Positioning 5G-Advanced as a bridge between current 5G and 6G clarifies how operators can monetize AI traffic growth before 6G standards are finalized. Emphasis on U6 GHz and uplink performance signals a shift in radio-planning priorities, favoring AI-heavy and IoT upload-dominated use cases over legacy downlink-centric designs. The push for RedCap and passive IoT within 5G-A suggests that massive, low-cost device onboarding will happen sooner than many 6G roadmaps assume. This underlines a broader trend toward AI-optimized, spectrum-flexible IoT infrastructure with stronger inclusion mandates.
Yang Chaobin, CEO of Huawei’s ICT Business Group, calls on the ICT industry to intensify efforts in ensuring everyone can access the fast track of AI.
Yang Chaobin, CEO of Huawei’s ICT Business Group, today called on the ICT industry to intensify efforts in ensuring everyone can access the fast track of AI at MWC Barcelona 2026. This call included recommendations on spectrum and network capabilities for scaling 5G-Advanced to support emerging AI applications, and an appeal to expand inclusive connectivity to bridge the digital divide in underserved regions.
In his keynote, Yang said:
“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. We must efficiently utilize new spectrum resources like U6 GHz to create new value for the industry while paving the way for evolution to 6G.”
As AI applications like text-to-video and AI-powered shopping become more and more common, token consumption will surge. The number of tokens consumed daily has grown 300 times over the past two years. Yang believes that this is creating enormous opportunities for the mobile industry.
However, these achievements have highlighted gaps that he says the industry must address. First, Networks must move away from being downlink-centric and deliver ultra-high bandwidth both uplink and downlink to support multimodal data exchanges between devices and clouds for AI. Second, networks must provide secure, reliable, and ultra-low-latency connectivity to support real-time AI collaboration and intelligent decision-making.
6G standardization is also already underway, and its standards are not expected to be frozenbeforeMarch 2029, according to 3GPP. Yang explained that the next five years will create a window of opportunity both for mobile AI services to boom and for the industry to create new value, so long as carriers invest effectively in 5G-A. This half-generation step between 5G and 6G is already playing a key rolein the industry, as it delivers 10 times higher uplink speeds, superior AI service experience, new IoT technologies like reduced capability (RedCap) and passive IoT, and AI for differentiated network capabilities.
5G-A has been commercially deployed at scale in more than 300 cities around the world, and its deployment is expanding to all frequency bands. New and refarmed spectrum resources are needed to make 5G-A even more capable, particularly in countries and regions where C-band resources are scarce. The U6 GHz band is becoming the key to unleashing this network potential.
After multiple rounds of discussion at the World Radiocommunication Conference (WRC), U6 GHz has been established as a mainstream frequency band for future mobile communications. 5G-A already supports U6 GHz, and mainstream device chips and the industry chain for 5G-A devices are also mature. This means 5G-A is ready for large-scale commercial use. Yang urged his speech attendees, all of whom are players in the telecom industry, to lean deeper into collaboration on 5G-A and frequency bands like U6 GHz to support surging AI service demand.
The second focus of Yang’s speech was the industry’s urgent need to address global imbalances in digital access. According to GSMA, more than 300 million people are not covered by a mobile broadband network. Over the past two decades, the communications industry has made great efforts to bridge the digital divide, but the rapid growth of AI seems to be widening this gap. Stronger digital inclusion drives and continued innovation are needed.
Yang encouraged further exploration of inclusive connectivity strategies like diversified frequency-band combinations and more cost-effective solutiondesign. Huawei itself has launched innovative all-scenario RuralStar solutions top rovide inclusive mobile access to 170 million people in 80 countries, as well as a number of additional inclusion programs. These include the DigiTruck classrooms providing rural students digital skills training in Kenya, inclusive financial services for rural residents in Bangladesh, and mobile medical services for villages in Argentina.
Wrapping up his keynote, Yang called on all industry players to continue working together on commercial 5G-A adoption at scale in order to address the pressing needs from emerging AI services and pave the way for evolution to 6G.
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