Mobile World Congress 2026: Accelerating Connected Intelligence
The countdown is on! We’re just days away from the world’s most influential connectivity event, Mobile World Congress 2026 in Barcelona, where the global connectivity ecosystem gathers to define what comes next.
If you’ve ever attended MWC, you know it has its own pace. You walk into the exhibition floor at 8:30 a.m., coffee in hand, and before you know it, you’ve had six conversations about 6G, debated AI RAN strategies, and sketched a digital twin architecture on a napkin. By the end of the day, your step counter is impressed, and so is your brain.
That’s the magic of MWC. It’s where bold ideas quickly turn into engineering roadmaps. One year, we’re debating whether something is even feasible. The next year, we’re validating it in the lab. And suddenly, it’s part of a live deployment.
Our focus this year is clear: Accelerating Connected Intelligence.
From March 2-5, you can find us in Hall 5, booth #5F41, where we’ll be showcasing how Keysight can help you accelerate connected intelligence, transforming wireless complexity into competitive advantage with agentic AI, high-fidelity emulation, and automated assurance.
As every year, this blog will give you a glimpse into what we are bringing to MWC 2026.
Pioneer 5G-Advanced to 6G
Remember when 5G felt futuristic? Now we’re optimizing 5G-Advanced and actively engineering 6G capabilities. The pace of evolution is incredible, and slightly humbling.
Moving from 5G-Advanced to 6G isn’t like upgrading your phone. It’s more like upgrading the engine of a jet mid-flight. Higher frequencies, denser MIMO layers, AI-native air interfaces, and integrated sensing. Everything becomes more powerful and more complex at the same time. And complexity without validation is expensive. That’s why we’ll be showcasing:
- Digital Twins for 6G and AI linking ray-traced simulations with real hardware KPIs to predict Massive MIMO performance before deployment and accelerate AI model development.
- ML-Based CSI Compression in a live closed-loop demo reducing CSI feedback overhead while preserving throughput and improving spectral efficiency.
- 6G FR3 eMIMO Air Link, demonstrating how higher spectral efficiency and robust air-link performance can be achieved in early 6G systems.
- ISAC Simulation to Emulation, transforming Integrated Sensing and Communication models into realistic RF scenarios for faster, lower-risk validation.
6G will be driven by imagination and defined by how effectively we validate complexity before deployment. That’s where testing and visibility make the difference, and that’s where we can help.
Unlock AI Performance
AI is powerful. But wireless channels are… stubborn. They fade. They interfere. They move. They refuse to behave like clean datasets. That’s why validating AI under real RF conditions is so critical. This year, we’re demonstrating:
- Agentic AI for Wireless Test, combining generative AI, wireless domain intelligence, and closed-loop automation to create, execute, and adapt wireless test workflows in real time.
- High-Order MIMO Evaluation, validating AI-based CSI compression under realistic channel conditions at large RAN scales.
- AI / ML Beam Management showing how to validate beamforming and tracking algorithms under 3GPP-aligned mobility and impairment scenarios.
- AI Network Threat Defense, simulating DDoS attacks and showcasing AI-driven detection and automated mitigation to protect mission-critical networks.
AI doesn’t just need to be intelligent. It needs to be resilient, efficient, and demonstrably robust.
Scale AI RAN
AI-driven RAN is one of those concepts that sounds simple in a slide deck and incredibly complex in a lab. Training models is one thing, validating them under fading, mobility, interference, and load? That’s a whole different beast entirely.
As AI becomes embedded into RAN decision-making; from channel estimation to scheduling and orchestration; we must validate not just performance, but coexistence, scalability, and operational impact.
At MWC26, we are addressing a practical question. How do you scale AI in the RAN without increasing operational instability? We’re showcasing:
- AI RAN Workflow Acceleration, showing how to automate data capture, model training, benchmarking, and validation for PHY-layer AI use cases.
- LTM-Optimized Agentic RAN, telecom-trained AI agents enabling intent-driven automation and more reliable operational decisions.
- AI and RAN Validation, end-to-end testing of AI infrastructure and RAN performance together, ensuring that user experience remains consistent as AI workloads scale.
Because scaling AI without scaling validation is like adding lanes to a highway without checking the bridges.
Launch Next-Gen Space
Connectivity no longer stops at the cell tower. Non-terrestrial networks are transforming how we think about coverage, resilience, and mobility. But validating NTN performance isn’t as simple as “pointing to the sky and hoping for good weather.”
Satellite dynamics, Doppler effects, beam mobility, timing precision, everything becomes more dynamic.
At MWC26, we’re demonstrating:
- NR-NTN Pre-Launch Validation under highly dynamic LEO conditions.
- Multi-Orbit NTN Handover, validating seamless GEO-to-LEO mobility readiness.
- Direct-to-Cell QoE Evaluation, combining lab and field analytics for end-to-end visibility.
- Live-to-Lab PNT Testing, converting real-world RF captures into repeatable lab scenarios.
- Network Timing Assurance, validating synchronization robustness under interference conditions.
In space-enabled networks, timing precision directly impacts reliability. Small errors scale quickly.
Automated Assurance
Acceleration doesn’t end at deployment. It continues into operations, optimization, and monetization. And let’s be honest, deploying faster only matters if performance, security, and revenue keep pace.
Our automated assurance demos show how to:
- Accelerate 5G software delivery using CI/CD/CT automation
- Detect rogue base stations and IMSI catchers in real time
- Activate, assure, and monetize enterprise 5G with slice-level visibility, faster fault isolation, and defensible SLA proof from turn-up through live operations
- Monetize enterprise 5G services with confidence
Automated assurance should drive measurable business outcomes, not just technical benchmarks.
Learn more about the Keysight demos and customer collaborations here!
Connect with Us
Join us at booth #5F41, Hall 5 at Mobile World Congress 2026, March 2-5.
Whether you are advancing 6G research, scaling AI RAN, validating NTN deployments, or modernizing assurance frameworks, we’re here to help you move faster with confidence.
Don't miss out on the chance to connect with the Keysight team. Request a meeting now and let's explore how we can push the boundaries of what's possible together.
On Monday, join us for an exclusive session celebrating breakthrough innovations that are accelerating connected intelligence. Be part of Keysight’s live demo presentation at MWC26 Barcelona on Monday, March 2, starting at 4:30 PM and concluding with a networking happy hour. Don’t miss it. A special surprise will be waiting for you.
Stop by, say Hi, and let’s talk about the future of wireless, preferably before the step counter on my smartwatch files a formal complaint.
Learn more here: