20 March 2025
# Digitalk @ Mobile World Congress – let’s make AI real
MWC brought much to the table – from greater integration between mobile and satellite communications, to private networks and vertical use cases. But our team was struck by the sheer volume of noise around AI. What does that mean and where are we really?
## AI at MWC. Everyone was saying something
If you talk to anyone who attended MWC 2025 this March, you might be tempted to conclude that the event was solely about AI. It is certainly true that AI was pretty much everywhere – but the fact is that the topic generated a lot of hot air, noise and vague marketing speak.
Every solution provider, it seems, is obliged to present something on AI, while every operator talked about how AI was going to empower their services and customer interactions. If you walked through the halls, AI was, quite literally, unavoidable – printed on almost every stand and banner.
So, some bold claims have been made, creating the impression that our industry is surging into a new era. But what can we really take away from all this noise? In this blog, we’ll filter out the signals that really matter, so we can focus on what’s real and tangible.
## AI innovations falling into two key domains
AI will, of course, have a huge impact, but rather than touching ‘everything’, it’s likely to play a role in two key areas. First, process automation. AI — agentic or otherwise — can enable enhanced process automation (though it’s important to recognise that many automations can be delivered without AI, so ‘enhanced’ is a key word to remember). Agentic was the new buzzword, but it’s clear that autonomous decision making is an emerging trend.
For tasks that involve multiple inputs in order to determine the appropriate actions, together with context that might change according to circumstances, AI-enabled systems can reduce the need for human interaction and remove dependency, so that they can process actions faster – and meet performance demands required for a growing range of 5G-based services.
Similarly, AI can also fuel data processing by identifying trends, patterns and delivering insights that might have been hidden from human eyes, or which may take time to discover manually. Such insights can then be used by automated processes, or reviewed by human operatives to drive new responses.
In a way, this kind of AI enhancement is largely invisible to both operators and service consumers. It’s integral to the system, as it becomes part of the processes supporting operations – outputs (as above) might be evident, but the processes should simply function in the background, performing the tasks for which they are purposed.
The second area is much more interactive. AI can support a variety of ways in which people can interact with systems as part of dialogues in which one participant (the human) may or may not know that they are communicating with an AI-enabled process.
In this domain, we can think of customer service agents, web bots, self-care applications and so on, as well as interfaces that allow information discovery through the presentation of questions. This field is already well-known to the public at large, as Generative AI systems have captured many people’s attention. Several leading operators reported success with such initiatives, and many others spoke of investments to come.
## Rapid progress; a long way to go
So, if we think about these two axes, what will be the result? In the first case, AI-enabled automation — which is currently in its relative infancy — will likely drive new levels of efficiency and network optimisation, delivering both cost reduction and enhanced agility. With the addition of Machine Learning, we can expect AI implementations to improve (probably rapidly) through time, as they are trained on service provider data.
As a result, while many of the AI benefits proclaimed at MWC remains some way off, it’s probably that we will see acceleration and momentum building as the tech is gradually adopted. The trick at MWC was to identify examples that could deliver sooner rather than later, as many showcased long-term visions but were short on practical realisations. Expect automation to drive many of the most successful cases for now.
But it’s in the second case that we might expect to see more short-term impact. That’s because interrogative processes are now well-established in other sectors. So, operator moves to add AI to customer care and to drive information filtering through Gen AI techniques would seem to be gathering real steam.
## Making AI real in Mobile Cloud
Many have announced the availability of such solutions – and this is where it gets interesting, because, on this axis, we’re moving rapidly from trial and PoC-territory to actual commercial-scale implementations. The innovations around AI integration to systems and processes are taking shape – but few have reached commercial scale and moved to operational networks.
The promise remains. Some of the solutions touted at MWC will — and some have already — hit a network near you soon – but, as ever, much remains some way off. That’s why we’ve focused our AI programme on targets we can reach.
Our AI capabilities deliver benefits today – including enhanced KPIs, predictions and optimised campaign management. They help you to experiment and test ideas, across all of the channels you use for engagement – delivering measurable improvements to business performance while learning and refining as you go. This augments our existing campaign management capabilities, providing still more accurate targeting for subsegments of the subscriber base.
And, it’s important to understand the strategic use of AI. Churn reduction, for example – by using our AI-enabled tools, you can more easily spot potential churners and plan activities to help retain them. Or, discovering targets for upselling, based on data analytics that help to identify prospects based on parsing data sets to find the most likely potential buyers.
Of course, MWC remains the place to see future mobile innovations, but while it’s important to keep one eye on the future, you also have to stay real and think about what you can do — now. [Mobile Cloud](https://www.digitalk.com/mobile-cloud/empower-your-mobile-future) delivers AI for MVNOs, MVNA and MNOs in a realistic manner, bringing you benefits that bring you immediate benefits.
By the way, did anyone see the smartphone for pets?
## FAQ
- What was the main AI theme at Mobile World Congress 2025?AI dominated MWC 2025, with virtually every vendor and operator discussing its potential. However, much of the conversation was high-level and forward-looking. The key takeaway was that while AI's long-term impact will be significant, practical, commercially scaled implementations are still emerging — with process automation and customer interaction being the two most promising near-term areas.
- How is AI being used in telecoms and mobile networks today?AI in telecoms is currently making the biggest impact in two areas: process automation — where AI reduces manual intervention, speeds up operations, and supports 5G service demands — and customer interaction, including AI-powered customer service agents, self-care apps, and chatbots. Both are moving from trials toward real commercial deployments.
- Can AI help MVNOs reduce churn?Yes. AI-enabled tools can analyse subscriber data to identify customers at risk of leaving, allowing MVNOs to proactively plan retention campaigns. Digitalk's Mobile Cloud includes AI capabilities specifically designed to help MVNOs spot potential churners and act before they leave.
- How does Digitalk use AI in its Mobile Cloud platform?Digitalk's Mobile Cloud delivers practical AI capabilities for MVNOs, MVNAs, and MNOs today — including enhanced KPIs, predictive analytics, churn reduction tools, upsell targeting, and optimised campaign management. Rather than focusing on future promises, Digitalk has prioritised AI features that deliver measurable business improvements now.
- What is agentic AI and why does it matter for mobile operators?Agentic AI refers to systems that can make autonomous decisions based on multiple inputs and changing contexts. For mobile operators, this means faster, more intelligent process handling without constant human oversight — particularly valuable as 5G services grow and the volume of real-time decisions increases. It is of particular value in automating the execution of process flows, while allowing human intervention when necessary and when required by governance policies.
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