Another interesting pre-MWC press dump; this time, from Spain-based operator group Telefónica, which has a couple of news items about network automation, including a full review of its Level 4 advances across its global operations and a new R&D deal with US vendor Mavenir around AI in its core network. Plus, it also has a detailed run-down of its rollout of edge computing services on its public (and private) 5G and fibre infrastructure for enterprises in Spain. Its MWC message is the same as Ericsson’s yesterday: that AI is taking network automation further, and quicker, and that long-time 5G promises are nearing commercial reality, notably, for enterprises – where everything might just pay back.
James Blackman
Executive Editor
RCR Wireless News
RCR Top Stories
Telefónica on AI, B2B: Pre-MWC, Telefónica has claimed 12 level-4 autonomous use cases in Spain, Germany and Brazil (targeting level 4 everywhere by 2030), partnered Mavenir on core AI, and expanded B2B 5G/fibre edge-compute in Spain.
Can Europe lead AI? AI is stress-testing digital infrastructure, exposing bottlenecks that slow training, increase costs, and challenge data locality, raising questions about how networks must evolve and Europe’s potential role as an AI hub.
O-RAN in APAC: Omdia says Japan leads APAC for O-RAN adoption, but deployment remains gradual as operators balance vendor diversity and flexibility with integration challenges and reliability of traditional network architectures.
SKT’s 6G vision: SK Telecom’s latest 6G white paper details its AI-native ATHENA architecture, and how virtualization, zero trust security, and AI-driven automation could shape network evolution and global standardization efforts beyond 2030.
AI power play: Grid constraints are reshaping U.S. data center strategy. ValorC3 Data Centers’ CEO explains why power availability now outweighs location and cost – and how secondary markets are becoming central to expansion.
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Beyond the Headlines
APIs need agents: Telefónica says agentic AI protocols A2A and MCP could move Open Gateway beyond static APIs, enabling intent-driven fraud prevention workflows – if governance, trust, and privacy controls are fully addressed.
AI infra headwinds: As AI drives demand for data centres, the hardest constraints aren’t (just) land and power – they’re communities and politics. Public sentiment and workforce shortages are reshaping where and how AI facilities are built.
Second-life GPUs: Older AI-grade GPUs don’t just vanish when superseded; many are resold into a growing secondary market where smaller firms buy them for less intense AI tasks such as inference and fine-tuning.
Ericsson roundup: From real-time 5G slice validation to next-gen AI RAN software, Ericsson’s curtain-raiser ahead of MWC 2026 highlighted innovations spanning network performance, autonomous operations, and 6G readiness.
D2D reality bites: The hype around direct-to-device (D2D) continues to grow – and so does sketicism over its profitability. Here’s what industry experts think about the present and the future of the D2D market.
What We're Reading
Core as-a-service: Belgium’s Citymesh has launched the world’s first commercial mobile service running on a 5G core SaaS platform, delivered by Nokia and AWS. The subscription‑style core reduces upfront investment and operational complexity.
Neocloud parade: The latest from ABI’s Leo Gergs in his Neocloud Parade digest: Nebius’s 547% growth disappointed markets, AMD’s stock dropped despite demand, and India’s GPU build‑out is pushing 40 K GPUs – plus more.
Spanish space race: Sateliot and PLD Space have deal to launch two high‑end 5G Tritó satellites aboard a Miura 5 rocket, scheduled for 2027. It marks the first fully private Spanish space launch, from manufacture to deployment.
Kyndryl cyber hub: Kyndryl has launched a cyber defense ops center in India, unifying network and security operations into a single command hub. The centre offers real‑time visibility, AI analytics, and incident response to global enterprises.
Aeris taps Palo Alto: Aeris has a product integration with Palo Alto Networks’ Prisma SASE 5G and joined its partner ecosystem to secure IoT deployments without agents. The solution extends Layer 7 security to global cellular IoT.
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