How Communications & Network Providers Are Answering the Call for Social Innovation

Farmers in remote villages leveraging IoT sensors to increase crop yields. Physicians save lives by performing operations remotely over a low-latency network. Underserved communities gaining access to education through virtual connectivity.

These are just three ways that Communications & Network Providers can contribute to positive social impacts. And these are no longer theoretical aspirations. They are real-world examples from this year’s Mobile World Congress (MWC)—an event that brought to life how telecommunications organizations have evolved from connectivity providers to social innovators.

Throughout MWC25, it was clear to me that the telecommunications industry now operates at the intersection of technology and human progress. At the event, we celebrated the fact that nearly 6 billion people globally are now connected. But we also acknowledged the opportunity that remains.

As leaders from the Global System for Mobile Communications Association (GSMA) explained, there are still 3.1 billion people caught in a “usage gap.” In other words, despite being covered by mobile networks, these individuals are not using Internet services. Closing this gap could unlock as much as $3.5 trillion in additional economic value.

Beyond highlighting economic opportunities, MWC25 also drove home the potential for telco-led and telco-enabled social innovation—a strategic priority shared by our GlobalLogic and Hitachi teams.

To be sure, telcos are using and will continue to use 5G, AI, and IoT to address humanity’s most critical challenges. I left Barcelona energized about engineering impact for and with our Communications & Network Provider clients.

Here are five of the most exciting opportunities we explored at MWC25:

• Making digital more inclusive with accessible platforms and interfaces that can meet unmet needs (for example, digital literacy programs for underserved communities).
• Transforming healthcare with telehealth systems that give people in remote regions greater access to much-needed medical expertise.
• Improving environmental sustainability with networks of intelligent sensors that monitor environmental factors and deliver data visualization tools to help optimize resource usage.
• Advancing innovation in agriculture with precision farming applications.
• Increasing access to education by designing low-bandwidth educational platforms that can deliver quality content—even in areas with connectivity challenges.

By opening their networks through initiatives like the GSMA Open Gateway, telcos are creating platforms where engineered solutions can scale and evolve. With the right engineering partner, providers can build a strong technical foundation to power collaborative innovation ecosystems.

Since purpose-driven innovation requires a human-first approach, telcos need technology partners that can help create solutions that do more than meet technical requirements. Solutions must also drive business success and address genuine human needs. Through our strengths across design, engineering, and data, GlobalLogic is uniquely equipped to help telcos realize their ambitious goals for technical, business, and social impact.