Mobile World Congress Shanghai 2024: Huawei highlights advancements in 5G-A technology, AI integration

ISLAMABAD: Huawei made a significant impact at the Mobile World Congress (MWC) Shanghai 2024, highlighting its advancements in 5G-Advanced (5G-A) technology and artificial intelligence (AI) integration.

Under the theme “Advancing the Intelligent World,” the company presented a comprehensive vision for the future of mobile networks and services.

The year 2024 marks the commercial launch of 5G-A, with leading operators in the Middle East already deploying 5G-A networks. Huawei showcased its latest products and solutions supporting both 5G-A deployment and AI devices required for the mobile AI era.

Huawei’s Executive Director David Wang emphasised how 5G-A and AI devices will be key to making intelligent services ubiquitous, transforming human-machine interaction, content production, and mobile devices. Wang noted that the number of global 5G users has exceeded 1.8 billion, with many operators seeing the first wave of benefits. The company highlighted that nearly 20 mobile phone models currently support multi-carrier aggregation, with some activating the feature by default. Multiple operators in the Middle East and China have started deploying 5G-A three-carrier component (3CC) aggregation networks at scale, targeting 5 Gbit/s downlink rates.

In a significant industry initiative, Huawei launched the 5G-A Pioneers Program, reaching six consensuses with pioneering global operators, including UAE’s du, Oman Telecommunications, China’s “big three”, and HKT. These consensuses aim to maximise the value of advanced 5G-A capabilities, promote its development, and further advance the industry through various focus areas, including pioneer operators, pioneer cities, business model upgrade, high-quality networks, service innovation, and thriving ecosystems.

Huawei also unveiled plans to bring AI to networks, focusing on building an ecosystem of RAN Intelligent Agent in collaboration with operators. This initiative aims to increase network productivity by reshaping network operations and maintenance (O&M), experience, and services. Towards this end, Huawei introduced AI-powered copilots and agents to support role-based chatbots and scenario-based solution automation, significantly improving efficiency in areas such as field maintenance and network optimisation.

Huawei introduced the Open Gateway initiative to help carriers monetise their 5G investments. Huawei’s Chief Marketing Officer, Dr Philip Song, presented successful use cases of global operators that have improved customer services and lowered time to market.

Yang Chaobin, Huawei’s Board Member and President of ICT Products and Solutions, introduced the company’s upgraded Autonomous Driving Network (ADN) solution. Powered by Huawei’s Telecom Foundation Model, this solution provides five role-based copilots and five scenario-based agents, enhancing the value of networks in service enablement, network maintenance, and experience assurance.

As the industry moves into the 5G-A era, Huawei emphasised its commitment to collaborating with global operators and industry stakeholders. The company aims to accelerate 5G-A development from both the “Networks for AI” and “AI for Networks” perspectives, creating new business value and shaping the intelligent world.

Huawei also announced the launch of a joint initiative for high-quality mobile video development in the AI era, alongside global operators, industry customers, and other relevant organisations. The company plans to discuss development paths for F5G-A and Net5.5G with industry players over the coming days.

Huawei also joined the ICT Policy and Governance Forum convened by the GSMA on the sidelines of MWC Shanghai 2024. The forum, centred on the theme of “Driving Policy and Innovation to Shape Our Digital Future,” provided a platform for regulators, operators, and industry leaders from the Middle East, North Africa, Central Asia, and China to exchange insights on key trends and successful practices in the telecommunications sector. Huawei’s presence at MWC Shanghai 2024 underscored its leadership in driving the convergence of 5G-Advanced and AI technologies, setting the stage for a new era of intelligent, high-performance mobile networks and services.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2024