TechLed

The GSMA and the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) has announced that MWC26 Doha will co-locate alongside the ITU Plenipotentiary Conference (PP-26). PP-26 is the highest policy-making body of ITU, the United Nations agency for digital technologies. This first-of-its-kind co-location will bring together the leaders shaping the digital sector – from government, international institutions and industry – for a pivotal month of digital policy engagement and connectivity showcases in Doha.

For most of the last decade, the promise of IoT in industrial operations was visibility. Connect the assets, stream the data, put it on a dashboard and let operators see what was happening across a site in real time. The question now is what comes after visibility, and the answer reshaping oil and gas operations is autonomy: systems that move past detection into action, taking operational decisions without waiting for a human to read the alert.

MWC26 Shanghai has concluded with 37,300 attendees for three days of conference and exhibition focused on the AI economy, 6G innovation and more. International attendance at MWC Shanghai increased 33% year over year, with onsite attendees representing 143 countries and territories. This year’s keynotes, summits and exhibition floor were dominated by connectivity-enabled innovation: from AI to 6G, robotics and satellite networks.

Make UK and Make UK Defence will, for the first time, host a joint pavilion at Advanced Engineering 2026, bringing together two of the UK’s most influential industrial advocates in a single, visible platform.

MWC26 Shanghai, one of Asia’s largest and most influential connectivity event, officially opened at the Shanghai New International Expo Centre (SNIEC), as the global mobile ecosystem convenes in China for a landmark 13th edition of keynotes, summits and live showcases. Hosted by John Hoffman, the CEO of GSMA Ltd., and Sihan Bo Chen, the head of Greater China at the GSMA, MWC Shanghai’s opening ceremony featured a surprise appearance from Vita Boy and Flash, two humanoid robots developed by HONOR.

Organised by the GSMA, MWC26 Shanghai takes place from 24–26 June 2026 at the Shanghai New International Expo Centre. This year’s event will spotlight some of the world’s most exciting technological frontiers, including 6G, mobile AI, embodied intelligence, smart healthcare, smart mobility, satellite and non-terrestrial networks (NTN). Here’s a preview of four key zones where future technologies meet everyday life.

Europe is rallying the global tech ecosystem to transform the continent’s AI momentum into tangible business impact, as global tech leaders, policymakers and enterprises converge at Europe’s most international tech and startup event in Berlin.

MWC26 Shanghai, one of Asia’s largest and most influential connectivity event, is putting Asia’s advanced technology market in pole position after announcing a live Formula E showcase, spotlighting electric racing and real-time connectivity at this year’s edition. New speakers taking to the MWC main stage for the 2026 edition have also been revealed, including AgiBot’s co-founder and CTO, Zhihui Peng.

When the European Commission projected that 91% of enterprise workloads would migrate to cloud by 2028, it signalled a continent ready to move at scale. The more interesting question, the one drawing together cloud architects, cybersecurity leaders and enterprise buyers at GITEX AI EUROPE in Berlin this year – is not whether enterprises should migrate, but how to build autonomy, and on what terms.

Pharma manufacturing is entering a stage where digitalisation is expected to improve more than documentation and reporting. Regulators and industry bodies increasingly connect advanced manufacturing with stronger process control, higher efficiency, product quality and supply reliability. The FDA describes it as new or innovatively applied medical product manufacturing technologies that can improve quality, enhance efficiency, address shortages and speed time-to-market.