Huawei unveils AI‑native network plan and token monetisation at MWC Shanghai

Huawei used its Shanghai Mobile World Congress showcase to announce a multi‑year roadmap that shifts telecom operators from traditional data‑volume sales to AI‑driven, real‑time interaction services priced by “tokens”. The company outlined six strategic imperatives: creating new mobile services, layering three levels of intelligence into the network, integrating satellite and ground links, planning sustainable spectrum use, defining AI‑native core specifications, and exploring novel business models.

Key technical points include a move toward network‑wide compute where connecting to the network is equivalent to accessing high‑performance AI resources, the rollout of Level‑4/5 autonomous network operation, and the push for high‑uplink speeds of 20 Mbps or more to support emerging applications such as AI glasses for real‑time translation. Huawei also highlighted that more than 100 million users worldwide are already on 5G‑Advanced (5G‑A) and that operators are piloting token‑based services to generate new revenue streams.

The vision positions Huawei as a catalyst for a new era of “token‑monetised” telecom services, aiming to create value for carriers, enterprises, and end‑users through integrated AI capabilities.