[Barcelona, Spain, March 5, 2026] During MWC Barcelona 2026, Huawei and MTN Group signed a 2026 Strategic Memorandum of Understanding (MoU). The two parties will deepen cooperation around AI-driven intelligent network evolution, digital inclusion, home broadband development, data monetization, digital infrastructure, and ESG initiatives. With Autonomous Networks (AN) L4 as a shared evolution target, the partnership aims to accelerate Africa’s digital and intelligent transformation into a new phase.
Signing Ceremony of the Strategic Cooperation MoU between MTN Group and Huawei
To address the growing demand for digitalization and intelligence across Africa, both parties will leverage AI as the core driving force to upgrade network planning, deployment, and operations capabilities. Together, they will accelerate the development of a next-generation intelligent network architecture represented by Agentic Networks. Powered by Copilots and intelligent Agents, and enabled by coordinated intelligence across device, network, and service layers, the network will evolve from automation toward autonomy. Aligned with the AN L4 target, Huawei and MTN will further build an intelligent agent-driven network architecture centered on Copilot and Agentic AI. This transformation will drive a structural shift in operations from “human-driven” to “agent-driven” models, establish closed-loop autonomous capabilities across the full network lifecycle, and steadily progress toward a sustainable and scalable high-level autonomous network framework.
Building on their existing collaboration, the two parties will also deepen cooperation in the following key areas. Including addressing Coverage Gap and Usage Gap through scalable validation and replication of cost-efficient rural network solutions, while exploring affordable device strategies and innovative access models to advance digital inclusion; Advancing coordinated development of FTTH and 5G FWA, exploring innovative deployment models, affordable CPE solutions, and joint go-to-market approaches to accelerate home broadband growth; Enhancing broadband provisioning efficiency and intelligent O&M capabilities to optimize service delivery and OPEX performance; Exploring compliant and secure data monetization models powered by AI-driven precision operations to unlock the value of network and service data and strengthening digital infrastructure capabilities, including AI-ready data centers, fiber networks, and connectivity platforms, to reinforce the foundation of Africa’s intelligent economy. The two companies will also leverage the Huawei & MTN Technology Innovation Lab, located at MTN Group’s headquarters in South Africa, to establish a phased innovation mechanism that enables priority use cases to progress systematically from proof-of-concept to pilot testing and commercial deployment, accelerating the large-scale transformation of joint innovation outcomes.
Selorm Adadevoh, Chief Commercial and Strategy Officer of MTN Group, noted that the long-standing partnership between MTN and Huawei has delivered tangible business value, supporting the Group’s sustained and resilient growth. Looking ahead, MTN expects the collaboration to evolve from incremental optimization to structural transformation, particularly in AI-enabled network capabilities, operational efficiency, and business model innovation. The partnership aims to create measurable value that enhances the Group’s profitability, while accelerating progress in home broadband, device upgrades, and intelligent capability development.
Li Peng, Huawei Senior Vice President and President of ICT Sales & Service, said that Huawei’s technology evolution is highly aligned with MTN’s strategic direction. Huawei is driving the development of next-generation network architectures that enable intelligent coordination across equipment, network and service layers, accelerating the evolution from automated networks toward autonomous networks. In the future, networks will not only provide connectivity but will also support AI-driven experience and service innovation, enabling the coordinated growth of experience and business value. Huawei will continue to deepen strategic cooperation with MTN toward the AN L4 goal and jointly build AI-centric network capabilities to support the long-term sustainable development of Africa’s digital economy.
The signing marks a transition from exploratory collaboration to a more structured and scalable strategic partnership. Building on a strong foundation of long-term cooperation, Huawei and MTN will further integrate technological capabilities and industry resources to accelerate the upgrade of Africa’s digital infrastructure and intelligent transformation.
MWC Barcelona 2026 will be held from March 2 to March 5 in Barcelona, Spain. During the event, Huawei will showcase its latest products and solutions at stand 1H50 in Fira Gran Via Hall 1.
The era of agentic networks is now approaching fast, and the commercial adoption of 5G-A at scale is gaining speed. Huawei is actively working with carriers and partners around the world to unleash the full potential of 5G-A and pave the way for the evolution to 6G. We are also creating AI-Centric Network solutions to enable intelligent services, networks, and network elements (NEs), speeding up the large-scale deployment of level-4 autonomous networks (AN L4), and using AI to upgrade our core business. Together with other industry players, we will create leading value-driven networks and AI computing backbones for a fully intelligent future.
For more information, please visit: https://carrier.huawei.com/en/minisite/events/mwc2026/
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