What standards for drone tech?

IEC E-Tech

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As the market for drones rapidly expands, standardization organizations and technical committees need to cooperate to avoid duplication.

Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) – drones in other words – are becoming ubiquitous across multiple industrial and commercial sectors. Some pundits predict that by 2030 they will be as common in the sky as cars on the road. While estimates of market size vary, researchers agree on the accelerated growth of drones over the next decade. Forecasts of global UAV market capital range from USD 57,8 billion by 2030 to USD 68,64 billion by 2034.

Their utility is expanding in applications as diverse as capturing previously unattainable shots for filmmakers, aerial analysis and fertilization of crops, mail delivery or even airborne taxis, but there are several technological developments which are driving adoption.

Chief among these is the use of artificial intelligence (AI), integrated in a variety of ways to boost performance and capabilities. There are also developments in the ways to power drones to improve their main limitation, which is flight time.

AI improves precision

While drone technology has existed for decades, it has mainly, for reasons of cost, been concentrated in the hands of the military. That changed when lower-cost lightweight drones carrying cameras emerged around 2010. The launch of the Phantom series of drones by a Chinese developer from 2013 onwards catalyzed the consumer and commercial UAV market.

While high-quality image capture from these drones took off – especially in industries like filmmaking – “the maturity for other applications such as mapping, surveying and inspection was very low,” explains Hendrik Bödecker, CFO of a Hamburg-based drone industry market researcher and consultancy firm. “There was very limited software available to analyze this data. For applications such as mapping or surveying, you needed optimization software to extract accurate information.”

This has changed dramatically in recent years with AI and machine learning (ML) being used to analyze large volumes of data gathered from sensors, for example in mapping, spectral analysis and infrastructure inspections. “If you collect thousands of images during a bridge or power line inspection, traditional methods would require inspectors to manually review everything. Today, ML models can identify anomalies such as corrosion or structural defects based on trained image datasets,” Bodecker explains.

In precision agriculture, for example, the UAV, sensor and software package of one US developer can analyze up to 15 spectral bands over farmland. “AI can dramatically speed up post-processing, identifying where crops need more water, fertilizer  or pest intervention,” explains Bill Irby, the company’s CEO. “Removing humans from the analysis loop allows for faster decision-making, which improves yields and supports global food security.”

Applying AI to video streams for surveillance or analysis “can significantly enhance advanced target recognition, helping operators identify and classify objects on the ground more quickly and efficiently,” Irby adds. Ten years ago, mapping accuracy might have been around ten centimetres. Today, thanks largely to software improvements, accuracy can be one centimetre or better.

A claimed world’s first AI-powered drone combining optical and electronic fog-penetration technologies is claimed to boost clarity by up to 50% in rain or fog. However, Bödecker notes that this type of AI “is really software-based data analytics and is independent of whether the data comes from a drone, a crane or another platform”.

The IEC and ISO have formed a joint technical committee, SC 42,  to standardize multiple AI requirements and applications. One of its standards series, ISO/IEC 5259, deals with the quality of data for analytics and machine learning.

Autonomous flying not ready for take-off

Software development is also a key enabler for programming flights and controlling drones remotely, as long as there is connectivity. For beyond-visual-line-of-sight (BVLOS) operations, users must fully trust the programmed flight path from point A to point B. This is where the first major AI challenge appears and it has to do with unmanned aerial systems (UAS) for controlling the drone in the air. Some companies claim to have intelligent onboard communication or decision-making, but this is often limited to basic computer vision, such as obstacle detection. Even then, a drone may not be able to decide independently whether to move left or right in complex environments.

“Many companies claim to have ‘AI drones,’ but that is not really true,” says Bödecker. “Drones are not yet capable of autonomously flying from A to B beyond visual line of sight without human oversight. If you are inspecting a tower beyond a mountain, for example, you still need connectivity, visual contact or a human operator. The idea of fully pilotless commercial missions is not yet a reality – it remains hype.”

The industry is moving toward autonomous, pilot-free operation, but according to Irby, there will always need to be a human overseeing operations. Even so, AI can help. “Whether in Europe, the US or elsewhere, AI tools can help drones navigate approved flight corridors and remain within permitted parameters such as altitude and speed, while avoiding restricted areas,” Irby says. “That kind of capability would greatly enhance global drone operations.”

One key concept is “one-to-many” control, where a single operator manages multiple drones. AI enables that by handling navigation, compliance and routine decision-making. “From a business perspective, this increases efficiency and reduces costs,” Irby continues. “That said, regulators like the Federal Aviation Administration in the US (FAA) or the European Aviation Safety agency (EASA) will likely continue to require a human pilot ultimately responsible for safety. It will be a long time before pilots are fully removed from the loop.”

Technology that is autonomous can be confused with automated tech. So-called swarm or teaming technology is one example. In theory, swarm intelligence would involve drones dynamically communicating and coordinating with each other in real time. This is not the same as pre-programmed drones (as used in light shows) where hundreds or thousands of drones are coordinated.

“There are proof-of-concept demonstrations, but no widely deployed, proven systems,” says Bödecker. “Regulation is also a major barrier. For now, swarm technology remains largely hyped outside of limited military research.”

