Sovereignty at MWC Barcelona 2026: the content consensus
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Sovereignty at MWC Barcelona 2026: the content consensus
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Contact usFor much of 2025 and early 2026, the development of sovereign AI and sovereign digital service strategies – including the role telecoms could play in supporting them – was regularly in the news.
For countries, these strategies represent an opportunity to support domestic skills, capabilities and resilience. For operators, the strategies represent an opportunity to support national agendas, reassert their relevance in the digital economy and drive new revenues based on their position as highly regulated and trusted service providers.
Across MWC Barcelona 2026, sovereignty was one of the most represented topics in keynotes, sessions and roundtables alongside myriad announcements and launches.
The GSMA Intelligence event wrap-up provides insight into the broader sovereignty themes from MWC. This analysis look at the messaging from operators, vendors, regulators and cloud providers conveyed in sessions at the event.
Report details
Sovereignty at MWC Barcelona 2026: the content consensus
£2500
EX. VATThis report is one of more than 140 published annually as part of the GSMA Intelligence data and research subscription, which is designed for organisations that require regular access to our insights. Contact our sales team for details.
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