Telefónica is at the forefront of European innovation in communication networks and smart connectivity

• Telefónica reinforces its strategic role in the development of next-generation mobile networks at the EuCNC & 6G Summit 2026, Europe’s leading forum on 6G.

• The company holds one of the largest industrial stakes in European 6G research projects under the SNS JU strategic initiative launched by the European Commission.

Telefónica is playing a leading role at EuCNC & 6G Summit 2026, Europe’s leading forum on advanced networks and 6G, which takes place from today until next Friday in Málaga and brings together some of the world’s leading experts in telecommunications, artificial intelligence and advanced connectivity.

Under the slogan ‘6G Connecting Intelligence’, the conference will focus on how artificial intelligence and machine learning will transform future mobile networks and enable new advanced digital services for consumers, businesses and industries. As a co-organiser of the event, Telefónica is reinforcing its leadership in the European smart networks innovation ecosystem with a prominent presence in Málaga. The company will be present at the event with its own stand, where it will showcase various demos of its most significant initiatives and screen the video for the EURO-3C initiative, announced at this year’s Mobile World Congress (MWC). In addition, Cayetano Carbajo, Telefónica’s Global Director of Core, Transport, Ecosystem and Security, will deliver the keynote address ‘Transforming Telecom Networks: From Infrastructure to Intelligent Platforms’, in which he will outline the evolution currently taking place in telecommunications infrastructures, progressively shifting from the transport of bits towards their capacity to coordinate intelligence.

Telefónica stands out as one of Europe’s leading drivers of the development of future 6G networks, thanks to its prominent role in the Smart Networks and Services Joint Undertaking (SNS JU), the major public-private partnership launched by the European Commission to accelerate the next generation of connectivity in Europe.

True to its mission of being the best gateway to digital technologies and its commitment to innovation, the company stands out as the operator with the largest share within the SNS JU ecosystem, with more than 35 projects on 6G technologies, and is making a decisive contribution to the development of key technologies such as AI-native networks, cloud-edge integration, advanced automation and future 6G architectures.

“Europe needs to lead the development of future digital infrastructure to ensure its technological competitiveness and strategic autonomy. At Telefónica, we are helping to turn research into real market capabilities that enable value-generating models for the entire ecosystem. We are driving a progressive and integrated evolution of existing infrastructure that will allow us to deploy more sustainable, efficient and economically viable networks. The key to the evolution to 6G will lie in flexibility and in building architectures that are ready for the future,” says Antonio Guzmán, Director of Innovation at Telefónica’s CDO unit, who will be speaking at the conference.

Telefónica will argue at EUCNC that the next generation of networks must go beyond technical ambition, since, although greater capacity, lower latency and better performance remain essential, they are no longer sufficient. The company maintains that, looking ahead to 6G, the approach must evolve towards a service-centric vision, based on real-world use cases and with clear monetisation pathways, to ensure tangible value for the ecosystem and accelerate the connectivity of the future.

Telefónica also points out that, rather than a disruptive leap, 6G should be seen as a gradual evolution, incorporating new capabilities step by step and fully integrating them into existing infrastructure, which will result in networks that are more sustainable, efficient and economically viable. Flexibility will be key, as not all services require the same capabilities. The networks of the future will need to adapt dynamically to the specific needs of each situation, rather than relying solely on continuous increases in capacity.

Another key point for Telefónica lies in the importance of promoting open and collaborative innovation, based on open interfaces, interoperable platforms and future-proof architectures, which facilitate integration and accelerate the creation of new services across the entire ecosystem.

Throughout the conference, Telefónica will share its vision for the evolution towards smart networks capable of natively integrating artificial intelligence, automation and distributed cloud and edge computing capabilities.

The company will showcase advances in strategic areas such as:

• AI-native networks.
  
  
• Cloud-edge integration for distributed services.
  
  
• Advanced network automation.
  
  
• New open and programmable architectures.
  
  
• Sustainable and energy-efficient networks.
  
  
• Industrial use cases enabled by 6G.
  
  

Through its participation in the EuCNC & 6G Summit 2026, Telefónica continues to reinforce its commitment to the development of next-generation digital infrastructures capable of boosting European competitiveness, accelerating digital transformation and enabling new economic and social models based on advanced connectivity.