝗱 𝗔𝗜 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗰𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗻, 𝗻𝗼𝗿𝗺𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘇𝗲𝗱, 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗹-𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗲 𝗻𝗲𝘁𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸 𝗱𝗮𝘁𝗮 𝗮𝘁 𝘀𝗰𝗮𝗹𝗲? The answer often starts with #mediation. It may not be the most visible innovation from #MWC, but it might be one of the 𝗺𝗼𝘀𝘁 𝗳𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗼𝗻𝗲𝘀. Curious if others noticed the same trend this year. #MWC #MWC26 #MWC2026 #MobileWorldCongress #Telecom #TelecomInnovation #TelcoTech #Telco #Mediation #DataInfrastructure #AI #AIinTelecom #NetworkAutomation #DigitalTransformation #5G #OSS #BSS #DataEngineering #FutureOfTelecom #AI #Automation #Foundation

MWC Barcelona 26 reinforced what every Telco CNO is up against right now: proving 5G ROI, managing rising security pressure, and dealing with the biggest scale blocker of all, data quality, with legacy integration close behind. 🧩   That is exactly why Cyient showcased our Intelligent Network Modernization playbook, built to accelerate network engineering, progress Autonomous Network maturity, and simplify day to day operations through our VISMON AI suite.   In Hall 3, we brought Intelligent Network Automation to life with AI powered rApps, from energy savings to anomaly detection and closed loop resolution.   A big thank you to customers and partners who joined us at our booth, and to everyone who leaned in at our Autonomous Network Summit. ✨ Missed our AN Summit? We unveiled our practical, step‑by‑step guidebook to achieve AN L4 for operators. 👀https://lnkd.in/gFe8eKex Arunav Roy #MWC26 #IntelligentNetworkModernisation #EmbracingIntelligence #IntelligentEngineering

Day 3 at #MWC26 continued to showcase how the telecom industry is rapidly evolving towards AI-driven, cloud-native and future-ready networks. Key discussions focused on AI-powered network automation, the roadmap for 6G, satellite-based connectivity, and the rise of intelligent “agentic” network cores. The message is clear: the future of connectivity will be smarter, faster and more integrated across terrestrial and space networks. #MWC26 #Telecom #AI #6G #DigitalTransformation #Connectivity

They say 5G or 6G is the future, but at #MWC'26, it became clear that intelligence is the actual network upgrade. Agentic AI has officially arrived, shifting the industry from reactive automation to autonomous systems that reason, plan, and act. Through a whirlwind of high-energy customer meetings and strategic partner connects, we showcased our Mosaic AI framework in action. These demos proved that when AI orchestrates in real-time, it finally eliminates the operational friction that has plagued our industry for decades. At MWC '26, I saw the power of a fully integrated stack, where the Agentic Network and Business Support Systems (BSS) finally speak the same language. We are moving beyond rigid, rule-based processes toward a self-optimizing enterprise that autonomously adapts to market fluctuations and traffic demands in real-time. As we push toward these autonomous operations, Data Sovereignty remains our non-negotiable foundation for building trust and ensuring full regulatory compliance. We champion "sovereign-first" architectures that keep intelligence secure, traceable, and fully under operator governance. It was an incredible week in Barcelona connecting with partners and visionaries—now, we’re back to work turning these insights into reality. #Nagarro #FluidicIntelligence #MWC26 #Telecom

Headline: From Zero to Private 5G in Days, Not Months. As we hit Day 3 of #MWC26, the biggest challenge we’re hearing is the "Deployment Gap." Many enterprises have AI ready to go but are stuck waiting months for complex network infrastructure. Ataya Chorus changes the timeline. With our Zero-Touch Onboarding, new edge nodes self-configure automatically upon connection. We’ve helped organizations reduce their deployment time by up to 10x compared to traditional builds. The Ataya Edge Advantage: * Standardized Hardware: No specialized on-site commissioning required. * Unified Stack: Connectivity, AI orchestration, and Zero Trust security in one box. * Cloud-Managed Simplicity: Centralized oversight across all your sites. Don’t let infrastructure slow down your innovation. Stop by and see how fast you can scale. 📍 Find us: Hall 5, Meeting Room 5M34MR #Ataya #Private5G #EdgeAI #ZeroTouch #DigitalTransformation #MWC26 #AtayaChorus

At the MWC26, the spotlight has shifted. It’s no longer about devices, it’s about architectures. AI models, data platforms, and interoperable ecosystems are the real protagonists. “Sovereignty” is the word echoing through every hall: digital sovereignty, data sovereignty, strategic autonomy. Consulting firms are building platforms; tech giants are selling strategy. The boundaries are dissolving. This is not a product expo anymore, it’s a negotiation over who will design the operating system of our economies. Thanks Laura Rovizzi Rokas Zamžickas Maja Novacic Corrine G. Anjaney Borwankar

It was great to share these days MWC26 with you and the Open Gate Italia team The mobile Industry ecosystem has once again proven to be an effective melting pot of products solutions systems ideas and mostly people from all over the world. Best medicine in this trouble geopolitical times