DTW Ignite 2025 is poised to reshape how telecommunications networks and operations embrace artificial intelligence, bringing together top tech names, operators, and innovators in Copenhagen this June. Hosted by TM Forum, the summit will run from June 17 to June 19 at the Bella Center, presenting a dedicated platform for in-depth discussions on AI-driven strategies across the telecom sector. The event comes at a moment when network operators are increasingly prioritizing automation, data-powered decision making, and open collaboration to unlock new value from their infrastructures. With a clear tagline—Pathways To Growth: Real challenges, real solutions, real change—DTW Ignite emphasizes practical, implementable approaches rather than theoretical concepts. Attendees can expect a robust program that blends keynote insights, demonstrations, collaborative sessions, and hands-on explorations of AI-enabled network transformation.
DTW Ignite 2025 marks a strategic convergence of three focused pathways designed to tackle the industry’s most pressing missions in AI and data management. The first pathway, Composable IT & Ecosystems, centers on building flexible, interoperable IT architectures that can rapidly adapt to evolving telecom needs. This involves modular, reconfigurable ecosystems where software components, platforms, and services can be combined and recombined with minimal friction, enabling operators to respond to market shifts and customer demands more swiftly. The second pathway, Autonomous Networks, highlights the deployment and governance of networks that leverage AI, machine learning, and analytics to automate operational processes, optimize performance, and reduce human intervention. The emphasis on Level 4 autonomous networks underlines a practical milestone in which AI-driven decisions can be trusted to manage critical network tasks under defined safety and reliability constraints. The third pathway, AI & Data Innovation, focuses on creating robust, scalable blueprints for AI deployment within telecom environments, with a particular lens on secure data handling, governance, and the seamless integration of AI capabilities into existing networks and services.
The event is designed not merely as a learning forum but as a collaborative proving ground for industry participants. The overarching theme, Real challenges, real solutions, real change, signals a commitment to actionable outcomes that telecom operators can translate into concrete improvements. Speakers and participants will explore how AI technologies can be operationalized to deliver tangible business value, from improved network reliability and automation to enhanced customer experiences and accelerated service innovation. The organizers position the summit as a pivotal moment for telcos to place themselves at the heart of the AI revolution, recognizing that the pace of digital transformation demands not only vision but also scalable execution plans, standardized practices, and shared industry capabilities. In this context, DTW Ignite seeks to align operators, technology vendors, and ecosystem partners around common challenges and shared success metrics, helping to accelerate the adoption of AI-enabled network architectures across regions and markets.
Key figures and the breadth of participation further amplify the event’s significance. DTW Ignite 2025 will feature upwards of 130 speakers drawn from leading global technology providers and telecom operators, including names such as AWS, IBM, Microsoft, Nvidia, and T-Mobile. These speakers will contribute a mix of strategic perspectives, technical demonstrations, and practical case studies aimed at guiding AI integration within telecom networks. Beyond talks, the event is structured to foster interactive learning and cooperative innovation through demonstrations, collaborative exercises, and opportunities for attendees to engage directly with cutting-edge AI-enabled solutions. The inclusion of a broad slate of companies as speakers underscores the cross-pollination of ideas that is essential to advancing telco AI adoption. Delegates will have ample occasions to learn from real-world implementations, exchange experiences, and identify pathways to replicate or adapt successful approaches within their own organizations.
The program also highlights the breadth of innovation through a wide slate of Catalyst projects and collaborative ventures. More than 50 Catalyst initiatives will be showcased at the event, spanning involvement from over 200 participating companies. These projects provide a practical lens on how AI, data management, and automation can be deployed in real telecom contexts, offering templates, best practices, and accelerators that attendees can apply within their own networks. The emphasis on Catalyst projects signals a robust commitment to hands-on experimentation and rapid prototyping, enabling teams to validate concepts in a controlled environment before broader rollout. Through these demonstrations and collaborative sessions, DTW Ignite aims to shorten the distance between theoretical potential and operational reality, encouraging participants to translate insights into measurable improvements across network operations, service delivery, and customer engagement.
Open collaboration and network-building form another core pillar of the event. In addition to technical sessions, the program prioritizes networking opportunities and executive-level dialogues designed to connect cloud providers, network operators, and technology vendors in meaningful ways. The Executive Connect initiative, for instance, is designed to foster high-level conversations between communication service providers (CSPs) and technology suppliers, creating spaces where strategic partnerships and joint initiatives can be explored in a focused setting. The event anticipates robust attendance from CSP professionals, with hundreds of executives converging to discuss roadmaps, governance models, and collaboration opportunities that support AI-driven network modernization. This emphasis on structured, high-value networking complements the more technical and session-based content, ensuring a holistic experience that advances both knowledge and relationship-building in equal measure.
Amid the broader agenda, Huawei’s Operations Transformation Forum (OTF) emerges as a key prelude to the main DTW Ignite gathering. The OTF, entering its tenth year, is centered around the theme All Intelligent Operations Ignite New Growth, underscoring the telecommunication sector’s ongoing shift toward intelligent operations powered by AI. Taking place on June 16, the day before the DTW Ignite summit, the OTF provides a dedicated platform for exploring how AI-driven processes and intelligent automation can unlock new growth opportunities in operations. The collaboration between OTF and DTW Ignite signals a strategic alignment between operators seeking to optimize day-to-day operations and the broader AI-enabled transformation agenda presented at the main event. Attendees will have the chance to explore a wide variety of initiatives focused on operational intelligence, predictive maintenance, and data-driven decision making as part of this combined event ecosystem.
