Klein said Nokia’s role in deploying the first cellular network on the lunar surface earlier this year marked “a big leap” in proving that cellular mobile technologies can power the next phase of space exploration.

“We will have sustained human presence on the lunar surface,” he explained. To support that, Nokia envisions a web of lunar and orbital systems that form a foundation for interplanetary communications.

Klein said the next challenge lies in interlinking the “pockets of surface communication” in space, enabling data transfer between lunar surface sites, orbiting satellites and spacecrafts travelling between the Earth and Moon. “You need to connect all of it in a dynamic fashion,” he said. This is where the company aims to sharpen its focus “as we reach deeper and deeper into space”.

Earlier this year, Nokia successfully deployed a 4G network on the Moon as part of Intuitive Machines’ IM-2 mission, marking a major step in proving terrestrial cellular technology can operate in the harsh conditions of space. Despite a difficult landing where Nokia was unable to place a call due to significant power constraints, Klein confirmed the network was switched on and functioning. “We have real evidence that the network was operational,” he noted.

While the current lunar system runs on 4G, Klein expects the next decade to bring a 5G leap for space connectivity, although deliberately behind Earth’s timelines. “Our recommendation is really for the space industry to be about one generation behind what we see on terrestrial networks,” he said, stating that technical maturity, ecosystem readiness and deployment experience are essential before pushing new technology beyond Earth.

 “When we’re moving to 6G for terrestrial networks in the, say 2028 to 2030 timeframe, that’s probably the right timeframe to move to 5G for space exploration.”

The post Nokia sets sights on 5G upgrade for space appeared first on Mobile World Live.

Speaking to Mobile World Live on the first day of Unwrapped, Goncalves Filho touted progress the AI-RAN Alliance has made since its inception two years ago, which includes a membership of more than 100 operators and vendors.

“The focus has been on creating blueprints so that all the elements of AI RAN can work together,” he said. “The next big step is to move towards commercialisation and that’s where we’re going.”

He added SoftBank and its partners anticipate a phased approach with “some implementations between now and 6G”.

“It’s probably another couple of years,” Goncalves Filho stated. “It goes with the maturation cycle of the capex that’s already in there”.

“When it comes time to refresh the equipment, I believe we will see a lot of it being substituted with AI-RAN equipment.”

AI RAN in action
The operator already has several AI RAN use cases in the fold, including the deployment of multi-user (MU) MIMO in a live network.

“Within a lab environment that’s clean and controlled, it works very well. We wanted to see it in real life,” he explained. “We went outdoors in a very busy radio environment in Silicon Valley at the Nvidia campus and we tested it outside. It worked pretty well.”

In the deployment, SoftBank confirmed stable operation of MU-MIMO using its AI-RAN product in an outdoor setting.

“It’s working on 16 layers, which, as far as we can tell, is a world first,” he said. “What’s fun about it, it’s all the processing that’s happening on the DU, normal radio interfaces and so on. So, it’s a fully virtualised network”.

“The throughput is three times what it is when we turn off the capability. That means better service for the users and better utilisation of spectrum.”

He said the 16-layer MU-MIMO is particularly useful across high-density environments in places like Tokyo, central London and the Manhattan borough of New York City where dynamic adaptation is critical for maintaining service quality.

“The network is changing all the time,” Goncalves Filho noted. “Those reconfigurations need to happen very quickly. We can only do this because now we can do all these calculations very fast, using parallel compute, very close to where the user is”.

“[It’s] a classic case of AI RAN being deployed to benefit the network”.

The post SoftBank takes driving seat for AI RAN appeared first on Mobile World Live.

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Download to find out more.

The post UNWRAPPED HOSTED CONTENT: Delivering telecommunications of the future with agentic AI appeared first on Mobile World Live.

At Opensignal, our mission is to quantify what users actually experience on mobile networks. And as 5G moves from Non-Standalone (NSA) to Standalone (SA) and soon to 5G-Advanced, our data paints a clear picture. The future of 5G won’t be defined by peak speeds, but by latency, consistency, and reliability, which are the building blocks of truly interactive, real-time, and monetizable consumer services.

