While the annual gathering of all things telecom might have been dampened by geopolitical impacts, Mobile World Congress was still a hotbed of everything new and next. Analysts Raul Castañon-Martinez and Rich Karpinski join host Eric Hanselman to discuss what they saw in Barcelona and what it portends for not only the telecom players, but also the wider technology ecosystem that was clamoring for attention. MWC has evolved into an event that spans technology in many different forms. There's a telecom anchor that expands from smartphones, to infrastructure, out to AI and agentic, even out to quantum computing. There seemed to be more quantum computers on display than the perennial stand attraction – Formula 1 cars.

This year presented and more pointed challenge to telecom operators to make the jump into being technology providers. There's certainly a desire to get to a "Connectivity plus" footing, but there are many ecosystem players looking to be the provider of choice for AI services. Operators are trying to avoid the over-the-top displacement of previous tech transitions, but they're facing a much broader set of competitors.

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Credits:

• Host/Author: Eric Hanselman
• Guests: Raul Castañon-Martinez, Rich Karpinski
• Producer/Editor: Feranmi Adeoshun
• Published With Assistance From: Sophie Carr, Kyra Smith