One of most viral videos of 2026 to date captured a humanoid robot named Flash running in the Beijing E-Town Half-Marathon and Humanoid Robot Half-Marathon in April, and setting a world speed record in the process. What casual spectators may not have known is that the event was also a preview of the coming era of mobile AI – in this case, powered by China Unicom Beijing and Huawei Technologies.

For much of the past decade, telecom operators have searched for new growth by expanding connectivity, investing in faster networks and introducing new digital services. Yet despite those efforts, many continue to face familiar challenges: slowing subscriber growth, intense competition and increasing pressure to improve customer experience while controlling operational costs.

Less than a year after its commercial launch, the BoGuan multimodal large language model (LLM) designed for cultural tourism in China has entered broad application in Xi’an, and is generating real revenues and value for the tourism industry.

ZTE Corporation has signed an agreement to become the Strategic Partner of GSMA's M360 ASEAN event.

On June 23 (local time), the 2026 Digital Transformation World (DTW2026), hosted by TM Forum, opened in Copenhagen, Denmark. Dr. Li Huidi (pictured), EVP of China Mobile, was invited to attend the conference and delivered a keynote speech titled “AN in Future,Faster.”

Autonomous BSS, powered by Digital Twins of the Customer (DToC) and Agentic AI, is already transforming sales and customer care in ways that traditional BSS and CRM systems can't.

China West Airport Group's strategic vision is to build a first-class enterprise and set an industry benchmark. Centering on this vision, China West Airport Group will start from the third phase of the expansion and renovation of Xi'an Xianyang International Airport, focus on digital and intelligent transformation, and actively develop the AI-enabled digital twin of airport operational management.

Via Licensing Alliance (Via) today announced continued momentum for its Voice Codec patent pool, including the addition of a new unnamed licensee and new licensors, NovaVoice Limited and Cordial IP, further growing the program’s patent stack and market penetration from its initial five, large global licensors.

ZTE Corporation recently released its Sustainability Report 2025, highlighting the company's latest achievements in deepening Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) practices. This marks the 18th consecutive year that ZTE has voluntarily disclosed its annual sustainability performance to the public.

ZTE Corporation and MediaTek, a global semiconductor company, unveiled a joint strategy at the 2026 ZTE Broadband User Congress. The two parties will expand premium connectivity product portfolios tailored for high-demand residential users and small businesses in Brazil, addressing their needs for advanced technology, comprehensive coverage, ultra-high speed and low-latency network performance.

Advances in technologies such as cloud and artificial intelligence present telecom operators with a wealth of opportunities – but they also create new challenges which must be navigated carefully, particularly in terms of security and compliance.

ZTE Corporation, a global leading provider of integrated information and communication technology solutions, has entered into a Memorandum of Understanding with CIMB Bank Berhad (CIMB), to establish a strategic cooperation framework aimed at supporting digital infrastructure development across ASEAN.

The launch of the world’s first commercial upper 6GHz (U6GHz) network and ecosystem was announced at the SAMENA Council Leaders’ Summit 2026, marking the UAE’s leadership on the U6GHz front, led by the Telecommunications and Digital Government Regulatory Authority (TDRA).

Indosat Ooredoo Hutchison CEO Vikram Sinha highlighted how the Indonesian operator is transforming itself from a traditional telecoms provider into an AI-driven technology company.

Connectivity has long been praised for linking remote communities to the global economy, lifting populations out of poverty and revitalising once-isolated regions.

As digital transformation deepens, enterprise networks are no longer just connectivity tools; they have become the digital foundation that supports full-service operations, internal and external collaboration, and core data flows.

The World Broadband Association (WBBA) brought together leading global operators, enterprises and technology vendors for its Broadband Development Congress (BDC) during MWC26 in Barcelona, and announced the release of the Net5.5G Readiness Assessment and Certification whitepaper. The white paper sets out a standardized framework for intelligent network evolution for operators and enterprises worldwide.

Orange Middle East & Africa and Huawei are addressing one of the biggest challenges in African telecoms – delivering reliable connectivity in remote areas – through the deployment of AI-enabled solar-powered base stations.

Huawei has urged telecom operators to embed artificial intelligence across networks and services as the industry moves beyond the mobile internet era into what it describes as the “Internet of Agents”.

At MWC Barcelona 2026 in Barcelona, Huawei’s President of the Data Communication Product Line, Leon Wang, set out a clear message to global carriers - traditional connectivity alone will not deliver the next wave of growth.

One theme cropped up again and again at MWC26: telecom operators are under pressure to redefine their role in the AI economy. For Huawei, the answer lies in what it calls the “agentic era” - a world where AI agents increasingly handle digital tasks on behalf of people and businesses.

At the Intelligent Operations Summit held during MWC Barcelona 2026, Huawei put forward its vision for how operators can leverage their unique advantages to grow in the era of rapid AI development.

AI agents will be an integral and all-pervasive component of the developing mobile AI ecosystem and be deeply embedded in the fabric of mobile networks. In order to function effectively, these agents will need to be supported by a raft of new, advanced network features and capabilities.

XLSMART, Indonesia’s premier telecommunications group, today announced its bold strategic vision to harness artificial intelligence and operational synergy, positioning itself as the engine of Indonesia's digital economy. Formed from the landmark 2025 merger of XL Axiata and Smartfren, XLSMART is leveraging its scale and intelligence to deliver seamless connectivity and innovative digital services across the archipelago.

On March 1, 2026, at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona 2026, Stephen Shao (Vice President of Huawei's General Development Dept) and James Crawshaw (Omdia Analyst) had an in-depth discussion on the latest trends in autonomous networks (AN) L4 and AI domain.

During MWC26 Barcelona Developing Telecoms’ Director of Content James Barton sat down with Majda Lahlou Kassi, Vice President and Head of Ericsson West and Southern Africa, to discuss Ericsson’s current strategy and focus areas in Africa and the potential impact AI may have on telecom networks and services across the region in the future.

Agentic MBB will enable operators to unlock end-to-end network value by building service-oriented, system-level intelligence.

At MWC Barcelona 2026, Huawei unveiled an all-new Cloud Wi-Fi Solution for the global carrier market. The future-ready solution is designed to address escalating security challenges as industries worldwide enter a critical stage of digital and intelligent transformation. By delivering end-to-end network security for enterprises, it meets the surging demand for robust security and helps carriers explore the blue ocean of the B2B sector.

As AI workloads reshape enterprise infrastructure, data centre networks are under increasing pressure to deliver higher performance, resilience and automation.

Huawei Optical Business Product Line, unveiled a range of new next generation optical networking products and solutions during MWC26 Barcelona.

At MWC Barcelona 2026, Huawei unveiled its upgraded Xinghe Intelligent WAN Solution. This solution provides a stable network foundation via upgraded intelligent identification, secure encryption, reliable convergence, and intelligent O&M to address digital transformation challenges facing the ISP, government, electric power, and transportation industries.

At this year's Mobile World Congress (MWC 2026), Huawei unveiled and demonstrated its single-wavelength 2T ultra-high-speed metro solution in the optical transmission domain. Covering both terrestrial and submarine cable scenarios, this solution reduces per-bit network construction costs to enable global operators to deliver ultra-broadband, highly reliable, and agile communication services.

Ubiquitous mobile broadband coverage mandated by the universal service obligation is boosting digital inclusion around the world and accelerating progress towards the UN’s sustainable development goals for 2030.