Huawei's Li Peng Highlights the Future of 5G-A and AI at MWC Barcelona 2026

During the Mobile World Congress (MWC) in Barcelona in 2026, Li Peng, Huawei's Senior Vice President and Head of ICT Sales and Service, delivered an insightful keynote address on the potential of 5G-A and AI technologies. He emphasized that by harnessing the synergistic effects of these technologies, operators can significantly enhance the value of their connectivity, ultimately moving towards what he termed the Agentic Internet era. This technological revolution is expected to not just link billions of devices but also to provide avenues for operators to monetize AI services alongside data traffic and user experiences.

Entering the Agentic Internet Era

Li explained that the telecommunications industry is on the brink of a monumental transformation, entering an era projected to be valued at a staggering $10 trillion. In recent years, there has been a seamless transition from 4G to 5G, with some operators already deploying 5G-A. As connectivity capabilities strengthen, the introduction of intelligent applications into various devices will become increasingly prevalent. He posited, "This year, we are entering the age of the Agentic Internet, where networks will connect not only people but also hundreds of billions of agents across the globe."

Li argued that the expansion of agent applications over the next decade will not only enhance connectivity but will also escalate demands for inter-agent communications. This evolution will encourage operators to pivot from merely providing data traffic towards delivering high-value services, thereby unlocking new revenue streams for an estimated market potential of $10 trillion.

Evolving Business Models for New Revenue Streams

As network capabilities evolve, operators will need to adapt their business models. Over the past seven years, since the commercialization of 5G, more than 300 operators worldwide have launched innovative packages aimed at converting traffic into revenue, aiding in their growth in both revenue and customer base. As 5G technology matures, the emphasis on monetizing user experiences will become increasingly critical for operator success.

With the help of 5G standalone (SA) networks and 5G-A, which offer diverse resources for delivering low-latency, high-speed services, operators can provide experience-based packages. This shift allows carriers to move beyond best-effort service models to creating definitive experiences that enhance brand reputation and willingness to pay for premium services. By offering exclusive features like dedicated logo displays and tiered speed enhancements, operators can ensure optimal network performance during critical usage moments, thus improving customer perceptions of network quality.

The Fusion of Connectivity and AI Services

Moreover, Li discussed how AI can transform operators’ primary services, ultimately boosting consumer satisfaction. For consumers, AI can be integrated into traditional search services. Currently, there are approximately 5.4 billion users of search services worldwide, and AI has the potential to unlock functionalities such as transcription, translation, and the use of AI-driven assistants. A number of these features are already widely adopted in markets such as China and South Korea.

Additionally, with AI smartphones being launched as portals for the Agentic Internet, operators are looking to capitalize on B2C service improvements, which serve as their primary revenue source.

Operators are also beginning to apply AI to enhance smart home services along with upgrading home broadband to ultra-gigabit speeds. For instance, AI-driven acceleration assistants aim to assure critical speeds for services like gaming and live streaming, while AI network assistants help users optimize their Wi-Fi connections and troubleshoot network issues through voice commands.

AI lifestyle assistants are emerging as another promising domain, offering operators the potential to derive new values from traditional services by creating cloud-based family albums that can be shared between devices.

In industrial scenarios, the fusion of 5G-A and AI can revolutionize core workflows and dramatically bolster production efficiencies. For example, in flexible manufacturing, AI-enabled factories could respond to demand in mere seconds, plan new production processes in minutes, and deliver new products within hours.

A Vision for the Future

Looking forward, Li identified many opportunities awaiting exploration at the intersection of 5G-A and AI services. He noted that operators are well-positioned to explore future applications like large-scale IoT and embodied AI. To leverage these opportunities, Li suggested a three-point action plan for operators: first, to upgrade all services, devices, and frequency bands to 5G-A to create a thriving ecosystem; second, to embed AI into business operations and management, offering a foundation for diversified business and maintenance services; and third, to infuse intelligence into infrastructure to support the evolution of future network architecture.

Li concluded by expressing Huawei’s readiness to collaborate closely with operators to maximize the potential of 5G-A and AI, helping them to transition into AI service providers. Collaboration through a multi-agent collaboration platform will allow operators to enhance their main services and establish AI-centric networks for improved operations. Together, they can unlock a world of new opportunities and lay a robust foundation for the future of networks.

The MWC Barcelona 2026, held from March 2 to 5, 2026, in Barcelona, Spain, served as a platform for Huawei to showcase innovative products and solutions at stand 1H50 in Hall 1 of Fira Gran Via. The era of agentic networks is rapidly approaching, with the widespread commercial adoption of 5G-A gaining momentum. Huawei continues to work proactively with operators and partners worldwide to unleash the full potential of 5G-A and pave the way for the transition into 6G, establishing AI-centric network solutions to enable intelligent services, networks, and network elements, accelerating the large-scale deployment of level-4 autonomous networks (AN L4). In collaboration with other industry players, Huawei aims to build leading value-driven networks and AI computing infrastructures for a fully intelligent future.

For more information, please visit Huawei MWC 2026.