Orange’s Javaid takes over as Group AI supremo
Steve Jarrett is vacating the Chief AI Officer role, although it’s not clear why, with Usman Javaid to fill the spot.
MWC 2026: event coverage and sponsorship opportunities
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Mobile World Congress:
Telco cloud blueprint: DT’s HTC takes control of network stack, sets terms for vendors
Deep dive: after quietly rebuilding its network core from the ground up on its own terms, Deutsche Telekom is now asking the rest of the industry to follow its Horizontal TelCo Cloud lead. But with rivals pursuing their own visions, the question of who truly leads the field is far from settled.
Orangewatch MWC recap: AI is all around
Orange’s senior execs were out in force at this year’s Mobile World Congress, with Group CEO Christel Heydemann highlighting the benefits of AI, while also warning of “unknown threats” from the evolving tech. Separately, AI supremo Steve Jarrett spelled out how Orange plans to realise €600m in value from AI by end-FY28…
Cutting through the satellite hype: Starlink and LEO’s threat to global telecoms assessed — Strand Consult
Guest analysis: with D2D connectivity dominating discussions at MWC26, terrestrial operators must reassess their broadband and defence sector strategies. Strand Consult’s outspoken founder cuts through the hype to separate disruptive fact from industry fiction…
Voice gets an AI makeover: DT and Telefónica chart the course from AI-integrated to AI-native
MWC26: AI is ‘making voice sexy again’, according to Deutsche Telekom and Telefónica, speaking on a Mavenir-hosted panel exploring how the transition to AI-driven networks unlocks new monetisation opportunities, drives hyper-customisation, and paves the way for autonomous, agentic telco operations.
Orange’s Trabbia stresses importance of diversity in D2D partnerships
Orange was one of a number of telcos to announce a direct‑to‑device (D2D) collaboration with a satellite provider on the first day of Mobile World Congress, as it steps up efforts to provide connectivity to “every customer, everywhere, all the time”.
Battle scars and skin in the game: VOIS breaks out from Vodafone’s captive shared services
Deep dive: by stepping out of the shadow, the once-captive telco shared services business is rewriting the playbook for commercial enterprise ‘shared intelligence’ as a standalone powerhouse. With Accenture on side, and tapping Vodafone Business and others for go-to-market, leaders Gary Adey and Chris Meads tell TelcoTitans that VOIS is an increasingly ‘big lever’ for its parent to pull…
Deutsche Telekomwatch MWC roundup: Höttges’ ‘Hedgehog Day’
MWC26 Special Analyst Briefing: Group CEO Tim Höttges issues scathing critique of Europe’s Digital Networks Act, calling on regulators to draw inspiration from the USA’s regulatory approach. The operator unveiled a series of fresh partnerships and products, with a focus on AI integrations and network upgrades…
Vodafonewatch MWC roundup: satcomms centre stage; AI-RAN advancing
Analyst Briefing: Satcomms, D2D, edge compute, and AI-RAN were among the focus areas for Vodafone in Barcelona…
Telefónicawatch MWC roundup: Murtra’s European merger masterplan
MWC26 Special Analyst Briefing: Murtra kicks off Telefónica’s MWC with calls for the EC to “unleash” telcos through M&A, and in doing so enable “deeper” technology investments. AI, cross-border collaboration, and sovereignty took precedence in the wave of developments the operator unveiled during the event…
More from MWC
Vodafone’s Pairpoint JV enters ‘next wave’ with quantum-secure IoT
Vodafone–Sumitomo joint venture launches Pairpoint Secure for a post-quantum security ‘injection’. Last year’s ‘strategic realignment’ bears first fruit…
Turkey: Vodafone repositions ahead of ‘largest 5G launch yet’
MWC26: Vodafone Turkey CEO Engin Aksoy says infra is in place, focus now on repositioning commercial approach to leverage 5G once live.
VM O2 plans ‘mini macro’ sites to boost city bandwidth
MWC26: UK operator has engaged tower companies on buildout of new, lower-footprint site form factor as part of ongoing, £700m-per-year Mobile Transformation Plan…
DT picks Greece as first stop for Syntelligence AI venture
MWC26: DT already putting its new AI joint venture to work, highlighting integration of Trust Platform fraud prevention solution at OTE. AI competence lead Jan Hofmann highlights Syntelligence as another step towards the Group’s ambition of developing a “full suite” of AI services.
Vodafone heralds ‘next evolution’ as AI-RAN moves from theory to application
MWC26: CTO Scott Petty and network strategy chief Marco Zangani highlight work with vendors push AI deeper into the network as tech moves ‘from theory into practice’…
Germany’s O2 brings AWS in-house with Outposts deployment
MWC26: Telefónica operating business said to be first in world to bring AWS‑managed hardware inside its own data centre perimeter, enabling lower‑latency and local data processing.
Yasser Shaker: Orange ready to ‘grow again’ in Africa
MWC26: After a ten-year break in M&A activity, Orange has made a “conscious decision” to grow again in Africa.
DT confirms Europe open RAN tender is ongoing
MWC26: Operator confirms work on its “component-based” European open RAN tender is continuing, with disaggregation lead Thomas Lips highlighting recent progress with developing the technology…
BT taps Ericsson for programmable networks ‘building blocks’
MWC26: networks chief Greg McCall touts expanded Ericsson engagement as laying the foundations for dynamic, programmable, application-aware networks, with network slicing and APIs for real-world use-cases.
‘Loosen the leash’: Telefónica’s Murtra repeats call for telco M&A rethink
MWC26: Spanish group’s Executive Chairman Marc Murtra again urges European regulators to loosen the shackles on telco deal-making.
DT and SoftBank seek partners for ‘global’ IoT platform play
MWC26: MNO partners want to extend ‘all-in-one’ IoT connectivity solution into new markets beyond Europe and Japan.
Trust me I’m a telco: sector insecurity seeps into MWC opener
MWC26: Telco CEOs take to the stage to warn of “unknown threats” and an emerging “Wild West” as the pace of technological change outpaces the rate that international operators, governments, and regulators can react…
Telenor picks Red Hat to underpin Norwegian AI factory
Telenor deploys Red Hat’s cloud-native platforms to power data centre campus in Norway, representing the operator’s latest upgrade to the facility since its inception two years ago.
DT says Starlink was only adequate option as it forms D2D tie-up
MWC26: Deutsche Telekom unveils Starlink as its latest partner for direct‑to‑device services, with launch planned for 2028.
BT gets in on 6G action with vendor triumvirate
MWC26: Group adds its logo to Nokia, NVIDIA, and Qualcomm 6G initiatives as BT’s tentative, sometimes dismissive view of 6G begins to give way…
