Cursed, robot-stalked MWC goes mad for AI but isn't sure about 6G

This year’s Mobile World Congress in Barcelona was smaller, stranger and obsessed with AI. Exhibition space had shrunk again, some organizers muttered darkly about bad luck, and roaming robots patrolled the halls as companies tried to show they were serious about artificial intelligence. Vendors pitched AI as the answer to everything from network automation to customer service, framing it as the near-term growth story for a telecoms industry under cost and revenue pressure.

By contrast, 6G barely registered. With 5G investments still unfinished and operators struggling to earn a return, most firms showed little appetite for firm 6G plans or big new bets on radio technology. Instead, long-running arguments resurfaced over how future mobile networks should look and who should control key parts of the stack. MWC 2024 ended up less about the next "G" and more about how, and whether, AI can meaningfully reshape today’s networks.