How to solve the flight time challenge

Flight time is widely considered one of the main limitations of drone development. This is closely tied to battery technology, weight and power efficiency. Most drones – over 99% – are battery powered (typically lithium-ion), estimates Bödecker.

The issue with batteries is power density. The more energy you can pack into the same weight, the longer a drone can fly. The challenge is always balancing the added weight of batteries against performance gains.

Irby claims his systems currently fly for up to 90 minutes. If battery density were doubled, flight time could theoretically double as well. Most drones (around 97% according to Bödecker) use multi-rotors and operate similarly to helicopters. They can take off and land vertically, then move horizontally once airborne making them a good option when flying in tight spaces. However, “multi-rotors consume a lot of power, especially for hovering and take-off, which limits flight time,” Bödecker says.

With a fixed-wing aircraft, once in forward motion, the wings generate lift through airflow and pressure differentials. According to Irby, whose products use a fixed-wing design, this “dramatically improves efficiency”.

Nonetheless, Bödecker is sceptical of most manufacturer claims. In real-world conditions (when factors like wind drag and payload are taken into account), most drones achieve around 25 to 35 minutes of flight time, he says, even if manufacturers claim up to 50 minutes under ideal conditions. In practice, this limitation is often acceptable because many commercial use cases do not require longer flight times.

For applications such as power line inspections, longer flight times could be useful. In these cases, drones powered by two-stroke combustion engines can fly for up to two hours and carry heavy payloads. However, they are expensive – often costing over EUR 100 000 – require significant maintenance, are very loud and face regulatory challenges due to weight and noise.

Standards for hybrid systems

Hybrid systems combining batteries and/or solar photovoltaic (PV) cells with combustion engines are a solution to this: battery power being used to reduce noise during take-off and landing before switching to a combustion engine in flight.

Recognizing the need for specific guidance documents in this area, the technical committee which prepares standards for solar PV systems has formed a project team, IEC TC 82 PT 600, on vehicle-integrated photovoltaic systems (VIPV) and is planning to develop two new technical reports in this area.

The safety and performance of lithium-ion cells used in batteries are standardized by the IEC. The IEC 62660 series on secondary lithium-ion cells for the propulsion of electric vehicles (EVs) is a three-part series which covers performance testing, reliability tests and safety requirements. EV battery packs themselves are standardized by ISO 12405­2.

Hybrid fuel- and electric-powered designs can be more suitable for larger aircraft, especially those operating on conventional aviation fuel since electrical systems can extend flight time. Hybrid power configurations can also benefit applications requiring heavier payloads, such as the Hydra 400, which uses electric rotors and jet turbines for lift and propulsion of payloads up to 400 kg.

Hydrogen is a way forward

Due to the high energy density of hydrogen, hydrogen-powered drones are another emerging technology permitting longer flights with heavier payloads than battery technology. A claimed “world’s first” commercial hydrogen fuel-cell power pack for drones was launched last year in a design which retains batteries for redundancy. Meanwhile, a Ukrainian developer behind a combustion-engine drone capable of flying for 28 hours in military operations recently reworked the design with hydrogen fuelling an electric motor. While this cut flight times in half, its advantages include a “negligible thermal signature”, meaning it avoids being detected by infrared sensors.

The main challenges with hydrogen are infrastructure (for refuelling, for instance), storage weight (think massive gas tanks) and cost. The technology is improving, and more manufacturers are adopting it, but it remains a niche solution for now. Some standards for hydrogen applications which could be useful for the overall safety of hydrogen powered drones exist.

As hydrogen is odourless and invisible, leaks can be difficult to detect and thus potentially dangerous. IEC TC 31 prepares standards for equipment used in explosive and hazardous atmospheres. To ensure global compliance and safety with TC 31 standards, IECEx, the IEC Conformity Assessment (CA) System which oversees hydrogen-related certifications, is expanding its scope relating to testing and certification in the area of hydrogen technologies. The CA system has partnered with many other international organizations, including  ISO, establishing formal liaisons with ISO TC/197, relating to testing and certification in the area of hydrogen technologies, and more recently with IEC TC 105 for fuel cells. This TC has published IEC 62282-4-202  which covers the performance test methods of fuel cell power systems for unmanned aircraft. This encompasses start-up, shutdown, power output, continuous running time, warning and monitoring, and environmental compatibility among other areas.

More standards are needed

According to a report by the British Standards Institution (BSI), there are over 650 standards applicable to UAVs/UAS, many of which were originally developed for manned aviation and are either directly transferable or will require adaptation. Further harmonization is needed to fully address drone design, testing and operation.

The IEC has two technical committees, IEC TC 97 and IEC TC 107, specifically dedicated to the aviation sector, which still have to embark on specific standards for drones. But it is quite probable that many of theirs standards can be adapted to this rapidly growing market.

However, “the drone value chain is perhaps the most diverse and complicated of any industry or consortium that exists in the world,” warns Kishor Narang, principal design strategist and architect at an India-based consultancy which leads multiple global standardization initiatives at the IEC, ISO, ITU and IETF, notably in the area of smart cities and EVs. “Agreeing on common harmonized standards is a major hurdle for all of us”, he adds.

The principal categories where standards could help shape the sector are related to safety, public acceptance and reinforcing regulations. Specific subtopics that need addressing include operational risk assessment (ORA), maintenance, data capture and processing.

