In the Age of Intelligence, How the Global Mobile Communications Industry Faces Three Major Challenges

Twenty years ago, when the Mobile World Congress (MWC) was held in Barcelona, Spain, flip phones were still popular; at the 2026 Mobile World Congress (MWC), astronauts shared their experiences of making high-definition video calls from space to Earth.

This year, Mobile World Congress (MWC) adopted “The Age of Intelligence” as its theme, symbolizing that the mobile communications industry has entered a new stage of development. Many industry professionals believe that three major challenges face the mobile communications sector in the intelligent era: the risk of widening digital divides due to AI development, security governance issues such as telecom fraud, and regulatory lag and fragmentation. The consensus at the conference was that the telecommunications industry should collectively bridge the digital divide, enhance security governance, and strengthen collaborative co-governance to build a solid “digital foundation” for an “intelligent future.”

Bridging the Gap: Making AI Accessible Globally

“The next AI breakthrough could come from anywhere, provided everyone can be connected,” said Vivek Badrinath, President of the Global System for Mobile Communications Association (GSMA), the conference organizer.

According to data Badrinath cited in his keynote speech, approximately 300 Million people worldwide are still not covered by mobile networks, and in covered areas, 3,100,000,000 people do not use mobile internet. This “unconnected” status may prevent them from enjoying the benefits brought by AI development. At the same time, mainstream AI large models are currently trained using only a few languages, meaning many people cannot use AI in their native language. These factors together exacerbate the risk of a widening digital divide.

To bridge this gap, network infrastructure must rapidly evolve into a “computing power foundation.” Badrinath noted that telecommunications networks, as crucial infrastructure for the AI ecosystem, should play a greater role in computing power deployment and model capability building. In an interview with Xinhua News Agency, he particularly highlighted China’s operators’ progress in promoting the 5G-A technology evolution of 5G as “remarkable,” providing important experience and insights for global industry exchange.

During the keynote speech, representatives of Chinese companies shared highly valuable practical examples. China Telecom, in collaboration with China Unicom, overcame a series of technical, engineering, and operational challenges, providing valuable experience for the global large-scale deployment of 5G. Liu Guiqing, General Manager of China Telecom Group Co., Ltd., stated that global operators need to deepen communication and collaboration, promote the open sharing of AI models, and enable the widespread application of AI so that the innovative outcomes of AI benefit global industry partners.

“In an increasingly fragmented geopolitical environment, the world still needs seamless connectivity,” emphasized Badrinath. He said the “mountain” the entire industry must climb is the continued promotion of 5G deployment and applications, fully unlocking the potential of 5G technology, and allowing more people to benefit from innovative applications such as mobile payments, precision agriculture, digital education, and telemedicine.

Security Governance: Building a Trustworthy “Shield”

“Connectivity is the ‘lifeline,’ but even more important than connectivity is trust,” said Sunil Bharti Mittal, founder and chairman of Bharti Airtel, India. Participants generally agreed that the competitiveness of the industry is determined not only by network coverage but also by reliability and security.

Christel Heydemann, CEO of French telecom operator Orange, said that in the face of widespread deepfakes and security risks to critical digital infrastructure, telecom operators can no longer merely act as “pipes” but must become “architects” and “shields” in building a trustworthy digital environment.

Liu Guiqing pointed out that security governance is a mandatory challenge for global operators and a watershed determining the strength of operations and service levels in the intelligent era.

Mittal noted that “digital fraud” causes losses of up to 48 Billion USD globally each year. “Our generation has witnessed and promoted ‘connecting the world,’ but the task is far from complete. At a minimum, we must provide guidance to the industry to build a trustworthy, reliable network that everyone can depend on,” he said.

Many industry professionals called for the establishment of a digital security framework to enable real-time threat intelligence sharing and coordinated countermeasures across countries and industries. Meanwhile, policymakers should break regulatory barriers and include all internet companies providing substantial communication services within appropriate security compliance frameworks.

Breaking Barriers: Promoting Collaborative Co-Governance

Whether bridging the digital divide in the intelligent era or combating transnational telecom fraud, cross-border and cross-industry cooperation is essential.

The industry generally believes that the greatest pain point in global cybersecurity governance is regulatory lag and extreme fragmentation of rules. Mittal argued that “going it alone” cannot counter cybercriminals’ “migration-style” operations across countries and platforms. Liu Guiqing stated that global operators must engage in collaborative co-governance, actively participate in improving AI security governance systems, and promote AI development in directions that are beneficial, safe, and fair.

Integrated air, land, and space network development also requires rules and cooperation. Margarita del Val, CEO of Vodafone Group, warned that without top-level global coordination, space risks becoming a “Wild West” for capital expansion. Currently, there is still a lack of basic international consensus on how to defend national digital sovereignty and protect communication privacy while developing “space networks.” “No country can solve these challenges alone; we need to work together,” she said.

Badrinath stated that the challenges cannot be tackled by a single industry. Only with joint efforts from governments, operators, security experts, the financial sector, tech companies, and consumers, abandoning zero-sum thinking, can humanity better navigate technological change and ensure that the dividends of digital development benefit a broader population.

Source: Xinhua News Agency, Economic Reference News