Deutsche Telekom at MWC 2025: AI phone, flying base stations and self-healing networks

• Deutsche Telekom presents AI phone with app-free assistant 
• Magenta AI for all: AI tools from top partners in the MeinMagenta app 
• Resilient and resource-efficient: The vision of the autonomous network of the future
• Coverage from the sky: flying base station and first SMS via satellite on Google Pixel 9
• Old smartphone parts get a second life as routers

Deutsche Telekom is putting AI-based technologies in the spotlight at this year’s Mobile World Congress (MWC) - both for its customers and for its telecommunications networks. Under the motto “Shaping Technology for All”, the Group is showcasing innovations in connectivity and digital applications in Barcelona from today.

“We design technology for everyone. And bring the innovative power of AI closer to people: whether with our AI phone in everyday life, with AI applications for companies and the public sector or when used in our networks. With Deutsche Telekom’s AI solutions, we are improving the customer experience and making life easier. And we are thinking ahead and shaping the network of the future - secure, self-healing, resilient and resource-efficient. We want to be an AI company that puts humans at the center", said Claudia Nemat, Board Member for Technology and Innovation, about Deutsche Telekom’s ambition at the start of MWC 2025.

This year, Deutsche Telekom is presenting its own AI phone for the first time at the trade fair. In future, customers will always have a virtual butler at their side: whether ordering a cab, reserving a table for translations in real time or answers to any questions - with the AI phone, it’s just a tap or voice command away. The AI assistant can also do shopping and write emails conveniently and without having to switch between apps. It also summarizes or translates texts. The basis for this is the digital assistant from the AI start-up Perplexity. This can then be accessed directly via the lock screen or by the power button. The AI phone also offers Google Cloud AI, ElevenLabs and Picsart as additional AI features. The AI Phone will be available in the second half of the year. Deutsche Telekom already presented its vision of an AI phone at MWC 2024. Now it is gradually becoming a reality.

With “Magenta AI”, Deutsche Telekom is bundling selected AI offerings from top partners in one place: In the MeinMagenta app, it brings the latest AI tools to life for all customers. Interactive and easy to use. Perplexity’s answer engine is already available there. Further applications will be added from summer:

• Google Cloud AI enables object recognition with the smartphone camera in real time. Helpful, for example, at the weekly market when putting together the ingredients for a dish, for instruction manuals or for the immediate translation of text on signposts and menus.
• ElevenLabs can quickly and easily convert various inputs such as text, URLs or documents into sophisticated podcasts. 
• Picsart offers personalized images and transforms selfies into various artistic styles in no time at all.

The best thing about it: “Magenta AI” is available free of charge for all customers in the MeinMagenta app, even without a high-end device and with any smartphone. Deutsche Telekom’s core vision behind “Magenta AI”: to democratize access to the best generative AI technologies.

Deutsche Telekom has also brought the new “WiFi Sensing” technology to the MWC. It transforms connectivity into something even more intelligent in future and turns the router into a “digital watchdog”: with a WiFi sensing zone based on WiFi signals from routers and WiFi-capable devices. Algorithms analyze the resulting network of signals and detect when something changes in it - for example, in the event of a break-in. This works without cameras and even around corners. The movement triggers an alarm or smart home functions.

In addition to offerings for consumers, Deutsche Telekom will be presenting itself at the MWC with customers from the public sector and partners from industry. Over 30 solutions from ten countries will demonstrate how AI can contribute to growth, efficiency, and customer satisfaction. These include the “paperless” court: an AI chatbot helps court employees to save time when searching for and analyzing legal documents.

From the lab straight to the trade fair booth: the latest generation of digital decoy traps. Thanks to AI, these so-called "honeypots 2.0" are more efficient in every respect. They require even fewer resources and keep criminals away from the “real” systems for longer. Previous decoy traps had the disadvantage that attackers realized relatively quickly that they had been lured only by apparent vulnerabilities. AI honeypots now react as if the hacker’s request had actually had an effect and invite further dialog. The AI only simulates a successful intrusion and simultaneously evaluates the actions. In this way, Telekom also gains data about the attackers’ tactics and tools.

