Ericsson’s networks chief Per Narvinger offered a measured view of AI’s impact on telecoms at MWC: fiber may lead the infrastructure boom today, but AI will also shift through the mid-cycle 5G evolution in AI-driven RAN optimisation.
In sum – what to know:
New traffic –...
As AI workloads move from training to real-world inference, Arrcus CEO says, network fabrics must evolve to keep up with the demands
At Mobile World Congress Barcelona, Arrcus outlined how the rise of AI inference at the edge is driving demand for intelligent, policy-aware network...
As AI data centers strain land and power resources, hollow core fiber could enable a geographically distributed infrastructure.
As the AI race continues to heat up, hollow core fiber (HCF) has emerged as a potential alternative to single-mode optical fiber (SMF).
Rooted in the photonic-crystal fiber...
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...
While most of the big talk at MWC is about 5G and 6G, the most urgent AI infrastructure work is with fibre-heavy data centre interconnects. Cisco, and certain others, are capitalising on this east-west traffic surge, with mobile and edge networks positioned as a...
Partnerships with Nvidia, Microsoft, AWS, and industrial IoT specialist Geoforce show how AT&T is positioning fibre, edge infrastructure, and enterprise connectivity to support AI workloads from data centre to factory floor.
In sum – what to know:
Smart factories – AT&T’s new ‘Connected AI’ platform combines...
AT&T is tightening its ties with hyperscale cloud partners as it readies its network for the AI era – embedding last-mile fiber and 5G directly into AWS environments, pushing AI into the RAN, and expanding its edge ecosystem with Microsoft.
In sum – what to...
AI is already a scaled, mobile-native workload, which is forcing networks to evolve from SLA-driven capacity models to deterministic, programmable architectures that connect data centres, transport, and the edge. So says Nokia chief Justin Hotard at MWC in Barcelona.
In sum – what to know
New...
Once in defensive mode and fighting decline, Lumen Technologies has re-emerged with a radically simplified strategy, a repaired balance sheet, and a bold claim to be critical infrastructure for the AI economy — as enterprise network spending shifts from connecting offices to connecting data...
Morgan Lewis' Andrew Lipman surfaces the top trends to watch in 2026 at Metro Connect
With the show floor packed with fiber connectivity players, data center providers, and software folks with all their financial backers, Metro Connect 2026 was a full house.
The keynote sessions...
As the industry gears up for its biggest annual show at MWC, it is (perhaps) worth looking back at another major 2026 telco gathering: PTC in Hawaii in January. Once a regional telecom meet, PTC has evolved into a global forum for AI infrastructure,...
Europe’s five biggest mobile operators – Deutsche Telekom, Orange, Telefónica, TIM, and Vodafone Group – are building a pan-European “federated edge continuum”, stitching together their national edge assets into a single regional platform. But what is a federated edge – and is this a...
Under the ATHENA architecture, SK Telecom plans to gradually apply AI- and cloud-based automation across all network layers
In sum – what to know:
6G roadmap – SK Telecom’s ATHENA paper outlines its post-2030 network evolution strategy, continuing a 6G series launched in 2023.
AI integration –...
Pre-MWC, Telefónica has detailed advances in AI-driven network automation and enterprise edge. It has 12 level-4 autonomous use cases across Spain, Germany and Brazil (targeting level 4 across its operations by 2030), and has partnered Mavenir on core AI, and expanded 5G/fibre edge-compute services...
Nokia also estimates that AI could represent 30% of all global traffic
In sum – what to know:
A new traffic wave - Unlike video or SaaS, AI generates compounding demand through user interactions, API calls, agent-to-agent workflows, and constant data replication across clouds and regions.
Inference...
AI has entered a new phase. The race is no longer about smarter models or more GPUs. It’s about infrastructure. Power, networking, data readiness, governance and cost are now the real constraints shaping what AI can deliver at scale.
This RCRTech report starts from a simple idea: AI...
Europe’s largest enterprise fibre provider will scale infrastructure and partner-led operations across the Middle East, positioning itself as a regional gateway – whilst also divesting non-AI data centres in Europe to double down on asset-led digital infra.
In sum – what to know:
Regional scale-up –...
DT and Nvidia jointly funded the Industrial AI Cloud, Europe's most ambitious sovereign AI facility
In early February 2026, Deutsche Telekom’s CEO Tim Höttges stood inside a gutted bank vault in Munich’s Tucherpark district and declared that Europe can do AI. Behind him sat 10,000...
Power scarcity and thermal limits are major challenges for the AI data center buildout, observes Dell’Oro Group – but that the industry is redesigning infrastructure, doubling down on cooling, and spending its way out of a corner.
In sum – what to know:
Power constraints –...
As AI drives demand for new data centres, operators are discovering that the hardest constraints aren’t (just) land and power – they’re communities, politics, and staffing. Local opposition, public sentiment, and workforce shortages are reshaping where and how new AI facilities can be built.
In...
Bell's CEO Mirko Bibic said in a conference call with investors that the company’s AI-powered enterprise solutions businesses are collectively growing approximately 60% year-over-year
In sum – what to know:
AI enterprise revenue – Bell’s three AI-powered enterprise units are growing about 60% year-over-year, with overall...
At a PTC panel in Hawaii last month, Verizon and industry peers discussed how AI is reshaping networks and data centres, prompting the US carrier to outline its strategy to leverage dense fibre and private 5G for enterprise AI workloads.
In sum – what to...
SK Telecom reported a consolidated revenue of KRW 17.099.2 trillion — down 4.7% year-on-year for fiscal year 2025
In sum – what to know:
Cybersecurity fallout - The breach hit nearly SK Telecom’s entire subscriber base, driving subscriber losses, lower revenue, and sharp profit declines alongside...
A panel at PTC in Hawaii comprising hyperscalers Google and Meta and wholesalers Exa Infrastructure and Southern Cross Cable Networks explored how AI is reshaping demand for submarine cables, driving hyperscaler-led builds, stressing legacy systems, and creating new regulatory and supply-chain challenges for the...