“Some drone stakeholders confuse regulation and standards,” says Narang. “Globally, there is a lack of awareness of existing standards and standards being developed across the aviation and industry sectors. A perceived lack of clarity around safety regulations creates uncertainty around priorities. For instance, there is a potential divergence between the US and Europe on some key technical standards, for example for BVLOS.”

Narang also highlights duplication of standards and best-practice activity across organizations within industry groups such as construction. In addition, some regulations are only applicable to the outdoor use of UAS. He stresses that “a sophisticated management system is desperately needed as drones become more widely used. The most basic functions of a drone management system are creating, editing and dispatching missions, keeping track of the real-time status of each drone and storing, analyzing data in a structured format.”

In addition to his many roles in the IEC, Narang is an expert within a recently formed IEC System Committee which deals with electrified transport, and some experts think it should take on the job of coordinating standardization in that space. Whatever the outcome, the need for cooperation between standards organizations is paramount.

 

Public transport is going autonomous

 IEC E-Tech

Public transport systems are gradually becoming autonomous, despite the many challenges, including for standards developers.

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Cities across the world are struggling with increased traffic, “resulting in billions of dollars in lost time, wasted fuel, and excess carbon emissions”, according to this provider of data and insight into worldwide transport systems. One of the solutions could well be autonomous public transport systems, which city planners can organize to reduce traffic with little requirement for added personnel.

Driverless urban rail links such as those in Kobe, Japan; Lille, France; and London Docklands have been operational since the 1980s, with dozens of metro networks in cities from Doha to Lahore and Santiago following suit. In recent years, autonomous trams and driverless bus services have been enabled thanks to advances in the ways computers process data from cameras, sensors and scanners in response to live conditions.

Driverless transport will soon involve air as well as surface and underground systems. Advanced air mobility (AAM) vehicles such as air taxis are not yet mainstream, but developments are happening quickly. For example, there are plans for air taxi services between Heathrow and central London.

The pros and cons of autonomous public transport

There are four major constraints which impact the viability of autonomous public transport systems. They include the amount of investment required, regulatory hurdles, infrastructure readiness and cultural acceptance.

“These constraints vary, depending on the economy in question,” explains Ripin Kalra, a smart cities specialist inside the IEC and Senior Fellow (Participatory Urban Resilience & Environmental Assessment and Climate Policy) at the University of Westminster. “In labour-intensive economies, job creation may be prioritized. In others, particularly those facing labour shortages, autonomous transport is a way of addressing workforce gaps, in addition to being an answer to traffic jams.”

Human fatigue is also a major safety risk. Urban transport drivers face a lot of stress and abuse. “Many report harassment from passengers,” says Kalra. “Autonomous systems can operate longer, more consistently and without fatigue-related errors. Fleet utilization increases significantly when you remove human constraints like working hours, illness or personal commitments.”

There’s also a shortage of trained drivers in some countries. Germany is forecast to have a shortfall of 80 000 bus drivers by 2030. Trains, trams or buses often operate up to 15 hours a day, seven days a week, but drivers cannot. “Labour is often the most expensive component of any system and removing or reducing labour costs can improve the economic viability of public transport systems, which rely on public funding to operate,” Kalra adds.

Infrastructure is the biggest challenge

That said, building the infrastructure required for such systems remains the most expensive and complex barrier. Automated transport depends on data centres, high-speed connectivity (such as 5G), artificial intelligence (AI) processing and constant connectivity – all of which consume energy and water. Even scaling electric vehicles (EVs) has strained power grids in many countries. Automated transport adds further demands.

“Scaling up remains the major challenge,” says Kalra. “Many cities still face a deficit in basic public transport infrastructure. Some are wealthy and able to invest; others struggle to fund basic services. Birmingham, for instance, has faced severe financial constraints and must prioritize essentials like waste collection and education before considering major innovation projects, such as automated transport.”

While Glasgow, home to the world’s third-oldest metro network, is rolling out driverless underground trains this year, London, which opened the world’s first subway in 1863, has abandoned similar plans, citing cost. The London city mayor said the cost to upgrade just three sections of London’s vast Tube network would be GBP 20 billion. Opposition from the drivers‘ trade union, over fear of job losses, was another concern.

Standards can help drive things forward, though, by making sure the tech is interoperable and works safely – reducing costs in the medium term. The IEC and ISO joint committee for information technology, JTC 1, established a subcommittee which publishes many of the foundational standards for the use of AI. SC 42 has published ISO/IEC TR 24030, a technical report which looks at many AI use cases, including transport in smart cities. It notably addresses how AI can be used for enhancing traffic management efficiency and infraction detection accuracy and for traffic signal optimization based on multi-source data fusion.

Public acceptance of automated systems is cultural and varies by country. In wealthier nations, regulatory scrutiny, liability concerns and public expectations around safety are much higher and that can slow deployment. “In contrast, some developing nations are more open to experimentation and ‘leapfrogging’ to the latest technology, partly as a statement of modernization,” Kalra describes.

Perceptions of automated transport can shift quickly. In San Francisco, for example, autonomous vehicles are now seen by the majority of passengers as significantly safer than human drivers sharing the road.

