MWC 2025: AI, APIs and collaboration drive the future of connectivity

Mobile World Congress (MWC) 2025 saw attendance levels soar back to pre-pandemic highs, with 109,000 participants from 205 countries and territories, an exciting sign for renewed dedication and interest in building better communications. Throughout the four days of the show, AI use cases, Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) and the importance of collaboration were among the hot topics of discussion.

Artificial Intelligence transitioned from theory to practical applications. AI-driven self-optimizing networks were in discussion, with their capability to automatically adjust parameters, predict and prevent outages and optimize performance without human intervention. This automation reduces operational costs while improving network reliability. These networks can be used for spectrum management, controlling resource allocation based on real-time demand and network conditions, along with allowing spectrum sharing and unlocking the full potential of 5G networks with more precise radio signals and reduced interference. And with AI powered Radio Access Network (RAN) intelligent networks, such as the integration done by South Bank and Nvidia, RAN operations are authorized and sold for network management and efficiency needs across other applications. While no singular groundbreaking innovation emerged to define the event, MWC 2025 marked a shift from the vision of AI to specific use cases that showcased just how quickly it is being integrated into connectivity initiatives globally in need of trusted data to build them right. 

Additionally, Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) continue to expand connecting software to networks for everything from provisioning to identity. Partnerships such as Aduna Global are implementing Network APIs that provide access to a communications service provider’s (CSP’s) network and data. The uses for these APIs are plentiful, such as when partnered with financial institutions and tailored to their specific data needs to track number ownership changes and verify numbers more effectively and efficiently. Verizon’s Scammer API is a specific example of this, which produces a real time risk score for a financial institution that can be used when examining their customers’ transactions. By leveraging the “goldmine of data” that telecom operators hold, as Kathy Azarfar, Head of Engineering with Aduna described, there are new opportunities for innovation and stronger fraud prevention. 

Another theme present was the need for collaboration, which relates directly to the event’s theme (“Converge. Connect. Create.”) and goal of bringing together innovations from all kinds of industries. In an increasingly interconnected world, fostering positive technological and economic advancements through global cooperation is essential. According to GSMA, the mobile industry alone contributed 5.8% to the global GDP last year ($6.5 trillion) and is expected to rise to almost 8.4% ($11 trillion) by 2030, reinforcing the sector's significance in driving economic growth through digital technologies like 6G, IoT and AI. In the fight against communications fraud, international cooperation is already yielding results, with the EU leveraging shared data to combat cross-border threats and iconectiv’s own Cross Border Call Authentication offering with ATIS showing immensely promising results in initial testing. On the national front, there are a plethora of examples of representatives across different industries partnering to protect consumers and drive innovation, such as Canadian CSPs partnering with the Canadian Bankers Association to better understand each other’s role in the scam lifecycle. In the United Kingdom, law enforcement and regulators are collaborating to stop fraud as close to the source as possible before its consumers and businesses are defrauded. 

As an industry leader in policy enforcement and analytics, iconectiv stands at the forefront of data and collaboration. iconectiv provides the most authenticated, accurate data, ensuring that the AI-driven verification processes and protective APIs that are revolutionizing the industry will be built on and use trustworthy information rather than bad data. As Michael O’Brien, Executive Vice President at iconectiv, said in his fintech and mobile commerce panel discussion, “Behavior is based on beliefs; beliefs are established by experience.” As such, changing industry-wide perceptions and fostering trust will continue to require ongoing collaboration and efforts around verifiable authentication to reshape past experiences and lay the groundwork for a better future. 

In a world teetering on the edge of a new technological era, MWC 2025 made one thing clear: the future isn’t about isolated innovation or fantastical visions of future AI and API tools, but about collective progress. Holding hands while moving forward is the key to ensuring a more secure, efficient and interconnected digital future.