Mobile World Congress 2026 Recap: AI, automation and the next era of connectivity

Mobile World Congress (MWC) once again united the global telecom and technology community in Barcelona. With approximately 85,000 attendees from 180 countries, the event remains one of the most significant gatherings across the telecom, technology, and enterprise sectors.

To capture the highlights from this year's event, I spoke with my colleagues Qarin and Ingrid. Qarin attended Mobile World Congress 2026 in Barcelona, while Ingrid has been working closely with our customers around MWC for roughly 15 years, giving her a long-term perspective on how the industry and the event have evolved. 

Over the years, MWC has also become an important moment for teams like ours to support friends, collaborate with partners, and witness innovations presented on the global stage.

A vibrant event filled with innovation

One thing that stood out immediately this year was the atmosphere, Qarin reflected.

It felt very much alive this year — there were people everywhere.

The scale of the event was noticeable even outside the exhibition halls, with the president and the king of Spain present to inaugurate this year's MWC. Long queues and packed venues reflected the strong global interest in telecom innovation. 

With tens of thousands of visitors and hundreds of exhibitors, the exhibition halls were buzzing throughout the week. Robotics demonstrations were particularly visible across the show floor.

There were robots in many of the booths — robotic dogs, humanoid robots and nomorues robotic demonstrations.

 

These eye-catching demos reflected how connectivity, AI and robotics are increasingly intersecting.

AI and automation are shaping the future of secure networks

A major theme throughout MWC 2026 was the growing role of agentic AI and automation in enhancing secure networks for new needs.

As networks support more applications and massive volumes of data, AI-driven systems are becoming essential for managing increasingly complex and dynamic network environments and the growing volumes of data and traffic running across them.

As Ingrid explained:

AI and agentic AI are really important for the industry because there are so many applications with different needs running on the network, and many more to come.

 

Service providers can manage network capacity, performance and services efficiently, enabling them to deliver new types of digital experiences. It also enables operators to introduce new services and business models built on advanced connectivity — allowing them to monetize a wide range of new use cases and services. 

New applications driving network innovation

Another clear takeaway from the event was how connectivity is enabling entirely new services.

Networks are no longer just used for calls, messaging or browsing the internet. They are becoming the foundation for a wide range of advanced use cases — from user-specific connectivity needs to mission-critical services.

As Ingrid summarised:

More and more applications are running on the network, and these systems are becoming increasingly sophisticated to deliver high-quality services.

Examples demonstrated at the event showed the possibilities of dynamically allocating capacity and performance characteristics to support any use case. 

The road toward 6G

While 5G deployments continue globally, the industry is already looking ahead.

MWC 2026 included many discussions about 6G, the future of connectivity, and how networks will need to support even more demanding applications driven by AI, automation, and data.

Why MWC continues to matter

For many in the telecom ecosystem, Mobile World Congress is about more than technology announcements.

It's also a place where long-standing collaborations come together.

As Qarin reflected:

It's valuable to attend the MWC to meet the people we work with, see how everything comes together, and get inspired by the trends and topics in the halls.

These interactions provide valuable insight into how solutions are experienced in real-world settings and how the industry continues to evolve.

Looking ahead

If one thing was clear from MWC 2026, it's that networks are becoming increasingly intelligent, automated and central to the digital world.

With agentic AI-driven operations, new applications, and the path toward 6G, the telecom industry is entering a new phase where connectivity is not just infrastructure — but a platform for innovation across society.

And we look forward to continuing to support our friends as they bring these innovations to life.