The Internet of Things (IoT) has come a long way in the last decade, and it is set to reach new heights in the next five years as IoT becomes supercharged by 5G-Advanced and artificial intelligence (AI) to usher in a new era of “AIoT” where intelligent connections are ubiquitous.
That was the core message in a keynote speech from Eric Zhao, Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer of Huawei Wireless Solution, during the GSMA IoT Summit at Mobile World Congress (MWC) Shanghai 2025.
As cellular IoT connections and devices proliferate over the next five years, they will also become more deeply intertwined with AI, Zhao said. That means more things that are helpful in everyday lives – for example, intelligent vehicles and AI-powered robots – will be connected. Meanwhile, we’re also seeing the rise of intelligent applications that can leverage these IoT connections across diverse scenarios (such as production lines and smart ports) that will transform industries.
This will also enable previously unconnected spaces to become connected, which will create a whole new wave of innovative applications, said Zhao, such as smart urban governance leveraging IoT use cases like drone-based power grid inspection.
All of this points the way to the coming era of AIoT, said Zhao, whose keynote highlighted the three key elements needed to achieve this.
“They are: all-scenario IoT that expands IoT connections to all scenarios, ultra-broadband networks that link all data to the cloud and computing resources, and intelligent applications that are driven by industry-specific models,” Zhao said.
As Zhao explained, all-scenario IoT (as the term implies) expands connections to all scenarios by providing a growing range of devices with diverse IoT connections. This is made possible by the advent of 5G RedCap and Ambient IoT alongside existing technologies like NB-IoT.
These next-gen cellular IoT devices, combined with the collection of the production data they generate, will enable numerous innovative applications such as embodied AI robots requiring real-time connections, AI-based product quality inspection requiring super-fast connections, and others applications that operate with low latency and power consumption.
5G-A ultra-broadband networks offering gigabit-level uplinks, ultra-low latency, and extensive coverage will be essential to connecting these devices and transporting that data from the physical world to models in the cloud in real time, Zhao said. 5G-A allows a single network to provide IoT connections for diverse services – especially the ones that require hyperscale data collection and transporting that data on-the-fly to cloud computing and industrial application platforms for AI training and inference.
Zhao’s third key element to AIoT – intelligent applications – is playing an increasingly prominent role, as demonstrated by the escalating deployments of industry-specific and scenario-specific models that leverage AI to transform core production processes across industries. Such applications need a huge amount of quality data to make those models more effective.
This isn’t theoretical – Zhao offered the example of a intelligent manufacturing factory in Guangdong, China, where AI algorithms have been integrated into 5G HD cameras to enable intelligent product quality inspection. This has not only improved overall product quality, but reduced equipment repair rates by 20% and saved annual costs by more than CNY1 million (close to US$140,000).
Zhao wrapped up his keynote by calling for industry-wide efforts to promote the development of cellular IoT.
“We will continue to work with industry partners to develop more converged applications of cellular IoT and AI,” he said. “And we will develop a thriving ecosystem to usher in a new age of full intelligent IoT connectivity.”