Trials with trams and trains

A section of Oslo is in the middle of a year-long test of a tram fitted with computer vision. Supported by EU-Rail, the tram is operated remotely using technologies developed under the EU-funded research initiative FP2-R2DATO. The EU Rail initiative has already helped launch Europe’s first passenger-carrying driverless train operating on a 24 km stretch of open railway in the Czech Republic.

Both developments are significant in shifting the rollout of autonomous train and tram systems away from insulated sections of track, such as airport shuttle services, onto networks with greater variables of potential incidents, such as level crossings.

The EU lags behind some other parts of the world when it comes to autonomous trains, notably China. In the country, where the Wuhu Rail Transit monorail has been operating at Grade of Automation 4 for five years, the state owned rolling stock manufacturer CRRC has debuted a claimed world first driverless train operating at speeds of 200 km/h. (For more on the various grades of automation based on the Society of Automative Engineers (SAE), read Capturing data for autonomous vehicles | IEC e-tech).

Standards can help

Depots, where trains are stored, maintained and refuelled, are relatively straightforward to automate. Branch lines, which cover about 30% of total track mileage in Europe, have lower maximum speeds, more homogeneous traffic (than main lines) and simpler regulatory requirements, making automation more manageable.

“There is still a ‘not invented here’ mindset in parts of the industry, but there is also growing recognition that modern technology can significantly improve how things are done,” explains Alex Haag, CEO and Co-Founder of an autonomous train systems developer based in Strasbourg and Munich. There are parallels with the automotive industry, which was widely seen as an old, closed industry where startups couldn’t innovate, before perception changed with the launch of Tesla. Rail is at a similar inflection point.

“Regulation doesn’t prevent innovation, but it does require that things be done carefully and systematically,” says Haag. “At some point, innovation has to move from theory into the real world, which means dealing with hardware, safety certification and regulatory processes.”

That is also where standards come in. IEC TC 9 is the IEC technical committee set up to develop standards pertaining to electric equipment for railways. Different levels of automation are specified in IEC 62290-1. This TC 9 standard establishes fundamental concepts for urban transport management and control systems. Grade of Automation 4, for instance, applies to trains that run automatically at all times, including door closing, obstacle and emergency situation detection. TC 9 also publishes IEC 62267, which specifies the safety requirements for automated urban guided transport. “Many cities simply don’t know where to begin,” says Kalra. “Standards can provide clarity and reduce risk.”

Autonomous buses are on track

The first self-driving buses are now departing to and from Rotterdam The Hague Airport, shuttling passengers on public roads, albeit a short distance, to the Meijersplein metro station. It is one of a number of Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) Level 4 proof of concepts now live. Others include a 4 km route between two Gothenburg stations; a 5,3 km route connecting a university campus in Michigan; a 2,5 km route with nine stops in Arbon, Switzerland; and a 7 km stretch of a district in Hannover with 13 bus stops, 10 traffic lights and “multiple complex manoeuvres”, including roundabouts, side and parallel parking, and pedestrian crossings.

Research suggests there are more autonomous bus trials on city streets than autonomous train trials. Flexibility and cost are the key reasons. “Once you invest in rail tracks and infrastructure, you’re locked into that route,” says Kalra. “Buses, by contrast, can be redeployed to match demand. If a bus fails, the system continues operating; if a train fails, it can disrupt the entire line.”

Buses also have lower capital costs and shorter build times compared to rail or light rail systems. With technology in this space evolving rapidly, it is easier to upgrade or replace a bus fleet than fixed rail infrastructure. “Rail works extremely well in high-demand corridors, but buses offer adaptability, resilience and lower investment risk,” Kalra says.

Problems of integration and interoperability

“Interoperability is crucial,” says Kalra. “If systems communicate with one another, waiting times can be reduced and capacity adjusted dynamically. Ideally, transport networks should respond intelligently to passenger flows.”

However, full integration increases cyber security risks. “The more connected systems are, the more vulnerable they become to hacking or malicious interference,” he says. “So integration must be balanced with strong security standards.”

There is, however, no overarching framework for autonomous transportation as a complete system. “Today, multimodal transport systems in cities are fragmented,” says Kishor Narang, Vice Chair of the IEC Systems Committee for Smart Cities. “There are many initiatives and good intentions, but very few cities have a truly harmonized, end-to-end transportation system. If that foundation isn’t in place, integrating autonomous vehicles becomes an even bigger challenge.”

The vision may be compelling, and the technology is progressing, but cities are still waiting for individual technologies and systems to mature before attempting large-scale integration into multimodal transport networks.

“Cities are systems of systems,” says Narang, who is also Principal Design Strategist and Architect at an India-based consultancy. “Technology alone can’t solve these challenges, and neither can standards or policy on their own. What’s required is the integration of multiple technologies, transport modes and ecosystems into a coherent whole – and that’s a very complex task.”

 

MWC 2026: Telcos confront the hard economics of 5G

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With global 5G coverage now surpassing 50% but consumer willingness to pay barely shifting, operators at MWC argued that the next chapter must be defined by utilisation.

The mobile industry expects to generate U$11.3 trillion worldwide by 2030 but telco executives at Mobile World Congress are still concerned that their networks will end up a dumb pipe.

“Telco networks are the digital backbone of the economy,” said Christel Heydemann, CEO, Orange at the event in Barcelona. “We are everywhere, we are essential, and yet for years we have been called a utility, a commodity. When a network goes down it is never just technical. Public services, hospitals and factories stall. We power the system but we barely shape its value.”

