James Pearce, TelecomTV (00:12):
They say all roads lead to Rome and that's where I am this week for Ericsson's Core Network Summit 2026. Key topics on the agenda are 5G Standalone and how to make money from it, network slicing, and, of course, AI.

(00:31):
The day one keynote featured Andrea Calvi from TIM, who is the headline partner for the event. Calvi discussed TIM's core network evolution and deploying 5G Standalone at scale, plus the importance of cloud native networks to support the AI revolution. Other operators speaking at the event include AT&T, talking about how to monetize differentiated connectivity, and Swisscom on optimization and streamlining processes. The theme of the event was reinvent business for growth. And that's a big part of Ericsson's messaging, which was around differentiated connectivity and how this can benefit both enterprises and consumers who are willing to pay for priority data. One challenge is how to get this message out there. And several speakers said it was about getting product and marketing teams on board at an early stage.

(01:20):
Ericsson also had a number of demonstrations for attendees to sink their teeth into, including a showcase of Ericsson On-Demand and its core network in a box, better known as its Ultra Compact Core. Ericsson also demonstrated network APIs in action and advanced 5G location services, as well as AI voice.

(01:38):
So what were the main takeaways? Monetization was definitely the word of the week, as operators continue to look for ways to cash in on the huge investments they have poured into 5G Standalone. Speakers clearly believe there are opportunities to boost revenue by offering tailored, high performance, and programmable network services that meet specific users and application requirements. This isn't just an enterprise play either, but Ericsson did demonstrate a number of use cases across industries ranging from shipping to manufacturing to logistics. But there's also an opportunity here for consumers. With Singtel revealing some interesting figures about their approach to network slicing. Whether operators are able to cash in on these opportunities is the million dollar question for the industry. But Ericsson is certainly making a positive case for how this can be achieved.

(02:28):
But as the sun sets on the eternal city and Ericsson's Core Network Summit comes to a close for another year, I'm off to find some gelato, ciao.