This Week's Top Five Stories in the Telco Industry

How Huawei Wearables are Raising the Stakes for Telcos

Huawei has made a triumphant return to the professional running arena with its Now is Your Run global launch in Madrid, which places connected devices and mobile performance at the centre of its strategy.

The showcase introduces the HUAWEI WATCH GT Runner 2 alongside a broader portfolio of wearables that rely on robust telecoms infrastructure.

Alongside the hardware, Huawei names two-time Olympic champion Eliud Kipchoge as global ambassador for the HUAWEI WATCH GT Runner.

Amazon Leo and Vodafone: Boosting Connectivity with Rural 5G

Vodafone and Amazon Leo, Amazon’s low Earth orbit satellite broadband network, have signed an agreement to connect many more 4G and 5G mobile sites in remote areas to improve coverage for customers with limited connectivity across Europe and Africa.

The partnership centres on satellite backhaul, the link that connects a mobile base station to a core telecom network. Instead of relying on long fibre-based or fixed wireless links, Vodafone uses Amazon Leo’s satellite constellation to connect geographically dispersed sites in rural and hard-to-reach areas.

With Amazon Leo, Vodafone deploys 4G and 5G base stations more easily and affordably in previously unserved areas, without the time and expense of installing terrestrial connections.

EY Study: Why Telcos Must Prioritise Security

AI is bringing an age of advanced threats and the businesses of today are only as strong as their security teams. That is the message from EY’s Reimagining Industry Future study 2026, which places security as the leading attribute organisations look for in a provider, above price and performance.

The study's findings sharpen the focus on trust and compliance for telco companies. As enterprises accelerate investment in AI and analytics, they also place growing weight on data protection and cybersecurity. This could change how telcos position infrastructure and managed services in a competitive market.

“Several considerations feed into businesses’ technology investment plans and decisions, including new policies and laws governing data such as evolving cybersecurity requirements and emerging national digital sovereignty,” says Rob Atkinson, UK&I Technology, Media & Entertainment and Telecommunications Market Leader at EY.

Why Telcos are Commiting to AI-Native 6G with NVIDIA

NVIDIA joined a group of global telecom operators and infrastructure providers at MWC26 to set out a plan to build the next generation of wireless networks on AI-native and software-defined platforms.

Companies including Booz Allen, BT Group, Cisco, Deutsche Telekom, Ericsson, MITRE, Nokia, OCUDU Ecosystem Foundation, ODC, SK Telecom, SoftBank Corp. and T-Mobile join the initiative, which aims to shape how 6G networks are designed and deployed.

The companies state that the programme is all about open and trusted platforms for future wireless infrastructure. It also aligns with NVIDIA’s wider work with industry groups and governments in Europe, Japan, Korea, the UK and the US on research and development linked to 6G and AI.

Inside Tech Mahindra's AI Payment Platform for Telcos

As telecom operators face steady pressure to collect payments while also protecting customer relationships, Tech Mahindra is introducing a new platform aimed at easing that tension using automation and AI.

The company launched its ‘Agentic Payment Assistance & Collections Optimization’ solution at Mobile World Congress 2026. The enterprise platform, in the Amazon Web Services Marketplace, focuses on helping telecom providers manage payment risk, automate collections and overall improve customer engagement across their channels.

The platform uses agentic AI, which is designed to make decisions and take actions with limited input from employees, combined with cloud infrastructure and telecom integration. Tech Mahindra says the platform enables operators to test and deploy software tools including pre-built AI agents within a single environment.