The post UNWRAPPED HOSTED CONTENT: Benchmarking Readiness for Advanced 5G Consumer Services appeared first on Mobile World Live.

Download this analyst report from Transforma Insights to see how global IoT connectivity is finally being achieved through the convergence of 4G/5G cellular, IoT satellite networks and LoRaWAN. Learn how enterprises can simplify IoT deployments, reduce costs, and expand reach with unified IoT management platforms.

The post UNWRAPPED HOSTED CONTENT: Truly Global IoT Connectivity Is Becoming a Reality appeared first on Mobile World Live.

Is your telecom company ready for the “techco” revolution? Discover how cloud-native platforms, automation, and AI are reshaping 5G and future networks. Actionable insights, expert guidance, and resources to help you modernize your network, operationalize AI at scale, diversify the RAN, and transform your business to stay agile and ahead in a competitive landscape.

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14:00 GMT

Our keynote interviews will explore how space and telecom players are converging to deliver seamless global connectivity. We have some of the biggest names in this fast-growing sector covering the most innovative developments:

Luke Ibbetson, Head of Group R&D, Vodafone Group: Hear from one of the world’s biggest mobile operators on its satellite and D2D plans, fresh from a high-profile deal with AST SpaceMobile.

Thierry Klein, President – Bell Labs Solutions Research, Nokia: Learn how Nokia is on a mission to provide lunar connectivity from the moon and beyond!

Tarun Gupta, Co-Founder, Skylo Technologies: Following big name deals with Verizon and Deutsche Telekom, find out what’s next for this D2D startup making huge waves in the market.

Speakers:

See the full Unwrapped agenda here

The post UNWRAPPED: Keynote interviews – 5G from space: Satellite & NTN appeared first on Mobile World Live.

11:00am GMT

Five years into 5G, our keynote interviews will explore how the technology is evolving from coverage to capability. We’ll discuss the roadmap for 5G-Advanced, the rise of Standalone 5G, and predictions for a 6G future, including how sustainability, performance, and innovation will shape the next phase of mobile connectivity.

Speakers:

See the full Unwrapped agenda here

The post UNWRAPPED: Keynote interviews – The future of 5G appeared first on Mobile World Live.

14:00 GMT

AI’s rapid ascent is reshaping industries, and telcos are just beginning to tap its potential. In our keynote interviews, we’ll speak with leaders driving AI adoption in 5G networks – particularly in the RAN – where software-defined infrastructure is enabling real-time optimisation, predictive maintenance, and automation at scale. We’ll explore whether AI-RAN can unlock new revenue or simply drive efficiency, how open-source frameworks might prevent vendor lock-in, and whether AI can realistically help telcos meet net-zero goals while staying compliant and transparent.

Speakers: 

See the full Unwrapped agenda here

The post UNWRAPPED: Keynote Interviews: AI – The art of the possible appeared first on Mobile World Live.

11:00am GMT

Open 5G promises major capex savings, but how far can operators really go? Our keynote interviews with industry innovators and pioneers will explore the shift to software-based, cloud-agnostic networks and the realities of deploying open and cloud-native RAN architectures. We’ll discuss the limits of disaggregation, the operational challenges of automation and orchestration, and the long-term cost implications.

Speakers:

See the full Unwrapped agenda here

The post UNWRAPPED: Keynote Interviews – How open can 5G go? appeared first on Mobile World Live.

14:00 GMT

As eSIM adoption accelerates, our keynote interviews will explore how OEMs, carriers, and tech innovators are using embedded connectivity to reshape device onboarding, global coverage, and service delivery. We’ll discuss whether eSIM can truly scale IoT deployments, how RedCap is enabling new product categories, and whether remote provisioning platforms and evolving business models are ready to support secure, flexible, and revenue-generating solutions across consumer and enterprise markets.

Speakers:

See the full Unwrapped agenda here

The post UNWRAPPED: Keynote interviews – eSIM and the embedded cellular opportunity appeared first on Mobile World Live.

