What you missed at DTW Ignite! 2025

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“Catalysts are becoming stronger, it’s a better illustration of what you are doing here than just what you are showing at your booth.”

networks, we’re building them,” he stated with gusto. He was also proud to share that the industry is getting over the code red announced two years ago by providing autonomous networks level 4 certification.

Willits then sat down with Anish Shah and Kiran Thomas, Jio’s COO and CEO, respectively. Thomas proudly stated that ‘API is the new KPI’ as the industry moves towards greater interoperability. This session also underscored the TM Forum’s international collaboration, particularly in India, and this was also supported by the mix of companies exhibiting in the halls, making for a more refreshingly diverse event.

Ulf Ewaldsson stole the show for T-Mobile with an all-American high-octane video followed by a high-energy speech that hyped up the crowd. The video footage showed how T-Mobile’s networks were having a positive impact on many aspects of society, including their 5G-A-focused network slicing for first responders. Ulf stated that by 2030, “networks will no longer wait for prompts” and will take control of a problem before you even know it’s there.

Willits also claimed in his opening Keynote that DTW’s attendance was at an all-time high this year, seeming to indicate that it broke the DTW Ignite! 2024 mark of 3,895 event attendance. However, as of the writing of this article, there has been no official release of the actual, official attendance number. Overall, the event constantly maintained a feeling of spaciousness (see Figure 3, next page) without ever seeming dead, except for the Village area, which is to be expected as it’s a place to attend pre-booked private meetings rather than host open exhibitions. Main keynotes were well attended, and catering this year was well organized with multiple tables featuring the same array of food, meaning almost zero queuing even during peak times.

Figure 2 - Opening Keynote at DTW Ignite! 2025
click to enlarge

Of course, it would be impossible to cover the event without mentioning AI, and with AI and autonomous networks making an appearance in the very first minute of the opening keynote. In our meetings with exhibitors, most vendors were beating the AI drum at one point or another. The overall AI input seemed mixed, with some applying AI to real-world use cases, and others still being more reserved. Vinutha Rao, principal presales consultant at Subex, told Pipeline that “generative AI-powered AI Agents are being used for investigation” in their new fraud management solution. Amongst all the hype, Liz Parry, CEO of Lifecycle Software, skeptically stated that she is only “interested in AI that actually adds value.” However, it’s Pipeline’s opinion – based on other aspects of the event and covering real-world use cases for AI over the last decade – that AI has finally arrived and those who wait will miss out on the tremendous opportunity it provides, for automation, cost reduction, efficiency, and innovation.

The DTW sessions provided deep dives into how AI‑ready, cloud‑native frameworks, aligned with Open Digital Architecture, empower operators to implement zero‑touch orchestration, faster innovation cycles, and cost efficiency. More than 130 speakers—including AWS, IBM, Microsoft, and NVIDIA—shared insights on using AI and data to drive operational efficiency, service innovation, and create smarter business models.

DTW showcased its Catalyst project area, where companies could spotlight their latest and greatest technology collaborations and innovations. Prianca Ravichander, CCO and CMO of Tecnotree, told Pipeline, “Catalysts are becoming stronger, it’s a better illustration of what you are doing here than just what you are showing at your booth.” There were some catchy titles on show, such as Comarch and its partner’s’ “Messy data in, treasure out: boosting Autonomous Networks’.” This Catalyst focused on using AI-powered data structuring and visualization to tame unstructured autonomous network data, with the ultimate goal being to ‘enable the network to heal itself’.