These enhancements support dynamic resource control via intelligent automation, intent-driven operations, AI, and open architectures for automatic traffic prioritization and service optimization. Network slicing enables on-demand QoS alignment with pricing for consumers and enterprises, while Ericsson’s Local Packet Gateway facilitates secure, geographically redundant Mobile Edge Computing and scalable user plane functions for Fixed Wireless Access and home broadband.

Vodafone accomplished the world's first space video call from a complete no-coverage zone using a standard mobile phone connected to AST SpaceMobile commercial satellites. Engineers assembled a temporary 2.4-meter, one-tonne satellite dish gateway in a Newbury office car park within three days, linking it to an upgraded base station and Vodafone's core network over 500 km distances. The setup delivered strong signals far beyond typical mobile tower ranges (limited to ~4 km), demonstrating viability for addressing rural not-spots (e.g., Welsh valleys). Plans include relocating the gateway permanently to support commercial 4G/5G satellite broadband services launching later in 2026 with sufficient constellation coverage for always-on connectivity.

Further advancements span TELUS commissioning a nearly 125-km submarine fibre optic cable buried in the St. Lawrence River seabed for essential redundancy east of Baie-Comeau; Gilat receiving multi-million-dollar orders for LEO constellation ground infrastructure and European MoD transportable terminals; Ericsson, Far EasTone, and OPPO validating an integrated 5G SA ecosystem enabling differentiated B2B2C models; Ericsson, Leonardo, and the Italian Navy trialing maritime 5G SA connectivity in day/night open-sea scenarios; Ericsson demonstrating drone detection via Integrated Sensing and Communication using massive-MIMO radios at its U.S. headquarters; and Ericsson completing the world's first 6G pre-standard over-the-air session. AST SpaceMobile successfully unfolded BlueBird 6, featuring the largest commercial LEO communications array (~2,400 square feet) for peak data speeds up to 120 Mbps and tenfold bandwidth capacity over prior satellites. Telstra, Ericsson, and Qualcomm achieved a 682 Mbps 5G uplink on Telstra's live Queensland network, marking a significant performance improvement.

AI & Analytics News

Agentic AI, AIOps, domain-trained models, and AI-native architectures are transforming telecom operations from reactive to predictive and autonomous, unlocking efficiency gains, new monetization models, and enterprise-grade intelligence.

Ericsson launched Agentic rApp as a Service on AWS, enabling reasoning and coordination for network optimization workflows. Nokia and AWS demonstrated the first agentic AI-powered 5G-Advanced network slicing solution in live environments, with du and Orange exploring intent-based premium services. Amdocs introduced aOS, a telecom-specific agentic operating system that embeds generative AI atop any BSS/OSS stack to elevate experiences, unlock growth, and drive measurable efficiency. Tata Communications unveiled an AI-ready suite of platforms and solutions for confident, controlled scaling of artificial intelligence adoption. ServiceNow partnered with Anthropic to integrate Claude models into core workflows for application development, healthcare, and life sciences, powering agentic capabilities in ServiceNow Build Agent. Infosys collaborated with Anthropic on advanced enterprise AI solutions tailored for telecommunications, financial services, manufacturing, and software development.

Deutsche Telekom launched its Industrial AI Cloud in partnership with NVIDIA and Polarise, built over six months as an AI factory for mission-critical applications.Singtel established a Centre of Excellence for Applied AI with NVIDIA to build a trusted sovereign AI ecosystem in Singapore. Snowflake advanced its Cortex Code AI coding agent for data-native development, Semantic View Autopilot for automated governance of business metrics in AI agents, and expansions supporting external sources like dbt and Apache Airflow. Spirent introduced Luma, a domain-trained agentic AI solution for network testing and assurance, accelerating result interpretation, troubleshooting, and reduction of expert dependency.

Additional momentum includes Ericsson and KT completing a mid-band Frequency Division Duplex Massive MIMO trial in Korea toward AI-powered 6G; SoftBank and Ericsson conducting a proof-of-concept for low-latency, reliable networks required for Physical AI and distributed workloads in robotics/autonomous systems; Lumen adopting Blue Planet AI Studio agents across network domains for faster, context-aware outcomes in building trusted AI networks; and Radisys partnering with Rakuten Mobile to enable AI-enhanced digital services via the Engage Digital Platform, monetizing network investments through programmable Gen-AI-powered media applications.

Security & Assurance News

With AI accelerating adversary tactics and expanding attack surfaces, providers are prioritizing identity-centric defenses, post-quantum readiness, real-time intelligence sharing, and Zero Trust for critical infrastructure and agentic workflows.

Palo Alto Networks completed its acquisition of CyberArk, establishing identity security as a core platform pillar to protect human, machine, and agentic identities. Unit 42's 2026 Global Incident Response Report, based on over 750 incidents, revealed AI usage throughout attack lifecycles accelerating breach speeds fourfold.