Calling the mobile industry “the nervous system of the digital world” Vivek Badrinath,  Director General of trade body GSMA, said, “Today more than anything the lack of scale is hindering operators from making the necessary investment. If we want to realise the full promise of 5G and make a healthy foundation for a future 6G we must first and foremost complete the rollout of 5G.”

5G Advanced is the latest and final phase of 5G’s implementation and a critical one if next-generation services built on new spectrum under 6G are to be realised.

However, the gap between countries pressing ahead with it and those with slower rollout is widening. “In China, they have factories and hospitals running on 5G Advanced,” said Badrinath. “These are not just proof of concept. These are real life services in commercial use. But here in Europe we are losing ground. There is much more to be done to unlock the potential of 5G.”

Operators look for 5G payback

Audience polling during an event on monetising 5G highlighted the same tension— strong confidence in the technology, but uncertainty about the business model.

“With 5G standalone networks, speeds of over 1,000 megabits per second are possible under ideal conditions,” said Mani Manimohan, Head of Digital Infrastructure Policy and Regulation at the GSMA. “The mobile industry has achieved extraordinary technological progress, but many operators are still struggling to translate that technological brilliance into incremental revenue.”

In the first phase of 5G, the main targets were spectrum allocation, coverage, and faster deployment. Today, 5G covers more than half of the world’s population, and in some regions, coverage reaches 80–90%. This progress came at the cost of very high capital expenditure. Collectively, operators invested around U$250bn per year in network infrastructure and devices, according to GSMA.

The question being posed by operators at MWC is whether the industry needs a shift in thinking — one where innovation is based on connectivity and new services, rather than simply squeezing more bits out of radio waves.

“We are moving from a phase defined by rollout to one defined by utilisation,” said  Manimohan.  “The next chapter of 5G will not be about coverage. It will be about capability, experience and new revenue.”

Ericsson’s November 2025 mobility research suggested that the shift is already underway with around 65 differentiated 5G connectivity services in the market.

“These broadly fall into two categories: moment-based services and always-on premium services,” explained Marie Hogan, part of Ericsson’s 5G to 6G transition team.

The first is designed for short periods of high demand. “You might be an influencer at a concert and want to optimise your uplink for that moment, or a gamer who wants ultra-low latency for a specific session,” she said. “In those cases, customers may be willing to pay for better performance in a certain location or time window.”

The second category involves permanent or guaranteed service levels, often aimed at enterprises.  “Premium services are always on,” she said. “A business may want optimised fixed wireless access, or a critical service may need priority connectivity at all times. It’s not always about speed — sometimes it’s about reliability or latency.”

The journey from selling raw data to digital services

Jakob Greiner, VP European Affairs at Deutsche Telekom said the industry had long promised advanced 5G use cases, and some are now becoming reality. “Five or ten years ago we showed slides about remote surgery and ultra-reliable networks,” he said. “Now we are starting to see real applications. That gives me optimism.”

However, he stressed that traditional best-effort internet will remain the foundation. “We are not replacing the normal internet. We are complementing it with specialised connectivity where it makes sense.”

Examples include cloud-gaming offers using network slicing, currently available to some DT customers at no extra cost. “From a European perspective, we are moving more slowly than in the US, but the direction is clear.”

He pointed to high-density environments such as stadiums as a clear future use case. “Thousands of fans, journalists and emergency teams all need reliable connectivity at the same time. In those situations, guaranteed performance has real value, and customers may be willing to pay for it.”

Kaan Terzioğlu, CEO of VEON Group, a digital operator based in Dubai, urged peers to “stop selling SMS and gigabytes of minutes” and instead provide “meaningful connectivity” services to customers.

“It means becoming a banking service and an entertainment service or providing an online consultation with your doctor,” he said. “Do that, and you gain loyalty and people spend more time and money with you.”

The real value now, he said, lay in offering services with “augmented intelligence”. VEON for instance is developing local language models in Bengali, Ukrainian, Punjabi and Uzbek rather than English, French or German because that’s what different populations deserve.

“Augmented Intelligence is going to reshape how humanity will progress,” Terzioğlu said. “The reality is that ‘homo augmentus’ is going to assassinate homo sapiens. In ten years or maybe sooner we will have the ability to organically connect to data [via our brains].”

“AI can augment our skills and make us very successful,” he said, “But the responsibility for shaping it is ours alone. The value systems we have built as humans are our only insurance.”

According to GSMA Intelligence consumer survey, the average premium consumers say they are willing to pay for 5G is around 5% and has remained at that level since 2020. The largest group of respondents isn’t willing to pay anything extra at all.

“Part of the reason lies in the limits of the consumer proposition,” says Matthew Iji, head of forecasting and modelling, GSMA Intelligence. “Many operators tried to monetise 5G through speed-base tiers and premium plans, only to discover willingness to pay for raw performance is capped.”

There was also an expectation 5G would have a single defining killer app. “Among those consumers who are not planning to upgrade, the most common reason given is that the existing network already does everything they need it to,” Iji said.

This leads to a more uncomfortable question: do consumers still care about the generational label at all? For many the answer is probably no. They care about what they can do – stream work connect consume rather than which radio technology happens to be underneath.

