Huawei Pushes 5G-Advanced to Power AI, Eyes 6G at MWC Barcelona

BARCELONA, Spain — At MWC Barcelona 2026, Yang Chaobin, CEO of Huawei’s ICT Business Group, called on the ICT industry to intensify efforts to ensure everyone can access the fast track of AI. He outlined recommendations on spectrum and network capabilities for scaling 5G-Advanced to support emerging AI applications and emphasized expanding inclusive connectivity to bridge the digital divide in underserved regions. “The intelligent era is approaching fast. New AI applications are emerging every day, and so it is time for the industry to come together to unleash the full potential of 5G-A,” he said, adding that operators should efficiently utilize new spectrum resources like U6 GHz to create new value while paving the way for evolution to 6G.

As AI tools like text-to-video and AI-powered shopping gain traction, token consumption has surged, and the next five years will shape a window of opportunity for the mobile industry so long as carriers invest in 5G-A. Chaobin highlighted the need to move beyond downlink-centric networks to deliver ultra-high bandwidth in both uplink and downlink, enabling multimodal data exchanges between devices and clouds for AI. He also stressed secure, reliable, ultra-low-latency connectivity to support real-time AI collaboration and intelligent decision-making. 6G standardization is already underway, with standards not expected to be frozen before March 2029, according to 3GPP. This period, Chaobin argued, represents a pivotal moment for accelerating mobile AI services and creating new value through thoughtful investment in 5G-A. He noted that this half-generation step between 5G and 6G is delivering significantly higher uplink speeds, boosting the industry’s ability to handle AI workloads more efficiently.

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