The CEO of Qualcomm told MWC that connectivity will remain the foundation of 6G networks, but its design priorities will evolve as AI becomes central to digital services and mobile computing
In sum – what to know:
Three 6G pillars – Qualcomm CEO Cristiano Amon said connectivity, distributed computing, and sensing will form the foundation of 6G networks and support AI-driven services and devices.
AI infrastructure – Future telecom networks will integrate computing from base stations to data centers, effectively operating as “AI data center networks.”
Sensing capability – 6G could use RF signals and AI to detect objects and movement, enabling applications such as drone detection and environmental mapping.
At Mobile World Congress 2026 in Barcelona, Cristiano Amon outlined a vision for future 6G networks built around three core building blocks: connectivity, computing, and sensing. Together, he said, these elements will support a new generation of AI-driven services, devices and digital experiences.
“The requirements for 6G are actually going to be built around three building blocks,” Amon said in his keynote speech at MWC 2026. “One is connectivity. The other one is going to be the computing. And then the number three, which is completely new, is sensing.”
According to the head of Qualcomm, these pillars reflect the shift toward AI-native communications infrastructure designed to support intelligent devices and real-time data processing.
Connectivity will remain the foundation of future mobile networks, but its design priorities will evolve as artificial intelligence becomes central to digital services and mobile computing. “So it’s a connectivity that is designed for continuous context exchange,” Amon said.
Future networks will need to support constant communication between devices, sensors, and applications operating across smartphones, wearables, vehicles and other connected systems. In such an ecosystem, connectivity must deliver both high performance and consistent coverage.
Artificial intelligence will also play a role in how radio signals are processed within the network, the Qualcomm executive added. “You use AI to process a lot of the RF signals,” he said. “Instead of doing channel estimations, you’re going to use AI to do predictions.”
This approach could help maintain reliable performance even when signal strength is weak and improve how higher-frequency spectrum delivers coverage.
The second pillar of 6G is computing, reflecting a broader transformation in telecom infrastructure. “The computing is the biggest change in the infrastructure itself,” Qualcomm’s Amon said.
The Qualcomm executive explained that future telecom networks will not only provide connectivity but also process AI workloads directly within the network. Computing resources will be distributed across multiple layers, including base stations, edge infrastructure, and large centralized data centers.
“6G networks for the telecom sector are going to become AI data center networks,” Amon said.
This architecture would allow operators to process large volumes of data generated by connected devices in real time, supporting faster automation, improved network optimization and new AI-driven services.
According to Amon, the shift could significantly change how telecom networks operate. “I actually believe that this change is going to be as profound as going from a dial tone network, where you just make phone calls, to today’s high performance broadband,” he said.
The third pillar — sensing — represents a new capability for wireless networks. “That’s a brand new feature of 6G,” Amon said. Using radio frequency signals and AI processing, future networks could detect objects and movement across their coverage areas, effectively turning the network into a large-scale sensing system.
“A new capability of the network, in addition to connectivity, is actually to sense the environment,” Amon said. This capability could enable services such as drone detection, monitoring of moving objects, and real-time environmental mapping. “You’re going to have a 3D map of the entire city, You’re going to have a 3D map of the entire country,” he said.
Such capabilities could support emerging sectors including drone traffic management, robotics, and autonomous systems. According to the company’s timeline, demonstrations of key technologies could appear within the next few years. “Our timeline is based on demonstration in 2028,” the Qualcomm CEO said.
“We are going to have infrastructure in semiconductor and devices toward the end of 2028 for launching as early as 2029.”
