MWC26 Doha ends with more than 10,000 attendees and 42 deals

MWC26 Doha ends with more than 10,000 attendees and 42 partnerships signed. The second edition of the GSMA connectivity event closed on 10 November 2026 at the Doha Exhibition and Convention Centre after three days of exhibition, sessions and deal making. Organized in partnership with Qatar’s Ministry of Communications and Information Technology, it ran under the theme The IQ Era and co-located for the first time with the opening days of the ITU Plenipotentiary Conference. GSMA reported more than 10,000 unique attendees from 100 countries and territories. Fourteen percent were C-suite, 37 percent were director level and above, and 62 percent represented industries adjacent to the core mobile ecosystem. The GSMA Ministerial Program convened 86 delegations, including a record 36 ministers and 34 heads of national regulatory authorities, with 74 countries and 12 intergovernmental organizations represented. There were 195 speakers across keynotes, summits and partner programs, and around 100 exhibitors, sponsors and partners on the show floor parallel to ITU PP-26. More than 220 media, content creators and industry analysts were on site. Forty-two partnerships and announcements were signed in the Announcement Lounge. GSMA listed several of these: a collaboration with Khalifa University and AMD to bring radio frequency foundation models to telecom operators; an agreement with the ITU to accelerate trusted, open AI for telecoms; a partnership with Axonect to support small businesses through operator-led digital marketplaces; a five-year commitment with Applab to MWC Doha; work with the Minister of Digital Transition and Technology Innovation of Côte d’Ivoire on smartphone affordability; and a GSMA Foundry collaboration with apoQlar on spatial computing for connected healthcare. At the GSMA pavilion, Ooredoo Qatar, Ericsson and others demonstrated how advanced mobile connectivity can support emergency response operations. Sianne Ryder, CEO of Events and Industry Services at GSMA Ltd, said policymakers and regulators sat with industry leaders and innovators to debate and shape MENA’s digital future, and that co-locating with the opening of ITU PP-26 created a place where those setting the global digital agenda could engage directly with operators, technology companies and investors. The co-location placed the industry show next to the UN conference that determines the ITU’s strategic and financial plans and elects its leadership for the next four years. PP-26 continues at the same venue until 27 November, hosted by Qatar’s Communications Regulatory Authority. The mobile economy is forecast to add $470 billion to the Middle East and North Africa by 2030, according to GSMA reports released during the event. Discussions covered aligning on global standards, closing the region’s connectivity gap, 5G monetization, the path toward 6G, satellite and non-terrestrial networks, and AI deployment at scale. Qatar’s second consecutive hosting of MWC Doha aligns with its Digital Agenda 2030 and Qatar National Vision 2030. The event concentrates operators, cloud and AI companies, satellite providers, security firms and government officials in one location, reducing the separation that often exists between industry showcases and intergovernmental policy meetings. Attendance, ministerial participation and the 42 partnerships figure come from GSMA’s closing statement on 10 November. Individual deal values, ownership stakes or commercial terms for the 42 announcements were not disclosed. Specific outcomes such as new spectrum commitments, infrastructure investment figures or measurable reductions in the connectivity gap were also not published in the summary. If GSMA or participating companies later publish the full list of the 42 partnerships with commercial terms, or if follow-up reports quantify infrastructure or AI deployments resulting from the event, the economic effect will be measurable beyond attendance. If later statements only restate the attendee total and the number of signed announcements without values or timelines, the commercial impact will remain at the level of activity count. The figures missing from the current disclosure are the aggregate value of the 42 partnerships and any breakdown of which announcements involve new capital, spectrum or multi-year service contracts. Without those, the close confirms scale and policy co-location but does not yet show the financial size of the activity that took place in the Announcement Lounge.