DT Announces AI Phone, Flying Base Stations, and Self-Healing Networks

Deutsche Telekom is putting AI-based technologies in the spotlight at MWC25, both for its customers and for its telecommunications networks. Under the motto “Shaping Technology for All”, the Group is showcasing innovations in connectivity and digital applications in Barcelona.

“We design technology for everyone. And bring the innovative power of AI closer to people: whether with our AI phone in everyday life, with AI applications for companies and the public sector, or when used in our networks. With Deutsche Telekom's AI solutions, we are improving the customer experience and making life easier. And we are thinking ahead and shaping the network of the future - secure, self-healing, resilient, and resource-efficient. We want to be an AI company that puts humans at the center", said Claudia Nemat, Board Member for Technology and Innovation at DT.

This year, DT is presenting its own AI phone for the first time at the trade fair. The basis of the device is the digital assistant from the AI start-up Perplexity. The AI phone also offers Google Cloud AI, ElevenLabs, and Picsart as additional AI features. The AI Phone will be available in the second half of the year.

The operator has also brought the new “WiFi Sensing” technology to the MWC. It transforms connectivity into something even more intelligent in the future and turns the router into a “digital watchdog”: with a WiFi sensing zone based on WiFi signals from routers and WiFi-capable devices. Algorithms analyze the resulting network of signals and detect when something changes in it - for example, in the event of a break-in. This works without cameras and even around corners. The movement triggers an alarm or smart home functions.

From the lab straight to the trade fair booth: the latest generation of digital decoy traps. Thanks to AI, these so-called "honeypots 2.0" are more efficient in every respect. The AI only simulates a successful intrusion and simultaneously evaluates the actions. In this way, Telekom also gains data about the attackers' tactics and tools.

DT is also presenting its vision of what networks could look like in ten years plus: an AI-driven network that dynamically adapts to individual customer intent. Guided by the principle "Zero bits, zero watts", the network’s disruptive design adjusts performance in real-time and reacts precisely to fulfill individual customer demands. The goal is a network that uses only as much energy and radio spectrum resources as is needed to fulfill user intents – not more and not less.

Terrestrial coverage is not always available or feasible - for example, in nature reserves, remote terrains, or during natural disasters. As the first provider in Europe, DT has deployed a drone in a commercial live network to ensure mobile connectivity in such cases. Flying at an altitude of 2.3 kilometers, an unmanned aerial vehicle provided coverage for an otherwise uncovered stretch of the course during the "Jizerská 50" ski race in the Jizera Mountains, Czech Republic. The unique flying base station solution, developed and tested by Telekom with Primoco UAV SE, is also on display at Telekom’s booth in Barcelona.

At the start of MWC, DT and Google are taking the next step towards Direct-to-Handset (D2H) connectivity via satellite. The two companies announced the first successful SMS sent and received via GEO satellites from a Google Pixel 9. In November 2024, DT and its subsidiary Cosmote in Greece already sent a D2H SMS on a test device. Now it has been successfully tested for the first time in Europe as a commercial smartphone. DT aims to launch the first commercial direct-to-device messaging services in Germany and Europe by the end of 2025.