Fierce Network TV is live from the Ericsson stand at MWC 2025, exploring the future of airports and travel. Experts from Ericsson, Airbus, and Capgemini discuss how 5G connectivity is transforming airport operations, the impact of AI and data-driven technologies, and the importance of ecosystem partnerships in driving innovation. Learn how 5G is reshaping mission-critical communications and creating a more connected, efficient travel experience.
Alejandro Piñero:
All right. Welcome back to FNTV, and we're here in the heart of the Ericsson stand. It's buzzing, people having meetings, lunch, it's really all happening, and I'm so excited to speak to three experts around the future of travel and airports. I've got here Hakim, we'll start with you, and maybe you can give us the point of view of the airports and the airlines. Why are they investing in connectivity to improve their operations?
Hakim Achouri:
For me, it's the same for Airbus and the manufacturing sites we have, it's about efficiency, ramp up in the production. Airports today are facing many challenges for expansion and time and resources, so it's about the same thing. I have to build a good robust network. It's the foundation for any quality operations and so forth in the airport.
Alejandro Piñero:
Excellent. And Anastasia, why 5G? What's so attractive about the solution and what purpose does it serve?
Anastasia Karatrantou:
Well, first I'll say why not without it? Without it we have a different number of fragmented technologies basically, Wi-Fi, LoRaWAN, satellite, fiber, and whatnot. Each of them has a different end-of-life technology road map, so it's very hard to scale. And as we are migrating closer to having a platform view of the world, so connectivity has to be a platform. Also, 5G can also replace TETRA and low band connectivity, so we can also have that mission-critical communication element.
Alejandro Piñero:
And let me ask you, Regina, of course, Ericsson has been so kind to put this panel together. You're talking all about those partnerships and the ecosystem. Why is that so important? What role do CSPs, do companies like Airbus, Capgemini, and Ericsson and other system integrators play in delivering this future?
Regina Andersson:
Thank you. So airport itself is an ecosystem. There's so many players interacting with each other, having sometimes conflicting agendas, but also working for the same goal. So already there we need to have an ecosystem and a collaboration partnerships. But once we have that established, we also need to have the end-to-end solution. And there's literally not single company who's able to deliver end-to-end from product side or services or solutions side. So that's why we need to have a partnership from the network vendor side, everyone who's building solutions on top, with the clouds, with the applications and services. And we obviously need system integrators to really orchestrate that all together and sometimes manage it for the clients as well. So it's impossible without collaboration.
Alejandro Piñero:
Absolutely. So on that thought, let me give each of you an opportunity to tell me what's next. Anastasia, why don't we start with you? Where are we headed in this transformation and 5G being a part of that as we look ahead?
Anastasia Karatrantou:
I would say that we expect more rollout at scale now, and I think a key driver in the next few years is going to be replacement of mission-critical communications and transition into 5G.
Alejandro Piñero:
Excellent. Hakim, any thoughts?
Hakim Achouri:
Yeah, I mean for me, once you have started building foundations, you'll build the business on top of it. So the value comes from, at airports, from managing the ground operations, and maybe at the beginning, simple applications. But after this, we were talking in the panel about AI, about the aircraft that produces data that can feed the airports with its own data, camera vision and so forth, but also consumes data from the airport in the other side. So that's what we see when it starts to scale, but that's maybe a journey or a few months away. We'll see.
Alejandro Piñero:
Excellent. And, Regina, what about you?
Regina Andersson:
Well, on top of everything already being said, there is also an element of not connecting one single airport in isolation. It's a network of airports, right? The airlines and aircrafts are operating across, flying from one to the other to the next, so what we need to make sure is that that data is interconnected. So it's an interconnected network of airports. So that's a technology evolution, that's done as a [inaudible 00:04:20] evolution, and I'm pretty sure we'll get there because as a mobile industry we got it done on a global scale, so there's no reason why we won't be able to solve it for the airline industry specifically.
Alejandro Piñero:
Excellent. Well, lots to look forward to, and I'll make sure I think of all of your hard work as I travel home swiftly and comfortably in an airport here in Barcelona. Thank you so much for joining FNTV today.
Regina Andersson:
Thank you.