US operator AT&T is to sell connectivity from Three to its business customers in the UK, while TIM and Huawei revealed plans to launch an IoT-focused lab in Italy.

TalkTalk has contracted consulting services firm CGI to modernise its IT infrastructure, in one of a number of digital transformation deals that coincided with Mobile World Congress.

Vodafone CEO Vittorio Colao claimed 5G could help to renew the relationship between citizens and society in the face of rising populism, as his counterpart at Telefónica hailed the “unprecedented speed and reach” of other new technologies. 

Vodafone used the first day of Mobile World Congress to unveil deals with China Mobile and Lamborghini, as the UK-based company’s CEO said he had a dream of building a connected motorway. 

Deutsche Telekom is hoping cities will sign up to a new white label service that enables citizens to access a range of services via an app or card.

Germany, Spain and the UK are among the first markets to access Telefónica’s digital assistant Aura, a year after the service was first unveiled.

Nokia has acquired a US Wi-Fi company and launched a new range of products as it looks to give operators and consumers the tools to improve broadband coverage in the home.

Vodafone has teamed up with Samsung to expand its consumer IoT offering, with the first combined service providing monitoring solutions for the home.

Telecom Italia (TIM) is partnering with Cisco to launch a new portfolio of digital solutions, including an enterprise security service.

Telefónica’s German subsidiary hopes a new digital transformation programme will help to boost operating income by €600 million between 2019 and 2022.

Operators are optimistic about the potential of tech such as AI and automation but see a shortage of staff skills as a potential obstacle, a new survey has revealed.

Vodafone has become the first operator to trial RCS-based messaging for businesses, as it looks to better monetise the tech the telecoms industry has been working on in partnership with Google.