The SAMENA Council participated in the World WLAN Application Alliance (WAA) Forum on WLAN during Mobile World Congress 2026 (MWC) in Barcelona, presenting its work on AI-WLAN integration, industrial cooperation, and regional digital development. The WAA is the world’s first international industry and standards organization dedicated to WLAN application experience, providing a platform for collaboration on deployment, standards, and operational practices.
At the forum, the Council described how WLAN has moved beyond basic access to become a core infrastructure layer supporting AI applications in hospitals, manufacturing hubs, logistics centers, smart cities, airports, and hospitality complexes. It described how WLAN performance now affects enterprise productivity, service reliability, and operational continuity, making it integral to regional economic activity.
The SAMENA Telecommunications Council CEO, Bocar A. BA, emphasized that building an industrial ecosystem for AI and WLAN integration is critical and that the deep integration of AI and intelligent wireless networks is now a foundational pillar of cross-industrial digital transformation. BA stated:
"WLAN has evolved from a complementary technology into strategic infrastructure underpinning economic development. It is now a key operational interface between AI capabilities and real-world use-cases across all sectors and industries. We need to do more together to align our priorities on WLAN innovations, and for this harmonized efforts in WLAN standardization and cooperation across all regions are fundamental to sustaining digital progress and digital resilience."
The Council outlined that cooperation and standards are critical for industrial scale-up. Structured engagement among operators, regulators, technology providers, and standards organizations ensures that AI-WLAN systems are interoperable, cost-effective, and capable of supporting regional deployment. Feedback from deployed networks can guide regional implementation and refine technical and regulatory frameworks.
In addition to the WLAN Forum, the SAMENA Council joined a UNDP high-level roundtable on AI deployment in the Arab economies, which examined regional priorities, opportunities, and challenges for AI. The discussion emphasized multi-stakeholder participation, the role of mobile networks as AI delivery platforms, and the need for policy frameworks that are inclusive, agile, and aligned with digital and social development goals.
Through its participation in both events, the SAMENA Council advanced two complementary priorities. At the WAA Forum, the Council translated the global imperative of accelerating AI-WLAN standardization into coordinated, harmonized action, and reiterated the necessity for multi-stakeholder collaboration among operators, regulators, and technology providers to support experience-led inclusive deployments that strengthen enterprise, government, and industrial networks. At the UNDP AI roundtable, the Council contributed to discussions on inclusive AI deployment, multi-stakeholder governance, and mobile platforms as the primary interface for AI services across the Arab region, and the wider SA-ME-NA region.
Together, these engagements during MWC 2026 reinforce the Council's focus on contributing to a foundation for sustainable economic and social development, linking technical standards, industrial ecosystems, and policy frameworks in a unified agenda.
Source: Press Release
