Ubiquitous and Exciting, But Ready to Deliver? MWC AI for Telco Takeaways and the Rest of 2025

“Who here hasn’t seen AI at this exhibition yet? Raise your hands,” asked a telco product and technology executive during a speaker session at MWC 2025. The question wasn’t just rhetorical—it captured the essence of the conference. AI was ubiquitous and the message was loud and clear: AI isn’t a passing trend; it’s here to stay. Yet, for every exciting AI breakthrough, there were equally important questions about its tangible impact. Let’s break down the highlights and reflect on the event’s showcase around AI for telcos and its promise.

RAN AI: Advancing Networks but Customer Experience Must Become New Focal Point

The AI-driven transformation of Radio Access Networks (RAN) was a major highlight, with the newly established AI RAN alliance celebrating several milestones. Industry giants, including NVIDIA and its partners, showcased AI innovations designed to improve spectral efficiency—an essential step toward 6G development. Meanwhile, Deutsche Telekom introduced its RAN Guardian Agent, offering real-time network optimization to enhance performance.

While these advancements promise stronger telco revenue and better network efficiency, one glaring gap remains: customer engagement. The ability to optimize network performance is important, leading to mobile operators having poured resources into monetizing and optimizing. The next phase is addressing the customer experience through the mobile device lifecycle. This is where the biggest opportunity lies. To truly maximize customer lifetime value, AI needs to go beyond network enhancements and focus on creating seamless, engaging experiences that foster loyalty and long-term relationships with users.

GenAI, Agentic AI, and the Role of LLMs in Telco AI Evolution

Agentic AI was the buzzword dotting booth walls and pitches on the showroom floor. Companies like Amdocs introduced solutions like Lily, designed to enhance billing and sales processes through AI-driven automation. However, Agentic AI alone isn’t enough—it needs two key pillars to succeed: Large Language Models (LLMs) and a strong Generative AI (GenAI) foundation.

SK Telecom’s LLM for customer support agents presented at their MWC booth

With the surge in demand for GenAI within the telecommunications space, mobile operators are looking to LLMs as the backbone for their AI strategies. Cloud providers such as AWS have long offered AI-powered solutions for telcos, but some operators are now taking a different approach—developing their own LLMs in-house, such as SK Telecom. By doing so, they aim to create AI verticals that serve both their telecom operations and other industries.

However, the real challenge lies in contextualization. LLMs provide a basic foundation for GenAI, but the real magic happens when they are enriched with real-time, enterprise-grade data. The ability to integrate AI-driven insights with live customer interactions will determine how effectively mobile operators can personalize experiences, drive meaningful engagement and deliver long-term results.

Liquid Labs CEO Alex Valls Tomas gives a presentation on the concept of an AI OS to power AI products within an organization.

AI’s Ultimate Test: Delivering Real Business Results

Across all the AI discussions—whether about LLMs, Agentic AI, or GenAI—one recurring theme emerged: promise. Every new technology comes with grand expectations, but history has shown that only a select group will ultimately surpass the hype and deliver improved business outcomes. Just as the dot-com boom, cloud computing, and cybersecurity had their moments at MWC and other similar conferences, AI is now at a crossroads where proof of value is key.

At MWC 2025, one standout example of measurable success came from MCE’s partnership with TELUS. After a successful GenAI pilot, TELUS reported significant improvements in customer engagement, increased journey completions, higher rates of action on marketing promotions, and a rise in retail store finder interactions—clear indicators of visit intent and commercial impact.

Turning AI Hype into Business-Driven Success

MCE is leading the charge in business-driven GenAI solutions for mobile operators, delivering real-world results today. By leveraging AI to transform interactions within mobile operator apps, MCE’s solutions are creating new commercial opportunities and enhancing customer engagement at every touchpoint.

AI at MWC 2025 proved what works, moving beyond concepts to real results. The future of AI in telecom isn’t just about innovation; it’s about delivering tangible business value. And as MCE has demonstrated, GenAI is already making that future a reality. We look forward to MWC 2026 and the next generation of innovations to come and the results from innovations witnessed in the 2025 conference.