The top of China Telecom mentioned in a keynote speech at MWC 2026 that the provider is advancing its technique of “cloudification, digital transformation and AI for good”
In sum – what to know:
AI-driven transformation – China Telecom is increasing its technique of “cloudification, Digital Transformation and AI for Good” because it shifts from a standard operator towards a technology-oriented enterprise.
5G community sharing – A joint 5G deployment with China Unicom has created the world’s largest shared 5G SA community, chopping billions in prices and lowering carbon emissions.
AI cloud structure – The corporate is constructing an clever cloud ecosystem based mostly on computing energy, knowledge platforms and enormous AI fashions by way of its Xirang infrastructure.
Liu Guiqing, president of China Telecom, mentioned the operator is accelerating its transition from a standard telecom supplier right into a technology-oriented firm constructed round synthetic intelligence, cloud infrastructure, and computing energy companies.
Talking at Cell World Congress 2026 in Barcelona final week, Liu described how the Chinese language provider is increasing its AI capabilities whereas strengthening cloud-network integration and computing infrastructure.
Liu mentioned the corporate is advancing its technique of “cloudification, digital transformation and AI for good.” Based on the chief, technological innovation stays central to China Telecom’s company technique because it evolves from a standard telecommunications operator right into a broader know-how enterprise.
China Telecom’s cloud platform, eSurfing Cloud, has grow to be “the world’s largest provider cloud service supplier and China’s largest hybrid cloud service supplier,” Liu mentioned, including that the platform is now coming into a brand new section of clever cloud improvement.
Throughout his keynote speech, Liu additionally highlighted the corporate’s collaboration with China Unicom to collectively deploy and function 5G infrastructure. The 2 operators have constructed what he described as “the world’s first and largest 5G SA co-built and shared community.”
By way of this mannequin, the businesses have shared greater than 1.54 million 5G base stations and greater than 2 million 4G base stations, in response to Liu. The association has decreased infrastructure funding by $56.5 billion, he added.
On the infrastructure stage, China Telecom has constructed computing assets overlaying basic computing, clever computing, supercomputing, and quantum computing, whereas integrating a number of community layers together with optical networks, cellular networks, satellite tv for pc networks and computing-power web, the chief added.
The operator has additionally expanded its knowledge middle infrastructure, with a rack capability exceeding 590,000 racksm Liu mentioned.
China Telecom can be constructing knowledge and AI mannequin companies designed to help enterprise functions. The corporate has developed an information intelligence center platform that aggregates proprietary, open-source and third-party datasets, together with 10 trillion tokens of telecommunications knowledge and greater than 350 TB of trade knowledge overlaying 14 sectors, he added.
China Telecom has already deployed AI throughout inside operations, together with community administration and software program improvement. The corporate mentioned AI-based programs have decreased the variety of on-site restore visits by discipline technicians by 35%, whereas AI-generated code now accounts for 40% of software program improvement, enhancing R&D effectivity by 20%.
Trying forward, Liu mentioned telecom operators should adapt their methods to the rising affect of AI applied sciences. He outlined 5 proposals for the trade, together with aligning 6G normal improvement with AI evolution, strengthening cloud-network integration, enhancing AI safety governance, coordinating computing energy and vitality assets, and increasing world cooperation on AI fashions and functions.
