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Huawei's Vision for AI Optical Networks at MWC Barcelona 2025

During the 2025 Mobile World Congress (MWC) in Barcelona, Bob Chen, the head of Huawei’s Optical Business Product Line, proposed an ambitious vision for the evolution of optical networks towards what is termed AI Optical Network (AI ON). This innovative approach aims to significantly enhance connectivity quality to a standard of 5A, laying a firm groundwork for growth and prosperity in the AI age.

The era of AI is characterized by three primary features: the ubiquity of AI applications, widespread AI computational power, and the deep integration of AI into everyday life. These trends create a demand for networks that not only recognize service types but also provide differentiated connectivity, ensuring an optimal service experience across various applications. Moreover, these networks must provide deterministic connectivity that supports flexible and efficient power allocation alongside integrating AI capabilities to boost both service quality and network efficiency.

Bob Chen emphasized that Huawei has been collaborating with global clients to drive continuous innovation since the announcement of the target network for the AI era last year. The AI ON development clearly manifests itself through the following key attributes:

1. Service Awareness: Unlike past optical networks which failed to identify distinct service types, upcoming networks must accurately discern service types based on traffic patterns and flow directions. This capability would enhance understanding of service demands, enabling networks to adapt effectively.

2. Always On Demand: Moving away from historical trends of indifferent connectivity, future optical networks need to provide real-time differentiated connectivity tailored to specific service requests. For example, a player could readily receive a three-hour package offering 1 Gbps bandwidth.

3. Quality Assurance: Historically, various factors such as network congestion and service interruptions negatively impacted connection quality. Future optical networks must ensure high-quality connectivity resilient to network changes or service fluctuations, with guaranteed deterministic latency and zero packet loss.

4. Autonomous Operations Management (OM): Previously, network maintenance was reactive, addressing issues only after they occurred. Future networks will adopt a proactive approach, capable of recognizing and mitigating potential risks before they affect users, achieving self-healing and optimization.

5. AI Native Architecture: Comprehensive AI functionalities must be embedded within all network terminals, devices, and management systems to augment network intelligence. For instance, AI computational capabilities in Optical Network Terminals (ONTs) and Fiber To The Room (FTTR) systems could identify application types, thereby improving device performance through small-scale models.

In conclusion, Bob Chen reiterated that AI represents a profound transformation within human society, unlocking unprecedented opportunities for the ICT sector. Just as the 5A standard symbolizes the highest service quality in hospitality and tourism, exceptional connectivity will be crucial to harness these new opportunities effectively. Huawei is committed to working with the industry to advance optical networks towards AI ON, delivering 5A-quality connectivity and fostering new growth in the AI generation.