Contributed Article
As 5G Advanced (5G-A) and AI continue to evolve, two industry players, Global Telecommunications Industry (GTI) and the GSMA, are taking big steps to advance their integration and commercialisation. At MWC Barcelona 2025, both companies introduced initiatives to foster innovation, strengthen industry collaborations, and explore new business opportunities in the 5G-A and AI ecosystem. With the launch of the GSMA Mobile AI Community Group and GTI’s 5G-A×AI 100 Commercial Campaign, these efforts reflect a growing focus on the role of AI-driven mobile networks in shaping the future of connectivity.
The GSMA Mobile AI Community Group
On the first day of MWC Barcelona , the GSMA and GTI, along with other industry leaders including China Mobile, du, Turkcell and Huawei, announced the creation of the GSMA Mobile AI Community Group at the Connect 5G Summit. The group will focus on two key areas: “Networks for AI” and “AI for Networks,” to boost 5G-A and AI integration across a wide range of industries.
A large focus of the summit was 5G-A-driven business monetisation. GTI and the GSMA hosted discussions around the integration of 5G-A and AI technologies, with industry leaders highlighting how mobile AI can drive business monetisation opportunities.
The summit explored applications such network slicing and Massive Internet of Things (MIoT), both of which rely heavily on AI and 5G-A to function at their full potential. A highlight was the appearance of humanoid and quadruped robots from Unitree Robotics, which provided a tangible example of how 5G-A and AI can be used in the real world. The robots, which are capable of performing complex tasks, demonstrate the potential of AI-driven mobile applications that could soon be commonplace both at home and the workplace.
As the summit came to a close, twelve industry partners (GSMA, GTI, China Mobile, China Unicom, China Telecom, du UAE, LG U+, Turkcell, and Huawei, Leju Robot, Unitree Robotics, and Zhipu A) announced the establishment of GSMA Mobile AI Community Group. Together, the companies will explore more deeply into mobile AI applications, while also focussing on monetisation. In the future, the more partners and companies will be welcomed into the group.
The 5G-A×AI 100 Commercial Campaign
The following day, the GTI held a summit under the theme “5G-A×AI”. Here, GTI launched the 5G-A×AI 100 Commercial Campaign, a new initiative designed to accelerate the use of 5G-A (5G Advanced) and AI technologies.
Established in 2011, the GTI is an international industry collaboration platform set up China Mobile, SoftBank, Vodafone, Bharti Airtel, and T-Mobile (then Sprint). Its latest launch, in February 2023, aims to increase the global cooperation in developing 5G-A technologies, speed up the integration of digital, IT, and telecom sectors, and support 5G monetisation. It currently has 146 operator members and 266 industry partners.
The campaign was announced in partnership with over 30 global companies including, GSMA, Turkcell Türkiye, Telefónica Spain, LG U+ South Korea, Salt Switzerland, HKT Hong Kong, Zain KSA, MTN, Unitree Robotics, Leju Robot, Zhipu AI, and Huawei.
According to GTI, the initiative aims to “accelerate the integration and commercialisation of 5G-A and AI technologies, which will drive the mobile information industry forward and usher in a new era of digital intelligence and unparalleled user experience.”
Importantly, the campaign has four key objectives:
- Unite 100 partners to advance the innovation of 5G-A and AI applications.
- Make 100 capability APIs publicly available, creating an ecosystem for collaboration and technology sharing.
- Launch of 100 benchmark projects that demonstrate the successful integration of 5G-A and AI.
- Then, introduce these technologies to 100 cities worldwide, helping to drive digital transformation and value creation on a global scale.
The collaboration follows the launch of the 5G-A×AI Development Program by GTI in April last year, which encouraged partnerships and innovation between 5G-A and AI across technology, services, ecosystem development, and business models through open labs and collaborative efforts. The 2025 campaign emphasises a more concrete, large-scale push towards commercialisation.
Huawei, as a member of both the programme and GTI, has played an active role in helping to improve the practical applications of 5G-A and AI. The company has been working with global partners on several initiatives, including intelligent O&M (operations and maintenance), network optimisation, intelligent energy saving, and the monetisation of user experiences.
The power of industry collaboration
The creation of the GSMA Mobile AI Community Group and the launch of the 5G-A×AI 100 Commercial Campaign once again highlight the vital role of partnerships in advancing 5G-A and AI integration. By bringing together operators, manufacturers, and AI experts, these partnerships are paving the way for the widespread adoption of 5G-A and AI, driving digital transformation across a huge variety of industries, from healthcare to manufacturing. And, as the technology continues to grow, the strength of these collaborations will become increasingly important.
