PR Trade Show Vibes®: Mobile World Congress 2026: AI, Satellites and What’s Next for Connectivity

Mobile World Congress 2026
Fira Gran Via, Barcelona

Exhibitors/Sponsors/Partners: 2,900
Speakers: More than 1,700 (40% C-level)
Media/Analysts: Almost 2,600

If you remember Mobile World Congress at the Palais des Festivals et des Congrès in Cannes, you may be wondering where the time has gone. Last week, the world’s largest connectivity event celebrated its 20th anniversary in Barcelona, Spain. Fira Gran Via once again filled up (although with slightly fewer participants than last year, as global events curtailed some air travel) for Mobile World Congress 2026.

While focused on the telco industry, the audience has expanded significantly over the past few years. Today, it attracts those from a broader mobile and wireless connectivity ecosystem, including cloud providers, semiconductor companies, satellite operators, device manufacturers, software vendors, AI companies, and a variety of verticals.  As with CES, a larger audience means a lot of noise, but it also creates an environment where partnerships, cross-industry announcements and new collaborations are possible.

The four-day event was as action-packed as ever. Actors and astronauts shared the stage with dancing robots as companies showcased the latest innovations. While AI continues to dominate headlines, we looked to the skies to see what was coming next in satellite technology. On the ground, however, although companies aligned 6G announcements with AI and new sensing capabilities as telcos attempted to regain revenue control, there wasn’t much appetite for the new G, in whatever form it takes.

Samsung was a highlight of the consumer tech offerings, winning Best in Show at the GLOMOS with the Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra. You can discover other consumer tech innovations here.

While it can be difficult to break down such a large event, some themes stood out across announcements, keynotes and floor discussions.

NVIDIA World Congress

AI, of course, dominated the conversation, and NVIDIA in particular, with Ookla analyst Mike Dano renaming the event NVIDIA World Congress. The company was everywhere, involved in many of the biggest early announcements. This continues to represent the shift, highlighting AI is no longer a bolt-on, but it is being integrated across every part of the network. A new term was being touted, too, as NVIDIA replaced ‘IoT’ with ‘physical AI’. According to the company, it lets autonomous systems like cameras, robots, and self-driving cars perceive, understand, reason, and perform or orchestrate complex actions in the physical world. We wonder if the analysts will really adopt this term.

This week, it seemed that if NVIDIA was featured in a release, the headlines followed, including the 5G and Open RAN OCUDO story, the AI-RAN partnership with Nokia and collaborations with other players.  In a show filled with announcements, these highlight how collaboration across the ecosystem is becoming one of the most effective ways to cut through the noise.

Satellite connectivity becomes part of the mobile network

Satellite communication was another prominent theme across the show floor and keynote sessions. Mike Dano cited satellite as the ‘most interesting topic in telecom today’ in his MWC round-up. In his keynote titled ‘Transforming Tomorrow’s Connected World’, SpaceX’s Mike Nicolls explained the aim of Starlink Mobile, the second-generation direct-to-device constellation, which Dano called the highlight of the show.

Nicolls said it should “feel like being connected to high-performance 5G”. The V2 satellites aim for speeds of up to 150 Mbps in good conditions.  This will augment terrestrial technology in underserved areas and could provide vital connectivity when terrestrial infrastructure is damaged. Starlink Mobile currently supports connectivity across 32 countries and is expected to reach 25 million users by the end of 2026.

Elsewhere in the D2D space, AST SpaceMobile and Satellite Connect Europe announced collaborations with Orange and Telefónica. It’s clear that the future of mobile networks will require a combination of terrestrial and satellite technology. There are questions about the revenue that D2D will generate, however, and the potential for MVNO deal partnerships. MWC certainly offers a platform for those conversations to begin.

To G or not 6G

Talking of terrestrial technology… Although there were relatively few discussions about 6G on the floor; it seems operators are cautious about the new ‘G’ and there is little appetite to invest.  Some say MWC started the race to 6G discussions, and others that operators will be coaxed into launching what they call ‘6G services’ when the Los Angeles Olympics rolls around in 2028.

But is it too early to talk about it? MWC opened with a keynote from GSMA Director General, Vivek Badrinath, who said Europe is “losing ground and needs to do more to unlock the potential of 5G.”  When 6G was discussed across the show, questions were asked about how different it would be from 5G, whether additional spectrum is needed, and how telcos could monetize the RAN.

Enhanced sensing in 6G is being touted as one potential for revenue generation. In particular, Integrated Sensing and Communication (ISAC). This could allow providers to use sensor fusion to combine network data with other sources, such as public cameras, environmental or vehicle sensors, to unlock new revenue streams. One session titled ‘ISAC: Precision Positioning for industry, mission-first defense…or both?’, was moderated by the head of GSMA Intelligence, Peter Jarich and addressed the mission-first use cases and how they compare with commercial applications. Ray Dolan of Cohere Technologies claimed sensing is the next big thing to help monetize the consumer sector and allow operators to retain revenue. Others described the concept as just ‘interesting, while more are yet to be convinced.

Ecosystems emerge

Another common theme this year was the growing importance of ecosystems and partnerships.  Many announcements emphasized a collaboration between telecom vendors, cloud providers, semiconductor companies and satellite operators. The AI-RAN Alliance is one example of how companies are working together to shape the future architecture of intelligent networks.

In another prominent keynote, Margherita Della Valle, Vodafone Group’s CEO, spoke about the need for collaboration in the sky to establish clear safety and security regulations for satellite communications to avoid the ‘wild west’.

It’s clear that whether on the ground or in the sky, the industry is moving toward complex multi-vendor ecosystems that will combine expertise to embed AI in network operations, extend the reach of mobile services through satellite connectivity and move intelligence further out at the edge.

What comes next? Telecom networks are no longer evolving in isolation. They are becoming part of a wider connectivity and computing ecosystem. How these players continue to work together, and who ultimately captures the most value, remains to be seen. Watch this space.

Sources and More information

6G Power Play: Will Telcos Sit at the Table, or Be Served on the Menu? | by Mount Davis Technologies   Jimmy Chow, Medium, March ‘26

MWC 2026 Review  GSMA Mobile World Live, March 6

NVIDIA, Nokia Deal Remains a Puzzle 4 months on Ian Morris, Light Reading, March 10

Cursed, robot-stalked MWC goes mad for AI but isn’t sure about 6G Ian Morris, Light Reading, March 6

MWC 2026: The top 3 trends of the show according to Ookla Dan Jones, Fierce Network, March 10

MWC 2026: everything we saw at the world’s biggest mobile show, Owain Williams, TechRadar, March 5

Mobile World Congress Coverage, PC Mag, March ‘26