MWC 2025: Enterprise networking in a jungle of mobility

Enterprise networking tech at MWC

My quest was a solid success. There is a lot to learn from this community about networking technology that is of direct interest to enterprises everywhere, including:

• A plethora of successful deployment examples of private 5G in enterprise settings;
• A broader set of offerings under the heading of private networks that was diverse and confusing, but did include a range of technologies applicable to enterprise. Most were aimed at service providers as something to bring to business subscribers;
• Continued focus by mobile operators on developing "business services" for enterprises, akin to those developed by legacy wireline communications providers in the past, but built around wireless and mobility;
• FWA options aplenty -- truly a mainstream offering now;
• Several DAS/Neutral host choices -- some that are integrated into broader wireless portfolio offerings (such as private 5G) and others that are standalone;
• AI everywhere -- on the walls of at least every other booth, big and small, including some overt references to agentic AI.

Vendor highlights

It would be impossible to visit every technology and service provider at MWC. Doing so would have required either cloning (unethical, at best, and confusing for my family) or a time-turner (still waiting on this tech). But here’s a recap of several technology suppliers with whom I had the chance to have deeper conversations at the event, in alphabetical order:

Cisco focused mostly on products for mobile operators, such as Agile Service Networking, Provider Connectivity Assurance, and ThousandEyes Connected Devices, but also provided a demonstration of private 5G solutions that was mostly, but not all (at least not yet), Cisco technology under the hood. I’ll be digging deeper into that in the future.

CommScope announced several new AI features as part of its RUCKUS Wi-Fi product as well as a new partnership with Nokia’s multi-gigabit optical LAN products for more complete WLAN+LAN offerings. CommScope recently sold its DAS and outdoor wireless networking segment to Amphenol, now offered as Amphenol’s subsidiary, Andrew, which shared the same booth space this year.  I watched a demo and was impressed by the flexible scalability of the Andrew DAS system.

Dell had a sizeable presence and offered three components that I found interesting and relevant. First was its PowerEdge servers, some of which are purpose-built and hardened for deployment in edge locations.

Second was a bevy of laptops newly equipped with 5G broadband radios for direct connection to public cellular networks -- great for the road warrior but not quite ready for private 5G networks yet.

Last but not least was a new Dell NativeEdge offering with Nokia for deploying private 5G in an all-inclusive enclosure. 

Ericsson had plenty to say to mobile operators, as usual, but also took the opportunity to promote its extensive and growing ecosystem of partners that apply Ericsson’s wireless WAN (WWAN) and private 5G to various enterprise use cases.

Included were demos of smart manufacturing, IoT and computer vision, in-vehicle connectivity for public safety, and the Ericsson "Radio Dot" for Neutral Host as a superior alternative to traditional DAS.

Newly announced and included in several demos was the X20 5G Router, optimized for 5G FWA together with switching, Wi-Fi 7, SD-WAN and integrated cloud-based SASE and management. 

The company also highlighted a private 5G success story with Jaguar Land Rover, which is going through a wireless digital manufacturing transformation enabled by Ericsson enterprise networking.

HPE primarily focused on service provider products in its booth, but I had a chance to get an update briefing on the HPE Aruba Networking Private 5G. HPE’s strategy is to make private 5G networks look and feel like any other enterprise network so IT teams won't have to learn the ins, outs, and quirks of 3GPP standards and lingo to deploy this important technology. The company also recently introduced a Cellular Bridge to enable WWAN connectivity options for distributed and remote sites. 

Nokia released a flood of announcements leading up to and at MWC 2025, with a couple of standouts for enterprise, both related Nokia’s Digital Automation for Campus (DAC) solutions.  The first, MX Connect, is focused on applying AI to OT sensor fusion for Industry 4.0 applications, and the second was a partnership with Carrix to apply private wireless solutions at US container terminal facilities and rail yards.   I had the pleasure of meeting some folks from Nokia’s Network Infrastructure group who gave me insights into the enterprise solutions side of Nokia’s business that notably includes hundreds of production deployments in the US alone. Also worthy of note was the number of places that Nokia popped up as a technology solution partner as I worked my way around the show floor, including (just in my limited wanderings) Dell, CommScope, Cisco, and Rakuten. 

Palo Alto Networks announced extensions to its Prisma SASE specific for 5G networks, paving the path for enterprises to incorporate this new network environment under a consistent set of security policies and controls. 

As mobile operators seek to build out enterprise business networks, integrating security is paramount. Per the folks I spoke with in the booth, enterprise visitors at MWC 2025 were so impressed with this new approach that some left and then came back with their mobile provider reps to show them what Palo Alto was doing.

On the integrated 5G security front, Trend Micro and CTOne had a joint booth and were one of the few other true cybersecurity providers at the expo. At MWC, the companies shared the results of joint research highlighting that private 5G deployments get ahead of adequate security controls and there are range of unique attack vectors and threats specific to this technology. 

MWC 2025 takeaways

Clearly, private 5G is making the transition from early over-inflated expectations to mature, successful deployments. Now is the time to start taking it seriously, particularly for those with use cases that are already outstripping the capabilities of more traditional wireless LAN technologies such as Wi-Fi. 

The same can be said for FWA, which is fast becoming a mainstream approach for internet access and WWAN connectivity.  Long considered appropriate only as a business continuity backup option, FWA on 4G or 5G is steadily gaining popularity as an always-on, primary networking strategy.

Quite honestly, I did not do DAS/Neutral Host full justice at this event. There are many solution providers, and the structure of the market demands and offerings is not yet entirely clear from my perspective. Much more to study here, so I’ll leave it for follow-on research and analysis (and a future blog).

As a postscript, AI continues to pop up everywhere, including in mobile/wireless networks, with its own unique potential applications. This is now an inevitable part of all future technology conversations and assessments. It's still evolving, but doing so quickly, and requires close watching to see where it starts to deliver clear, consensus value.

Jim Frey covers networking as principal analyst at Enterprise Strategy Group, now part of Omdia, a division of Informa TechTarget.

Enterprise Strategy Group analysts have business relationships with technology vendors.