MWC Barcelona 2025 is nearly here. So, what topics will you focus on at the world’s biggest connectivity conference? We’ve explored the agenda to see how GSMA is catering to industry needs.

Operators need to be shrewd about where they invest. A couple of poor moves could be devastating for a business. So, how can telecommunications operators successfully leverage AI, 5G, cloud and other tech innovations and avoid disasters and obstacles?

Squire Technologies’ team is looking forward to meeting with telecom operators and discussing how to limit risks and maximise opportunities in their new and legacy core networks. You’ll find the team in hall 7 on stand 7B17 as part of UK Pavillion.

Our Digital DNA

The agenda is already crammed with Digital DNA sessions covering everything from diversity in tech to responsible supply chains and data centre energy demands. It’s a sign of how important this topic is to delegates. However, GSMA chose to put Our Digital DNA at the bottom of their main agenda list on the website.

Arguably, societal issues are more important than ever as Trump re-enters the White House, wars rage, and more countries adopt nationalist and right-wing views.

So, we’ve put this agenda item, discussing civilisation-ending climate change, and other worthy topics, and put it at the top of this list. It might seem like a trivial act, but it could help us view the rest of the list through a prism that prioritises societal benefits.

ConnectX

The world is legitimately scared about global tensions. Protectionism could hamper hopes that greater collaboration will nurture the hyperconnectivity of our ongoing technology evolution.

In Trump’s first term, we saw his administration undermining multilateralism. A return to this policy could further hamper attempts to foster collaboration between international actors.

Big areas of discussion here will be how to handle increased traffic, national security issues, and IoT. Core network optimisation will be critical for telecommunications operators managing traffic from billions of devices across multi-generation networks.

AI+

From enhanced network management to 24/7 personalised customer support and improved security and energy efficiency, AI is expected to play a big role in the future of telecoms. However, before our phones start making calls for us, we have a small issue of governance and ethics to resolve.

Central to AI governance will be initiatives like the GSMA Responsible AI Maturity Roadmap. You can expect to hear the RAI Maturity Roadmap mentioned a lot during speaker sessions.

While it’s good to see an industry trying to regulate a new technology quicker than has been the case with things like social media, frameworks aren’t always adhered to, if at all. The proliferation of deepfakes and AI’s use in fraud suggests that AI abusers are already running rampant, and it might be too late to properly protect citizens.

If regulators can get a grip on AI, how will transgressors be sanctioned and should regulations be tighter than usual to pre-emptively limit the inevitable exploitation of loopholes? While AI is an exciting new area of development, the technology could lead humanity down a dark road.

Enterprise re-invented

Education and healthcare services, manufacturing and transport are just some of the expected beneficiaries of the 5G revolution. Businesses will need to be agile as AI, 5G Edge Computing, Cloud, Quantum Computing, Computing Vision and Blockchain converge in a Darwinian crucible.

Telecommunication operators need to support enterprise requirements as businesses fight for technological supremacy. As competition increases, telecos may find that consolidating network solutions with one big vendor is an obstacle when offering bespoke solutions to industry clients.