Written by Yann Bégassat
MWC 2025 – Key Highlights
The Mobile World Congress (MWC) 2025 in Barcelona was a bustling event, attracting 109,000 attendees, up from 101,000 in 2024.
If MWC 2025 proved one thing, it’s that AI is absolutely everywhere, from networks to customer service and humanoid robots. Network APIs were also big at the show, and while software has dominated the telco game for years, hardware and data centers made a notable reappearance. Meanwhile, some of last year’s hottest trends—like Metaverse and Open-RAN—faded into the background.
As we do every year, Broadpeak’s team was on-site, showcasing our solutions that help networks manage traffic surges and deliver the best video quality. Here are our highlights from Barcelona this year:
1. AI Everywhere. No, Seriously.
AI was omnipresent. Not just in marketing slides, but in actual products, services, and strategies:
- AI for Networks – Operators showcased AI-driven RAN optimization. Deutsche Telekom and Google Cloud launched “RAN Guardian Agent” for self-healing networks.
- AI Phones – T-Mobile and Perplexity teased an “AI Phone” powered by Magenta AI, a personal assistant that books reservations and does your shopping.
- GenAI for Customer Service – Carriers showed off LLMs designed to improve support and engagement.
- AI + Robots – AI is finally making humanoid robots more capable, pushing their autonomy forward.
2. Network APIs: Collaboration and Potential
Network APIs had a big presence this year at MWC. The tech and supply side are ready in many markets with operators having made mature Network APIs technically and commercially available. Operators are now working together to improve API coverage and quality.
It’s clear that Network APIs are set to play a transformative role in how operators monetize their networks and help application developers improve their products and services to enterprises and consumers. Broadpeak’s recent collaboration with Deutsche Telekom Global Carrier and Microsoft Azure provides a powerful case study of how Network APIs can elevate the mobile video streaming experience, especially when network conditions are less than ideal.
Looking ahead, the market for Network APIs is just getting started. While this technology is already available, the demand side has room to catch up. Operators and API aggregators will need to step up their efforts to chase customers, shape the market and refine their monetization strategies.
3. Beyond Mobile: Hardware’s Comeback and Data Centers Take Center Stage
At MWC 2025, the event’s scope extended well beyond traditional mobile networks and devices, with a significant focus on data centers. This shift underscores the growing importance of robust infrastructure in supporting emerging technologies. Companies like SK Telecom and Nokia prominently featured their data center solutions, highlighting their critical role in managing the increasing data demand driven by AI and advanced mobile services. This trend reflects the industry’s recognition that efficient data centers are essential for sustaining innovation and meeting future connectivity needs.
And while software-based and cloud-native architectures have been central since 5G’s emergence, enhanced hardware promoted for instance by Intel and AMD made a notable comeback:
- AI Processing: Introduction of new CPUs and GPUs tailored for AI workloads.
- Telecom and Media: Development of specialized processors and accelerators to handle for instance specific security and media workloads.
4. 5G’s Leading Application: Fixed Wireless Access (FWA)
At MWC 2025, Fixed Wireless Access (FWA) stood out as the most successful 5G application, with a strong presence across network and CPE solutions.
Advancements in FWA technology showcased significant improvements in speed, coverage, and efficiency, making it a viable alternative to fiber in underserved areas. Innovations included AI-powered optimization for better signal management, support for Wi-Fi 7, and enhanced QoS features to ensure stable connectivity.
The widespread focus on FWA at the event reinforced its growing role in bridging the digital divide and expanding high-speed internet access where traditional broadband infrastructure falls short.
5. Declining Topics
A few things that dominated past MWCs were missing this year:
❌ Metaverse & VR – Interest appeared to wane.
❌ IoT – AI is absorbing IoT into its ecosystem, leaving standalone IoT discussions behind.
❌ Open-RAN – It’s struggling. Adoption isn’t taking off, and operators aren’t pushing it hard anymore.
6. Broadpeak’s Successful Participation
At MWC 2025, we showcased how our innovations help mobile operators improve 5G streaming quality, cut energy costs, and maximize video monetization. Our bandwidth estimation and congestion control solutions ensure smoother and more efficient streaming, while our work with Eurecom reduces 5G energy consumption without sacrificing quality.
On the Intel booth, we demonstrated how our High Performance Cache (HPC) streaming software delivers massive scale efficiently, serving hundreds of thousands of concurrent users while keeping infrastructure costs low. Our built-in security features block DDoS attacks, token sharing, and content scraping without impacting performance.
We also showcased ML-powered transcription and translation, making content instantly available in multiple languages, and our anomaly detection service, which helps operators quickly identify and resolve network issues.
At MWC 2025, we proved that better streaming isn’t just about delivering video—it’s about delivering it smarter, faster, and more efficiently.
Long story short: crowds showed up. Interest was high. The show delivered.
Wrapping Up: Highlighting the Future of Streaming Technology
MWC 2025 demonstrated the industry’s resilience and adaptability, with AI and hardware innovations leading the charge. For Broadpeak, it was a standout moment. Our streaming performance, energy efficiency, built-in security, and AI-powered content transcription drew significant interest from visitors and industry leaders alike.
Yann Begassat is a Business Development Director at Broadpeak and is focused on the mobile industry, developing new opportunities for the company’s innovative video delivery solutions and exploring new business in the context of 5G.
He has more than 25 years of experience in mobile networks, which has helped him develop a deep understanding of the telecoms industry and cellular network technologies. In his previous roles Yann has held diverse positions in a variety of areas, ranging from research and product management to account CTO and pre-sales management.
Before joining Broadpeak, Yann headed up the mobile networks pre-sales team for Western Europe at Nokia. Yann holds a Master’s degree in Electrical Engineering from INSA Rennes and a Ph.D. in Electronics and Communications Engineering carried out in former CNET (now, Orange Labs).
