MWC25: regulation, AI and 5G technology dominated the event

Mobile World Congress (MWC) 2025 was attended by 109 000 delegates in Barcelona at the start of March, with visitors ranging from representatives of telecoms operators and vendors to governments. The conference demonstrated the developments that will shape the evolution of the telecoms market in the next year. In this article, we highlight three themes that were particularly important at this year’s event.

In a fraught geopolitical context, regulation was a hot topic, particularly concerning Europe’s role in global technological advancements. These include artificial intelligence (AI), which dominated headlines about MWC. AI, and in particular its impact on radio access networks (RANs) and Internet of Things (IoT), has the potential to revolutionise the way operators work. Finally, 5G and next-generation connectivity were important talking points, with operators highlighting their developments in increasing bandwidth to meet user needs.

Watch Analysys Mason's summary of the main trends and topics at MWC25.