11:00am GMT

As standalone 5G and 5G-Advanced technologies take hold, our keynote interviews will explore how operators, device makers, and digital service providers are shaping the next wave of consumer experiences: from enhanced XR and cloud gaming to next-gen voice. We’ll discuss the infrastructure and partnerships driving innovation, the role of network slicing in personalisation, and whether new devices and open platforms can unlock meaningful engagement, monetisation, and service evolution.

Speakers:

See the full Unwrapped agenda here

The post UNWRAPPED: Keynote interviews – Enabling advanced 5G consumer services appeared first on Mobile World Live.

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0:00: Intro
6:01: Open RAN rundown with Vodafone
13:25: AT&T comments on Ericsson open RAN deal
18:25: Disruptive AI
21.01: Verizon on private networks
24:55: 5G 5 years from now – SK Telecom
33.01: Interview with Cedric Foray, Ernst & Young

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Manish Singh, Dell Technologies, Amir Kaiser, Amdocs, and Lilac Ilan, NVIDIA discuss how customer care for Billing inquiries and network automation are ripe for improvement, made possible by Dell’s AI Factory with NVIDIA and Amdocs Telco GenAI Agents (powered by amAIz).

The post Partner Discussion: Dell Technologies appeared first on Mobile World Live.

Cohen said the completion of a deal to acquire UK rival Inmarsat in May 2023 meant Viasat now has a global fleet of L-Band and K-Band satellites.

On the consumer front, Viasat last month demonstrated direct-to-device (D2D) satellite connectivity for the first time in India through a partnership with operator BSNL.  

The demonstration at India Mobile World Congress showcased satellite messaging and a SOS feature directly to an Android phone, for use in areas with no terrestrial connectivity or during outages.

Cohen said the company’s birds are also being used to provision satellite SOS messaging across the US on Google Pixel 9 devices along with wholesale satellite service provider Skylo. The consumer L-Band service is based on the 3GPP’s Release-17.

“With 3GPP Release-17, basically it starts with the chipset manufacturers like Qualcomm, MediaTek, Sony,” he said. “They have to build the chipset that has the capabilities of the new spectrum that’s being added to the standard.”

While much of the focus for D2D services is on areas with little-to-no mobile service, Cohen said it would fill in coverage gaps in suburban and urban areas, or be used for emergencies.

“We started in the US and we’re expanding, probably starting with some of the more developed markets, whether it’s Europe, Japan, Australia, but we’ll grow from there.”

The more developed world markets typically have premium handset models which are ideal for D2D services.

“It’s going to take a while for the lower-cost phones to have this feature adopted,” Cohen said.

NB-IoT
Viasat is also bullish on providing satellite connectivity across verticals including maritime, aviation, automotive and government sectors.

Enterprise IoT services previously required specific devices which “cost a lot of money” and large reoccurring fees.

“With the 3GPP standard release and what is now called NB-IoT, or narrowband IoT standard, we can basically turn those satellites into cell phone towers from space,” he explained.

Cohen noted D2D services and a standards-based approach mean there are now IoT devices which can switch between satellite and mobile connectivity as needed.

“All of the applications for IoT can now be monetised and will improve the lives of many people, whether it’s water metering, agriculture, or cattle tracking.”

“There’s so many different IoT applications that now get unlocked, either for critical infrastructure when communication systems go down, or for areas outside of cellular connectivity.”

Watch a replay of the full keynote here.

The post Viasat targets consumer, IoT D2D services appeared first on Mobile World Live.

During his keynote discussing the next five years of 5G, he highlighted a current industry focus on improving uplink capabilities partly to meet demand for improved real time interactive applications.

He noted a lot of the early 5G speed improvements were on the downlink side and “if you look at uplink the improvement in terms of data has only been moderate” with this now a specific focus.

“We believe enterprise use cases, FWA use cases, AI in the device, and real time interactive use cases will need better uplink connectivity,” the expert added.

For industry, Holma (pictured, left) pointed to demand for video surveillance or video monitoring applications among other applications. In terms of improving FWA he noted wireless was “clearly behind fixed” when it comes to uplink capability.

For AI, he added there was “some processing in the device, but also some happening in the cloud” so when performing image editing, for example, “that will go from your device to the cloud and AI processing will be done there”.

“So AI in the device may be one of the drivers as to why better uplink will be needed”. 

