en.Wedoany.com Reported - In the "Agentic Network" white paper released by the Global System for Mobile Communications Association (GSMA) during MWC Shanghai 2026, the association, together with operators such as China Telecom, Thailand's AIS, Hong Kong's HKT, Malaysia's U-mobile, and Kuwait's Zain, as well as industry partners including Huawei and IBM, jointly elaborated on the direction and path of network intelligence development in the 5G-A era. This white paper is one of the core outputs of the GSMA Mobile AI Community, aiming to provide a unified reference framework and practical guide for the global communications industry's transition to intelligent networks.
The white paper systematically outlines the core challenges in accelerating the commercial deployment of 5G-A technology, including the surge in network operational complexity, insufficient traditional automation capabilities, and increasing energy consumption pressures. These factors make it difficult for traditional network automation to meet intent-driven, closed-loop autonomous operational requirements, nor can it adapt to the diverse business scenarios and experience demands of the mobile AI era. Therefore, upgrading network intelligence has become an urgent task.
The white paper points out that to address these challenges, mobile networks will gradually evolve towards intelligent networks. Compared to traditional networks, intelligent networks are characterized by intent-driven, cross-scenario multi-agent collaboration, possessing autonomous perception, analysis, decision-making, and execution capabilities, enabling closed-loop autonomy throughout the entire network operation process. This evolutionary direction aims to drive the industry from "AI-assisted automation" to "truly autonomous networks" and lay the foundation for a smooth transition from 5G-A to 6G.
Regarding the industrial implementation of intelligent networks, the white paper elaborates on the current mainstream industry architecture—the three-layer intelligent architecture, including the business layer, network layer, and network element layer. The business layer leverages operator expert experience and network-wide data to conduct cross-domain analysis, supporting end-to-end intelligent orchestration of services and resources, and achieves secure, simplified, and efficient interaction with the network layer via the A2A-T interface. The network layer realizes autonomous closed-loop intelligence within a single domain, performing near-real-time analysis and reasoning based on domain-specific knowledge and data, and enhances decision-making and simulation verification capabilities using large models and digital twin systems. The network element layer embeds intelligent perception units, capable of millisecond-to-second-level real-time sensing and execution.
To validate the practical value of intelligent networks, the white paper also showcases four core value scenario use cases and real-world test results from global operators. These cases fully demonstrate the advantages of intelligent networks in improving operational efficiency, reducing costs, enabling green energy savings, and optimizing user experience.
A GSMA representative stated that intelligent networks are the core direction of mobile network evolution in the 5G-A era and a key carrier for the deep integration of mobile AI and networks. In the future, GSMA will continue to rely on the Mobile AI Community, collaborating with industry partners to deepen the technological development and scenario implementation of intelligent networks, promote the establishment of unified industry standards and ecosystem, and lay a solid foundation for the arrival of the 6G era.
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