At MWC Barcelona 2025, the GSMA successfully hosted a summit themed "5G SA and the Path Forward." During the summit, Jeffrey Wu, President of Huawei Packet Core Network Domain, delivered a keynote speech highlighting the transformative potential of 5G Standalone (SA) core networks in the era of mobile Artificial Intelligence (AI). By integrating AI and enhanced connectivity capabilities, 5G SA core networks enable operators to unlock more business opportunities across to-Business (ToB), to-Consumer (ToC), and to-Home (ToH) markets.
Keynote speech delivered by Jeffrey Wu,
President of Packet Core Network Domain, Huawei Cloud Core Network Product Line
5G has been in commercial use for over five years. During this time, global operators have worked diligently and made remarkable achievements in 5G development. Currently, 30% of users worldwide are connected to 5G networks, enabling operators to boost their revenue through advancements in 5G technology. These achievements are largely driven by the commercial use of mature 5G SA technologies in various fields, unlocking the full potential of 5G SA networks.
The world has entered the AI era. The combination of AI and 5G network technologies has enhanced network capabilities, thereby creating more opportunities.
ToC Field: AI-powered Core Networks Help Operators Shift from Traffic Monetization to Experience Monetization
In the past, operators focused on traffic monetization, with revenue largely determined by the volume of consumed traffic. However, the rapid development of mobile Internet applications has reshaped the landscape. Nowadays, more and more services require differentiated and personalized experiences. Especially in business travel, live streaming, and gaming scenarios, users are becoming increasingly sensitive to the bandwidth, latency, and stability, and they are seeking differentiated service experiences. Differentiated network experiences are becoming increasingly important. Experience monetization has emerged as a hot topic within the industry and a key focus for MWC Barcelona 2025.
AI-powered 5G SA core networks can provide awareness to user service experiences in real time, enabling them to deliver tailored, differentiated experiences with precision. This opens up opportunities to monetize user experiences through flexible package offerings. For example, for high-end users, service assurance rights are added to their service packages, boosting their loyalty. For regular users, flexible add-on packages are available to provide different levels of service assurance.
ToB Field: Core Network Capabilities Are Significantly Enhanced, Allowing a Single Network to Satisfy All Application Requirements for Enterprises
While enterprise office and production networks have been around for some time, 5G private networks have only recently started to gain traction within enterprises. Consequently, the early adoption of 5G private networks has primarily focused on mobility-centric use cases, such as centralized device data collection, campus logistics, and mobile patrolling. Under this context, an enterprise typically operates with three distinct networks: a fixed Wi-Fi network supporting office operations, an Operational Technology (OT) network dedicated to production, and a mobile network designed for Information Technology (IT) applications. Such increasingly complex internal networks complicate network management and maintenance.
5G SA core networks have undergone continuous optimization for enterprise applications, yielding substantial enhancements to network capabilities. For instance, thanks to ultra-high bandwidth for TB-level transmission, deterministic latency by adopting 5G Time-Sensitive Networking (TSN) and Cross-layer Scheduling and Optimization (XSO) technologies, and diverse service isolation capabilities like slicing and traffic steering, a single 5G private network can fully meet all enterprise application requirements. This also provides operators with the ability to enrich vertical markets, unlocking more high-value opportunities.
ToH Field: Core Networks Go Beyond the Conventional Network Domain, Enabling Direct Cross-Domain Connections Between Mobile and Home Networks
Currently, smart home applications are experiencing explosive growth, resulting in increasingly frequent interactions between individuals and their homes. However, there are some challenges in maintaining these connections through the Internet. For example, remote access to home gaming consoles necessitates higher bandwidth and lower latency to ensure smooth gameplay and operations, thereby enhancing user experiences. Accessing files on home Network-Attached Storage (NAS) also demands higher bandwidth to realize on-demand file viewing. Additionally, when home cameras or smart TVs are used to communicate with family members, a more secure access mode is essential to protect user privacy.
On 5G SA core networks, enhanced network topology capabilities enable direct cross-domain connections between individuals and their homes. Lower latency, increased bandwidth, and strengthened security become available to these connections anytime, anywhere, meeting the new demands for such connection applications. Huawei has partnered with China Unicom Guangdong to deploy the individual-home connection solution commercially. The deployment has accelerated file downloads from home NAS by 60 times. Besides, Huawei has commenced pilot testing for mobile gaming in Saudi Arabia.
Looking ahead, the rapid development of AI technology will inevitably bring about more new applications, connections, and opportunities. It will also introduce greater challenges and place higher demands for mobile networks. 5G SA networks mark the start of the journey, paving the way for further evolution towards 5G-A and beyond, ultimately driving greater business success in the AI era.