If the first five years of 5G were about engineering, the next five will be about economics; The answer as to whether 5G was truly worth it will ultimately be written not in speed tests or coverage maps but in balance sheets.

Breaking the habit

Operators may want us to spend more time using their digital services but Aaron Paul, the Breaking Bad actor, argued for less reliance on our devices.

“I’m not anti-technology but I love that some States [in the U.S] are banning smartphones in schools,” he said in the keynote ‘Technology, Addiction and Balance’. “When I was a kid, they’d never let me bring in a TV and a game console. But now kids bring a device with access to everything. It’s not just unhealthy and unsafe.”

Paul is backing the Light Phone, a new device with much of the functionality of a regular mobile but stripped of adverts, alerts and algorithms that keep us scrolling.

Kaiwei Tang, co‑founder and CEO of LIGHT, explained, “The mobile business model depends on engagement, but it’s hurting people’s well‑being. After 10–15 years of smartphones and social media, we should have spent more time understanding the tools we were creating. Now the same thing is happening with AI. Tools should improve human life - save us time so we can be creative, enjoy our relationships, and live fully.”

Operators shift from selling connectivity to selling experience

Streaming Media

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The global mobile industry may be the “nervous system” of the digital world but its perennial moan to regulators, governments and policy makers is that network operators are never sufficiently valued.

At Mobile World Congress, Barcelona, industry leaders are now exploring greater connectivity by linking cell phones with satellite systems and by hoping to finally earn revenue from 5G.

In the opening keynote, Vivek Badrinath, Director General of mobile industry lobby group GSMA said, “Over the last 20 years the mobile industry has seen incredible growth. We have become the essential nervous system of the digital world. To maintain this trajectory we must complete the 5G rollout.”

5G, he added, is the modernisation of society itself. “In a future where cities think for themselves, where factories run autonomously, where robots are part of daily life investing in 5G Standalone is essential. Countries that hesitate will fall behind.”

Despite what some see as the remarkable technological progress with 5G, the challenge of turning that innovation into sustainable revenue is becoming increasingly urgent.

“We're at the tipping point for 5G in the U.S.,” said John Stankey, Chairman and CEO, AT&T in a keynote. “One of the things that’s often brushed over is what 5G did in the consumer space to make more effective use of spectral efficiency and [therefore] opening up new markets. For just simple things like fixed broadband that has driven an awful lot of innovation for consumer and business customers.

He said 5G Standalone had started to emerge and become more prevalent. “We're seeing hybrid public and private networks (where the private network is sliced for exclusivity).

“Whether it be film studio lots or at a sporting venue where they are able to connect video cameras and actively get on a network and move data without restraint. I think we're over the hump on those types of things now, and so innovation can start taking people to greater levels.”

Stankey views the telco industry and AT&T’s business as being fixed and mobile. “From a customer's perspective, there's only one internet,” he said. “They don't want to buy it multiple times. They'd like one relationship to get on the internet and if you're going to meet that expectation with a customer, you've got to be really good at running multiple access technologies off that fiber infrastructure. I think that's the next play, at least in the United States.”

Mobile operators are beginning to move from selling basic connectivity to offering performance-based services, but the transition is still in its early stages, according to executives speaking during a policy and technology session hosted by the GSMA.

Ericsson’s November 2025 mobility research has evidence that the shift is already underway with around 65 differentiated connectivity services in the market.

Despite this, Verizon’s William Johnson (SVP & Deputy GC of Regulatory Affairs & International Public Policy), said that fixed wireless access (FWA) remains the most proven 5G monetisation model to date.

“A few years ago, this business didn’t exist for us. Now we have about 5.7 million customers, and it’s a multi-billion-dollar revenue stream every year,” Johnson said. “It’s not just about adding new customers — it also helps with convergence. Customers who take both mobile and home broadband are more satisfied and less likely to churn.”

The introduction of standalone 5G cores and network slicing is also changing how fixed wireless can be used.

“In the past, businesses often saw fixed wireless as a backup connection,” he said.
“With slicing and service-level agreements, it can now be a primary service, even for enterprises.”

Mani Manimohan, Head of Digital Infrastructure Policy and Regulation at the GSMA, noted, “There is already talk about 6G, but we still need to make 5G work. The shift from selling connectivity to selling experience has started, but it will take time. The real challenge now is proving that differentiated connectivity can create lasting value for operators, businesses and consumers.”

Space: the next mobile frontier

Despite the growth of terrestrial networks, nearly one-third of the world’s population remains unconnected or underserved.

Gwynne Shotwell, President and COO of SpaceX, speaking at MWC2026, said: “Satellite connectivity is no longer a niche capability. It is becoming a core layer of global communications infrastructure.”

The company’s satellite communications division, Starlink, began by delivering broadband to homes and businesses and is now expanding to direct mobile connectivity. The goal Shotwell said, was to make global communication available everywhere, on any device.

“Connectivity is not only about entertainment,” she said. “Access to reliable internet enables banking, education, healthcare, emergency response, and economic development, particularly in remote or disaster-affected regions.”

Since the first launches in 2020 the company now operates thousands of satellites in low-Earth-orbit (LEO) capable of delivering broadband connectivity almost anywhere on the planet.

