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Amazon has agreed to acquire Globalstar in a deal valued at approximately $11.6 billion. It has indicated that it expects the deal to close in 2027, subject to regulatory clearance. This would pave the way for Amazon’s own direct-to-device satellite service launching in 2028. The deal will firmly place Amazon as the main competitor of Starlink in the burgeoning D2D space. But it also has ramifications for other satellite companies and telecoms operators.

For 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 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. This analysis looks at the sovereign messaging conveyed in sessions at MWC from operators, vendors, regulators and cloud providers.

This report examines operators’ engagement at MWC Barcelona 2026, highlighting their announcements, innovations, strategy updates and messaging, in addition to examining implications for telecoms ecosystem players. We show our findings for 17 major operators across 12 areas of focus, including AI, 5G, B2B, B2C, cloud/edge and emerging tech such as APIs and non-terrestrial networks.

Around 105,000 people from 207 countries attended MWC Barcelona 2026. The show attracted more than 2,900 exhibitors, including telecoms operators, vendors and firms from across the broader technology ecosystem. This report examines the key announcements and innovations that took centre stage, what came as a surprise and what it all means for telecoms and the wider TMT industry.

Global Mobile Trends 2026 highlights the opportunities and innovations ahead, as well as the challenges facing the mobile industry and beyond. Covering topics including AI, 5G, autonomous networks, devices, security, quantum, satellites, energy innovation and eSIM, the report focuses on what matters in 2026 and the implications for the industry. The latest edition of Global Mobile Trends delivers expert insights into the key trends that will define the mobile ecosystem in 2026 and beyond. Backed by GSMA Intelligence’s industry-leading research and data, the report provides an authoritative look at the forces shaping the next wave of connectivity and innovation.

Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are digitising rapidly, but telcos seize only a fraction of the opportunity due to gaps between SME expectations and current offerings. To unlock growth, telcos must simplify integration, make reliability visible, and shift from offering security tools to managed protection, delivering integrated, outcome-oriented solutions.

To help navigate 2026, this series of reports highlights the key trends to watch and the implications for ecosystem players. The analysis covers five key areas: 5G and network transformation; spectrum; IoT and the wider enterprise market; the digital consumer; and fixed and pay-TV markets.

How will the industry evolve in 2026? This series of reports highlights the key trends to watch and the implications for ecosystem players. This report examines 5G and network transformation.

In the latest edition of the GSMA Open Gateway research series, key developments for H2 2025 include the segmentation of industry demand, and the continued deployment of APIs in categories other than fraud and security. The report provides an update on the state of the market, recent developments and examples of GSMA Open Gateway in action. 

In GSMA Intelligence’s seventh annual survey of network technology executives, one data point stands out: 85% of operators claim opex efficiencies as a priority business objective for deploying AI in their networks.

GSMA Intelligence surveyed 100 telcos from around the world, gaining insights into their deployment plans and challenges, where they plan to invest, how they see the value of new technologies, and what they think is needed to meet end-user demand.

Throughout 2025, GSMA Intelligence has analysed developments and innovation spanning all areas of the telecoms industry and wider digital ecosystem. As the industry continues to evolve in 2026, how will the Research Themes change?

As 2026 approaches, many operators remain committed to open RAN, but its status as a technology priority is nearing an all-time low. What has held back open RAN market development and how is the technology failing to meet operator needs?

Representing 285 networks and almost 80% of mobile subscribers worldwide, 73 operator groups are now committed to GSMA Open Gateway. This latest research provides an update on the state of the market, recent developments, and examples of GSMA Open Gateway in action. It also offers a deep dive on supply/demand gap analysis.

This report examines operators’ engagement at MWC Barcelona 2025, highlighting their announcements, innovations, strategy updates and messaging, in addition to examining implications for telecoms ecosystem players. We show our findings for 18 major operators across 12 areas of focus, including AI, 5G, B2B and B2C, cloud/edge and emerging tech such as APIs and non-terrestrial networks.

For several years, edge compute has been a key part of the 5G value proposition for telecoms operators selling into industries – even before AI. However, AI adds a new dimension to the value of edge through distributed inference.

MWC Barcelona 2025 attracted over 2,900 exhibitors, including telecoms operators, vendors and firms from across the broader technology ecosystem. This report examines the key announcements and innovations that took centre stage, what came as a surprise and what it all means for telecoms and the wider TMT industry.

In the final report of a four-part series, this edition of Telco AI: State of the Market covers one of the most important industry dynamics: AI for networks versus networks for AI.

The definitive guide to the biggest shifts shaping mobile, AI and telecoms. How will AI reshape telecoms? What’s next for 5G, satellites and enterprise networks?