In the future, AI will not only ensure greater security in the network, but more efficient and smooth Radio Access Network (RAN) operations. Deutsche Telekom and Google Cloud announced at the MWC that they are working together on the development of a "RAN Guardian Agent". The multi agentic AI assistant built using Gemini 2.0 can analyze network behavior in real time, detect anomalies, and perform self-healing measures as needed to optimize network performance. This means fewer disruptions, faster speeds, and an overall enhanced mobile experience for Deutsche Telekom’s customers. Use case scenarios with an extraordinarily high network load are, for example, public viewings, concerts or unexpected events such as traffic jams. With this solution, Deutsche Telekom and Google are pioneering agentic AI for networks and taking a step towards autonomous networks.

Deutsche Telekom is going one step further at the MWC and presenting its vision of what networks could look like in ten years plus: an AI-driven network that dynamically adapts to individual customer intent. Guided by the principle "Zero bits, zero watts", the network’s disruptive design adjusts performance in real time and reacts precisely to fulfill individual customer demands. The goal is a network that uses only as much energy and radio spectrum resources as is needed to fulfill user intents – not more and not less.

Another project conserves resources as well: a DSL router made from old smartphone components. Deutsche Telekom is presenting the world’s first functional prototype. Seventy percent of the electronic components used already come from old devices. The motherboard, mobile processor and memory chips from an old smartphone are used as “donor organs”. This saves resources and CO2. As a Group, Deutsche Telekom has made a commitment
As a Group, Deutsche Telekom has committed to being almost completely circular in its technologies and end devices by 2030. At its booth at MWC, the prototype will be presented as part of a panel and the practical benefits of circular devices for the industry will be discussed.

Not only the intelligence but also the resilience of connectivity is a key topic at MWC. Terrestrial coverage is not always available or feasible - for example, in nature reserves, remote terrains, or during natural disasters. As the first provider in Europe, Telekom has deployed a drone in a commercial live network to ensure mobile connectivity in such cases. Flying at an altitude of 2.3 kilometers, an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) provided coverage for an otherwise uncovered stretch of the course during the "Jizerská 50" ski race in the Jizera Mountains, Czech Republic. The unique flying base station solution, developed and tested by Telekom with Primoco UAV SE, is also on display at Telekom’s booth in Barcelona.

At the start of MWC, Telekom and Google are taking the next step towards Direct-to-Handset (D2H) connectivity via satellite. The two companies announced the first successful SMS sent and received via GEO satellites from a Google Pixel 9. In November 2024, Deutsche Telekom and its subsidiary Cosmote in Greece already sent a D2H SMS on a test device. Now it has been successfully tested for the first time in Europe to a commercial smartphone. Deutsche Telekom aims to launch the first commercial direct-to-device messaging services in Germany and Europe from end of 2025, coinciding with the increasing availability of supporting smartphones.

On a booth area of around 1,000 square meters, Deutsche Telekom’s trade fair appearance this year highlights the seamless connection between people, nature and innovative technology. An impressive 3D Telekom logo and an immersive presentation draw visitors into an interactive experience. AI-generated images and dynamic visualizations showcase the company’s vision, products and services. From March 3 to 6, 2025, you will find Deutsche Telekom in hall 3 at stand 3M31.

You can follow the “Magenta Keynote”, our press conference with Claudia Nemat, Board Member for Technology and Innovation at Deutsche Telekom, live from Barcelona today from 1:30 p.m. to 3 p.m. in the stream at www.telekom.com/en/media. The entire stage program including information on the top speakers can be found at https://mwc.telekom.com. Further information on the individual topics can be found here.

###

About the Mobile World Congress
Talking to customers, experts and start-ups, deepening partnerships in the industry and supplier relationships: the MWC is a marketplace for exchanging ideas about innovative solutions. It is hosted by the GSM Association, the global industry association for mobile communications providers. The hosts describe the trade fair as “the world’s largest and most influential connectivity event”. Last year, the MWC attracted over 2,700 exhibitors. 101,000 decision-makers from over 200 countries and regions visited the four-day trade fair. Around 27,000 of them came to the Deutsche Telekom booth. This year’s motto is: “Converge. Connect. Create.”