Starlink Mobile, the company’s direct-to-cell satellite service, launched 18 months ago. Itr allows unmodified smartphones to connect directly to satellites when terrestrial coverage is unavailable.

“When we started the direct-to-cell program, about 20% of land area in the United States and about 90% of Earth’s surface had no terrestrial mobile coverage,” explained Michael Nicolls, SVP of Starlink. “Starlink Mobile fills those gaps.

“The first generation of the global constellation includes about 150 satellites, and we are now operating across five continents. By geographic coverage, we are the largest 4G provider in the world. We have 10 million active users every month and expect that number to exceed 25 million by the end of 2026.”

Starlink Mobile works by linking through lasers to the broader Starlink constellation. The satellites fly at about 350 km above the earth, to optimize the link between the satellite and the user device.

While the current system supports text messaging, basic data services, voice, and video calls, the next phase of the program, due to go live in mid-2027, is designed to deliver “true broadband performance” directly to smartphones.

“The new satellites will include larger phased-array antennas, higher bandwidth, and advanced 5G non-terrestrial network standards,” said Nicolls. “In optimal conditions, the system is expected to deliver speeds comparable to terrestrial mobile broadband, potentially exceeding 100 Mbps.”

To deploy the constellation at scale, SpaceX will use Starship, its reusable heavy-lift launch vehicle. Once launches begin, global coverage could be established within months, he said, with additional satellites added to increase capacity over time. The constellation will also extend coverage to polar regions, one of the least connected parts of the world.

“The long-term vision is a hybrid network combining terrestrial infrastructure with satellite systems,” said Shotwell. “Terrestrial networks will remain essential for high-density urban coverage, but satellites can provide reach, resilience, and flexibility. They can connect remote regions, restore service during disasters, and supply additional capacity during major events or network congestion.”

Starlink was not the only company talking about filling in the gaps in the mobile network. Vodafone Group struck a deal with Amazon’s LEO constellation to extend 4G and 5G coverage in remote parts of Europe and Africa. Vodafone also joined with AST SpaceMobile’s joint venture Satellite Connectivity Europe to launch an open access direct-to-device satellite broadband provider for European operators.  Orange and Telefónica have also joined the initiative.

“There is a new frontier in the sky,” said Margherita Della Valle, CEO, Vodafone Group who was joined on stage by former ISS astronaut Tim Peake.

She urged for international regulations to guarantee safety and security in space.

“It is hard making anything in space work. The real issue though is that our new frontier is stuck in a wild west state. With new tensions across power blocks we do not know how to deal with the sky which is a vast expanse across borders. If we want to make the most of what technology has to offer we need to join forces across operators, manufacturers and regulators.”

Paramount Skydance and Warner Bros. Discovery Reshape Streaming’s Power Balance

Streaming Media

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The proposed merger of Skydance, Paramount Global with Warner Bros. Discovery is being framed through the usual lenses — debt loads, political sensitivities, and regulatory scrutiny in the U.S. and Europe. But the real story is simpler and more strategic: this is a scale play built around intellectual property.

 

If approved, the $111 billion deal would unite two major Hollywood studios and one of the deepest content libraries in the industry.

 

“For all the regulatory noise, this deal ultimately comes back to the fundamentals of the entertainment business,” says Ed Barton, Research Director at Caretta Research. “Control of premium IP, global distribution, maximise engagement and build scale that compounds.”

 

Paramount’s franchises (Star Trek, Mission: Impossible, Transformers, and SpongeBob SquarePants among them) combined with HBO’s premium positioning create a formidable global streaming proposition.

 

“A supercharged Max platform (bolstered by Paramount IP) would immediately become a more credible challenger to Netflix — not necessarily in raw scale on day one, but in depth and variety of monetizable franchises,” says Barton. “And while Netflix loses access to Warner Bros. IP in this scenario, it is far from vulnerable. It remains the most effective company in the market at monetising IP at global scale.”

 

Media analyst Paolo Pescatore agrees that Netflix is no loser. “The practical outcome is Paramount becomes the clear front-runner, while Netflix takes the termination economics and keeps its powder dry. Netflix is prioritising capital discipline over scale at any price. On this basis, it's a really smart move.”

 

Paramount hasn’t yet clarified whether it plans to run HBO as a separate entity or integrate it into Paramount+. There are existing distribution and licensing deals in place, so consumers likely won’t see immediate changes.

 

Guy Petty, the Founder of Fulcrum Media and a former Paramount executive says Paramount will need time to figure out exactly what it wants to do with assets like HBO.

 

“I believe they’ll keep both major brands alive. HBO is an extremely strong brand, and Paramount is as well. Paramount has made solid progress with its streaming services, so it probably makes sense to maintain both platforms rather than consolidate them too quickly,” he told BBC Radio 4.

 

A combined HBO/HBO+ (120m global subs) and Paramount Plus (78m) would leapfrog Disney+ (132m) but fall short of Netflix 325m global base. WBD said this week it expected to amass 160m streaming subs by end of the year. But it is engagement, not subscribers, that is the new battleground.

 

“The streaming growth story has shifted,” Barton says. “In most developed markets, subscriber growth is flattening. The new strategic focus is engagement: How do you increase time spent? How do you deepen franchise attachment? How do you maximise lifetime value per user?”