Although highlighting the need for further evolution, Holma said the industry should be “proud of what has been happening in the last five years in technology evolution,” citing vast improvements on data rates in countries including India.

Other success highlighted by the expert in the first years of 5G include in providing fixed wireless access and facilitating various enterprise applications.

The post Nokia tech guru up on uplink for next 5G phase appeared first on Mobile World Live.

During our Digital Unwrapped week, Sasha Twining interviewed Dr. Alexandros Kaloxylos, Executive Director, 6G-IA on the next 5 years of 5G.

The post 5G: The next 5 years: Interview with 6G-IA appeared first on Mobile World Live.

During our Digital Unwrapped week, Justin Springham interviewed Dr. Sangmin Lee, Head of Access Network Development Team, SK Telecom on the next 5 years of 5G.

The post 5G: The next 5 years: Interview with SK Telecom appeared first on Mobile World Live.

During our Digital Unwrapped week, Sasha Twining interviewed Harri Holma, Senior Advisor and Bell Labs Fellow, Technology Office, Nokia on the next 5 years of 5G.

The post 5G: The next 5 years: Interview with Nokia appeared first on Mobile World Live.

During our Digital Unwrapped week, Justin Springham interviewed Pablo Iacopino, Head – Research & Commercial Content, GSMA Intelligence on the next 5 years of 5G.

The post 5G: The next 5 years: Market Overview with GSMA Intelligence appeared first on Mobile World Live.

During our Digital Unwrapped week, Sasha Twining interviewed Kevin Cohen, Vice President of Direct-to-Device Strategy, Viasat on 5G from space.

The post 5G from Space: Interview with Viasat appeared first on Mobile World Live.

During our Digital Unwrapped week, Sasha Twining interviewed Marco Guadalupi, CTO, Sateliot on 5G from space.

The post 5G from Space: Interview with Sateliot appeared first on Mobile World Live.

During our Digital Unwrapped week, Justin Springham interviewed Tarun Gupta, Co-Founder, Skylo Technologies on 5G from space.

The post 5G from Space: Interview with Skylo Technologies appeared first on Mobile World Live.

The operator issued a request for proposal in April covering all of its 170,000 radio network sites in those areas at the time (the exact number has since fallen with Vodafone’s divestment of assets in key European markets including Italy and Spain). That effort includes strategic partner e&, the UAE-based operator that is a large shareholder in Vodafone.

“We are in the last phases. It’s difficult to say now exactly if it’s going to be days or weeks, but certainly pretty soon we will know the outcome,” Pignatelli said.

He explained Vodafone Group runs a process every five or six years “to look at the modernisation of the network”.

“There are cycles for modernisation and upgrades, and this is one of them,” he said.

Former Vodafone network architecture director Yago Tenorio stated at an industry event in 2023 the company planned to employ open RAN across 30 per cent of its European sites by 2030.

Pignatelli declined to comment on whether the 30 per cent goal is still in play, but stated “we can confidently say that open RAN is going to be the technology of the future when it comes to radio”.

He noted open RAN is now broadly supported by virtually all the “big players” and that the initial assumptions “about cost benefits influencing the ecosystem and also innovation are materialising.”

“The good thing is that’s the destination. How we get there will be determined by obviously a number of factors, but that’s the future and future is here today.”

Watch a replay of the full keynote interview here.

The post Vodafone closes in on huge mobile tender appeared first on Mobile World Live.

During our Digital Unwrapped week, Sasha Twining interviewed Geoff Hollingworth, CMO, Rakuten Symphony on how open 5G can go.

The post How open can 5G go? Interview with Rakuten Symphony appeared first on Mobile World Live.

During our Digital Unwrapped week, Justin Springham interviewed Tim Hatt, Head of Research & Consulting, GSMA Intelligence on 5G from space.

The post 5G from space: Market Overview with GSMA Intelligence appeared first on Mobile World Live.

During our Digital Unwrapped week, Justin Springham interviewed Yigal Elbaz, SVP, Network CTO, AT&T on how open 5G can go.

The post How open can 5G go? Interview with AT&T appeared first on Mobile World Live.