It’s that time of year again – we’re off to Barcelona next week for Mobile World Congress 2025. As we did last year, our editorial team – James, Manny, Julian and Vaughan - got together to discuss the key talking points and technology trends that we expect to emerge this year.

5G was heralded as the generation to transform connectivity, vastly outperforming 4G across multiple metrics. Operators and enterprises alike were eager to explore its potential, hoping it would unlock new revenue streams for the telecoms industry.

MTN Nigeria CEO Karl Toriola has defended recent tariff hikes by mobile network operators, stating they are essential for the “survival” of the telecoms industry in Nigeria, despite significant criticism.

The journey toward financial inclusion begins with trust. For individuals unfamiliar with formal financial systems, having low-cost and reliable ways to deposit and withdraw money — cash-in, cash-out (CICO) services — is essential. These accessible solutions build confidence, encouraging people to store money in digital formats and explore other financial tools.

This week’s revelation that DeepSeek’s R1 model can offer performance in line with ChatGPT at a fraction of the development cost has had a cataclysmic impact on the AI space, particularly in the US.

Chinese AI company DeepSeek coming out of nowhere and shaking the cores of Silicon Valley and Wall Street was something no one anticipated. Commentators had previously placed China’s AI scene 2–3 years behind that of the US - words they are now eating.

India’s digital transformation over the last decade has been nothing short of extraordinary. From the days of dial-up connections, the nation has surged into a new era of rapid digitization.

Developing Telecoms recently spoke with Hassan Jaber (pictured), the newly appointed CEO of Axian Telecom and a former MTN executive, as he navigates the ambitious trajectory of the challenger operator group. Jaber shared insights into Axian Telecom’s strategy to compete with larger players, focusing on its appeal to Africa’s youth – the continent’s largest demographic – and how its recent rebrand sets the stage for future growth.

As we move into 2025, market analysts are advising telcos to channel their investments in Gen AI more towards revenue-generating opportunities rather than back-office productivity, and to prioritise high-value enterprise customers even over consumers. However, the difficult economic climate means they will still struggle to deliver returns in the near term.

As had been anticipated, 2024 proved to be another challenging year for the communications industry. Declining growth in fixed and mobile broadband network investments coupled with the ongoing struggle to monetise new 5G services, and accompanied by the global economic downturn, continued to impact business performance for many telcos, equipment vendors and the wider industry.

The integration of AI presents as many challenges to operators as it does opportunities. We recently explored how telcos are ensuring an ethical approach to AI in terms of corporate governance, and how they are able to demonstrate this through assurance models and tools.

With around 75% of operators now launching Generative AI commercially, integrated AI strategies are increasingly essential for facilitating the interactions between AI and networks. Societal concerns around AI adoption put pressure on businesses to demonstrate an ethical approach in implementing this technology.

The Philippines is well on its way to becoming a major connectivity hub in Asia. The archipelago has a strategic geographical location and is a key node for submarine connectivity, with the subsea route between the Philippines and the US attracting particular investment.

In what has been an unprecedented year for global elections, the world may look drastically different by next year. For Ukrainians, however, life changed profoundly two years ago. On 24 February 2022, many packed the bare essentials and fled to safe havens as Russian forces began their invasion.

Starlink’s ascension has made waves in the satellite sector across the last year – in particular, the number of operating licences it has snapped up in emerging markets feels like the satellite equivalent of a land-grab.

At the recent Net Zero Festival in London, the role of AI in the transition towards net zero was the subject of a panel discussion that brought together key thinkers in the sector.

At GITEX Global 2024 in Dubai, artificial intelligence (AI) was the most talked-about topic, with companies from across industries showcased how AI and machine learning are reshaping business operations and consumer experiences.

For the longest time, Africa has been the continent chronically playing catch-up, unable to compete with larger economic powerhouses in more developed markets.

As the ITU prepares to hold the World Telecommunications Standardization Assembly (WTSA) in India – the first time the event has ever taken place in Asia – we spoke to Bilel Jamoussi, Deputy-Director of the Telecommunication Standardization Bureau (TSB), to discuss how the experiences of developing countries are essential for informing the standardisation process.

Satellite communications are a longstanding technology that have remained inaccessible due to their higher costs – and arguably limited capabilities - compared to terrestrial networks. However, recent advances in the technology have seen direct-to-device (D2D) satellite connectivity gaining significant traction, with D2D now able to offer an easier and more cost-effective way for devices to access reliable connectivity.

Despite the surge in demand for smartphones last year in Africa, feature phones continue to hold their ground and account for a substantial 52% of market share on the continent.

Open RAN has long been billed as an appealing option for vendors in emerging markets but numerous factors have stalled adoption. The cost of ownership is relatively high, and a core part of the appeal – the freedom to choose equipment from different suppliers – is somewhat undermined as many operators in these regions preferred the simplicity of a sole supplier able to provide support.

As a major consumer of energy, the telecoms sector has long been pursuing initiatives to reduce its impact on the climate. Most operators have implemented measures to reduce their Scope 1 and Scope 2 (direct and indirect) emissions, but Scope 3 is often overlooked.