 

A reinforced HBO/Paramount competing with Netflix at global scale raises uncomfortable questions for Disney, Amazon and NBCUniversal (Comcast). Disney+ may dominate with younger audiences but a combined HBO/Paramount library is would beat it in volume and diversity.

 

“These companies will be asking themselves: are we comfortable sitting in third, fourth, or fifth place while Netflix’s scale advantage grows even larger?” says Barton. “There may soon be a significant gap between the top two and the rest and we’re likely past the stage where companies can close that gap through organic growth alone. To catch up, you may have to acquire something meaningful. If you own attractive U.S.-facing IP, someone is almost certainly running the numbers on you.”

 

Not good news for Hollywood

 

While there may be fewer qualms among theater owners (or filmmakers like James Cameron who has been vocal in his concern) that the deal with two legendary studios will be disastrous” for cinema the merger could negatively impact the movie production ecosystem on the West Coast.

 

“There’s significant overlap, and to make this work efficiently in the American film industry, there will almost certainly be job losses,” Barton believes. “There will be ripple effects, and they’ll take time to play out. Ultimately, though, what the market needs is competition — particularly competition between scaled entities capable of investing heavily in great content.

That’s where the real story lies.”

 

Barton thinks the streaming wars are entering a new phase — one defined less by land-grab subscriber growth and more by scaled competition between a smaller number of deeply capitalised entertainment platforms.

 

“In that environment, size and library depth matter more than ever,” he says. “Let’s be clear: bringing together overlapping studio operations in the U.S. will mean rationalisation. To make the numbers work, duplication across production, marketing, distribution and corporate functions will have to be addressed. In other words, there will be job losses.”

 

Cable biz still delivers

 

The bid is for all of WBD including its cable assets. Netflix may not have wanted to get into that business but Paramount with its legacy TV distribution should be able to keep revenue in the black.

 

“Don’t write off legacy TV just yet,” Barton says. “Linear television is in structural decline particularly among under-45s in the U.S but the story isn’t uniform.

 

“Local broadcast, especially regional news and community programming, remains resilient. It delivers something that streamers like Netflix, YouTube, or TikTok cannot: trusted, community-focused connection. Broadcasters are still investing in live production technology. That aligns with advertisers’ growing interest in targeting local audiences through trusted regional brands.”

 

One credible strategy, he suggests, would be spinning off U.S. broadcast networks into a separate entity— “grouping high-growth assets together while managing slower-growth businesses independently.

 

“These are still large, revenue-generating businesses producing hundreds of millions of dollars annually. Given some of the trends in local broadcasting, there may be a slightly more optimistic outlook than people assume.”

 

Concern for U.S news gathering

 

One of the biggest questions in the U.S is where this leave CNN. Petty believes there will be possibly significant consolidation. “CBS has a substantial global news-gathering operation so there could be redundancies between CBS News and CNN. That said, CNN performs reasonably well on its own, even though cable news audiences overall are relatively small compared to other media categories.”

 

The bigger issue may be political direction. CNN is often perceived — particularly by the current White House — as strongly anti–Donald Trump. Meanwhile, CBS has recently been viewed by some critics as shifting its political tone closer to the administration. The question is whether CNN’s editorial independence can be maintained within the new corporate structure.

 

“There’s always a commercial imperative in these situations, and ultimately, business considerations tend to prevail,” said Petty who added that it’s “more a matter of hope than guarantees” about CNN’s  future editorial  independence. “That uncertainty may not be reassuring for many within CNN,” he said.

 

Each regulatory authority including those in the United States will review the merger on its own merits. They’ll assess any competition or market concerns specific to their jurisdictions.

In some countries, there may be overlapping assets that raise issues. The process will likely resemble what happened when Disney acquired 20th Century Fox where regulators examined the deal country by country and required adjustments where necessary.

 

That’s the short-term industrial logic of consolidation in a maturing streaming market. The longer-term strategic question is whether Paramount Skydance leadership can turn that scale into advantage.

 

“If it’s managed competently, there’s enormous potential,” Barton says. “A strong management team could make all the consumer touchpoints truly hum with an IP library of this scale. Once regulatory uncertainty clears, you would hope leadership focuses on what really matters: distribution expansion, audience satisfaction, growing the appeal of key franchises, and doing the hard work of building a great entertainment business.”

 

He added, “There’s no doubt this could become an absolutely fantastic entertainment company.”

 

Gulf States land in Hollywood

 

The Paramount Skydance offer is being underwritten by state funding from Saudi Arabia and finance Abu Dhabi and the Qatar Investment Authority brokered through Jared Kushner’s Affinity Partners.

Reported first by Streamingmedia the funding was confirmed in December when congressional Democrats warned of a national security threat.

In a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, Paramount said the three Middle Eastern funds as well as Kushner’s firm have “agreed to forgo any governance rights — including board representation — associated with their non-voting equity investments.”

The Gulf states and KSA in particular are seeking to engage beyond their borders with soft power. Last September, US games giant Electronic Arts was sold to Saudi Arabia’s sovereign-wealth fund PIF and Kushner’s Affinity Partners for $55bn.

After pouring substantial investment into building a domestic content production base spanning esports, video games, film and TV, KSA can now command a bigger stake in global sports and entertainment.