HASC News
The HASC MWC Wrap Up
Mobile World Congress (MWC) describes itself as the world’s largest and most influential connectivity event, and we don’t think that’s an exaggeration! Each year, it brings together tens of thousands of leaders from across the telecoms ecosystem – from industry, academia and government. It’s where people come to exchange ideas, innovation and perhaps most importantly, contact details. It’s where knowledge is shared and exciting new collaborations are conceived.
As the UK’s leading consortium focused on all-spectrum connectivity at the physical layer, HASC was proud to be part of this global conversation. We exhibited alongside our partners in the Federated Telecoms Hubs, TITAN, CHEDDAR and JOINER, demonstrating how advanced wired and wireless technologies are coming together to address real industry challenges and unlock smarter, faster and more secure network solutions, fit for our connected future.
Cutting Edge Technologies for Advanced Connectivity
The HASC Technology Showcase
This year, at MWC 2026, HASC showcased four cutting-edge innovations spanning physical layer security, advanced connectivity and intelligent, adaptive networks. These demonstrations brought together research from across our consortium, including the University of Liverpool & Queen’s University Belfast, the University of Sheffield, Imperial College London and the University of York.
Our featured demonstrations included:
Radio Frequency Fingerprint Identification (RFFI)
A Dual Band O-RAN Radio Unit
- Enabling faster, smaller and more cost-efficient mobile network hardware
AI-enabled CSI-free Resource Allocation
ORLANDO – O-RAN intelligent adaptive Load blaNcing and efficiency in highly Dense deplOyments
Each project addresses a critical challenge facing the networks of the future. We invite you to explore each demonstration in more detail, the problems being tackled and their potential impacts in our dedicated deep-dive articles (links above).
Mobile World Congress 2026 – Our Insights from the Ground
There were many themes, trends and recurring topics that emerged throughout the week. Not just arising from discussions around our own technology showcase, but also content from throughout the show. It was interesting to see what was important to those we spoke to, what challenges were being tackled and how our Hub is playing a role. Here are our hot takes!
Bridging research and real-world impact
A consistent message throughout MWC was the importance of moving beyond theory and into applied, real-world environments. From live demonstrations on the exhibition floor to discussions around commercialisation, there was a strong emphasis on ensuring that research translates into deployable, scalable solutions with positive real-world impacts, something that the Federated Telecoms Hubs places great emphasis on.
AI and Quantum dominate frontier and emerging tech space
Perhaps unsurprisingly, Artificial Intelligence (AI) continues to play a defining role in the evolution of wireless systems but is now moving well beyond simple optimisation to enable more autonomous and adaptive networks. Alongside this, the growing prominence of quantum technologies was more visible than ever, especially within the area of security, infrastructure and network resilience.
Tackling complexity through smarter, more efficient design
As networks become more advanced, managing complexity while improving performance is becoming increasingly critical. Innovations showcased at MWC demonstrated how integrated approaches – combining capabilities within single architectures – can deliver significant gains in efficiency, cost reduction and energy consumption. This reflects the wider industry momentum toward developing more streamlined, high-performance systems.
The importance of real-world validation
We were grateful for the opportunity to bring live demonstrations to MWC. Our team were excited by the challenging environment where we were able to run our demonstrations in real life. MWC’s exhibition floor is the very definition of a high-density, crowded scenario – something that cannot be easily replicated in the lab. We were thrilled with the outputs of the Radio Frequency Fingerprint Identification (RFFI) demo – this kind of validation is essential in accelerating the journey from ‘lab to life’.
“We were proud to showcase our radio frequency fingerprint identification technology at MWC Barcelona, one of the world’s premier events for mobile and wireless innovation. The event provided a valuable opportunity to engage with industry leaders, present our research, and gather insightful feedback from across the telecommunications ecosystem. Demonstrating our system in the dense and challenging electromagnetic environment of the exhibition floor allowed us to test its robustness under real-world conditions. The experience strengthened our confidence in the technology while also inspiring new ideas for future research. We sincerely thank the HASC team for this excellent opportunity and for their continued support in making our participation possible.” ~ Dr Junqing Zhang, University of Liverpool
Collaboration as a catalyst for innovation
MWC saw a significant volume of traffic this year, as it always does. We were once again impressed by the sheer volume of delegates and the diversity of those who exhibited and attended. The depth of expertise and wide-ranging experience of those we talked to were truly impressive. Being in an environment that facilitates such important conversations reinforces our belief that collaboration and knowledge sharing across sectors and even across borders remain key to future advancements.
Industry Engagement & Collaboration
Of course, MWC is a significant opportunity for us to engage with all our stakeholders, but the main focus for us at a show like this is industry. How do we develop more links with industry and cultivate partnerships? HASC does not exist in a bubble – we want to share our research and the innovation coming out of the labs of the country’s leading universities. The goal is always to realise real world impact.
The four demonstrations we showcased at MWC represent just a small snapshot of HASC’s work. They sit within a much broader programme of cutting-edge research, focused on the physical layer – the foundation of all telecommunications systems.
Our work spans the full spectrum of connectivity, from optical and free-space communications through to advanced radio technologies. This includes areas such as channel measurement, standards development, reconfigurable intelligent surfaces (RIS), and techniques to improve spectral efficiency and expand the usable radio spectrum.
Crucially, HASC is focused not only on advancing fundamental research, but on ensuring that these innovations translate into real-world impact. We are actively working to commercialise our research and collaborate with industry to accelerate deployment.
We are already partnering with leading organisations, including major carriers such as BT, and we continue to welcome new collaborations. Through HASC, industry partners can access:
- De-risked innovation through proof-of-concept experimentation
- State-of-the-art facilities
- Opportunities to co-develop, pilot and scale emerging technologies
- Licensable intellectual property
- Collaboration on standards development
- Access to highly skilled researchers from across our consortium
If you are interested in the opportunities that exist to collaborate with our consortium, please complete this form and we will get in touch with you directly.
What’s next?
The conversations and insights from MWC 2026 have reinforced both the pace of change across the sector and the importance of collaboration in shaping its future. As networks continue to evolve, the convergence of wired and wireless technologies at the physical layer will play a critical role in enabling more intelligent, efficient and adaptable connectivity.
If you are interested in collaborating with HASC, we would be delighted to start a conversation. Please get in touch here.