The scope of participation at the combined event is further amplified by a robust Innovation Zone and a dedicated Innovation Hub, where attendees can immerse themselves in a variety of interactive experiences. These zones will host more than 50 Catalyst projects and a curated set of demonstrations that highlight practical problem-solving through hackathons and results sprints. The Innovation Zone and Innovation Hub provide a dynamic environment for testing ideas, validating approaches, and learning from peers in a structured, outcome-focused format. This hands-on setting is particularly valuable for teams seeking to shorten cycles from concept to deployment, offering real-time feedback, collaboration opportunities, and access to diverse expertise from participating organizations. The emphasis on collaborative problem-solving through this format aligns with the broader goal of accelerating AI adoption in networks by combining diverse perspectives, skill sets, and resources.
The event’s format includes a variety of interactive and practical experiences designed to maximize knowledge transfer and real-world applicability. A central feature is the Solutions Room, where attendees can engage directly with challenges facing the industry and work toward actionable resolutions. The room provides a focused space for cross-functional teams to brainstorm, prototype, and test solutions that address common telecom pain points, from interoperability gaps to data governance and security concerns. This space is complemented by the Innovation Zone, where Catalyst projects are showcased, and by masterclasses offered during the Autonomous Network Summit and AI & Data Innovation sessions. These masterclasses, delivered by industry experts, provide structured learning on the latest AI techniques, network optimization strategies, and governance frameworks essential for responsible AI deployment in telecom environments.
Part of the event design is to ensure that content remains highly relevant to a diverse audience, from engineers and data scientists to executives and policy makers. The Open Digital Architecture (ODA) initiative, featuring Open APIs and ODA Components, will be demonstrated as part of the program, illustrating how open standards and modular architectures can support scalable, interoperable AI-enabled networks. This focus on openness and standardization resonates with many industry stakeholders who recognize the importance of shared interfaces, predictable integration points, and governance practices that enable rapid innovation without compromising security or reliability. Attendees will have opportunities to engage with these demonstrations and to discuss how ODA principles can be applied within their own networks, teams, and operating models.
In addition to the technical emphasis, the event places a strong priority on real-time demonstrations and content relevance through an interactive application that allows participants to nominate and vote for project demonstrations. This feature ensures that the most impactful and timely demos garner attention and discussion, aligning content with attendee needs and industry challenges. It also encourages proactive engagement and community-driven prioritization of topics, which can help ensure that the summit remains aligned with the most pressing issues in AI-enabled telco transformation. The program is further enriched by the attention given to networking opportunities that accompany the formal agenda, including a supportive ecosystem of sponsors and partners who contribute to the event’s breadth and depth.
Support for the event comes from a broad slate of sponsors across telecommunications and technology sectors, reflecting a widely shared conviction in the potential of AI to transform networks. More than 35 key companies are backing the event, with prominent names including Amdocs, AWS, Ericsson, Huawei, Netcracker, Oracle, Tech Mahindra, and Tecnotree among the supporters. This level of industry backing helps create a comprehensive, cross-functional environment in which operators can explore end-to-end solutions and form strategic collaborations that cover technology, services, and support. The presence of such sponsors reinforces the credibility of the forum and signals a sustained commitment to advancing AI-enabled network transformation across the broader telecom ecosystem.
A closing note from industry leaders underscores the event’s ambitions and momentum. Nik Willetts, CEO of TM Forum, emphasizes that DTW Ignite represents more than a conference; he describes it as the industry’s proving ground where participants are not merely discussing the future but actively building it together. This framing reinforces the event’s aim to move beyond theoretical conversations toward practical, collaborative outcomes that telecom firms can implement to address current AI complexities and to construct the networks of tomorrow. The leadership voices accompanying this vision reflect a thoughtful balance of industry experience and technical expertise, underscoring the event’s potential to catalyze meaningful changes in how networks are designed, managed, and evolved in an AI-rich landscape. The combined energy of speakers, catalysts, operators, and sponsors is expected to drive a holistic conversation about how best to harness AI for smarter, more capable telecommunications services.
Huawei’s OTF integration contributes a notable dimension to the program, merging hands-on operations intelligence with the broader AI-focused agenda of DTW Ignite. The collaboration highlights how operators and technology providers can work together to translate intelligent operations into tangible growth and competitive differentiation. For attendees, this integration provides additional exposure to practical applications and implementation strategies that can be adapted to diverse network environments, geography, and regulatory contexts. The combined program thus offers a more comprehensive view of how intelligent operations can scale from pilot projects to enterprise-wide adoption, with a strong emphasis on real-world impact, governance, and measurable outcomes. The collaboration also signals a broader industry trend toward cross-event synergies that maximize value for participants through aligned objectives and shared challenges.
Sponsors’ support, leadership perspectives, and the expansive Catalyst program collectively reinforce the event’s purpose: to accelerate AI-enabled modernization across telecom networks and services. The combination of high-profile speakers, a large slate of Catalyst projects, and a robust showcase of platform and open-architecture capabilities points to a future where telcos can leverage AI to optimize operations, unlock new revenue streams, and deliver superior customer experiences. Attendees will come away with practical knowledge, tested approaches, and a network of peers and partners ready to collaborate on today’s real-world AI challenges.
Conclusion
DTW Ignite 2025 in Copenhagen represents a pivotal milestone for the telecom industry as it navigates the integration of AI, data-driven operations, and autonomous network capabilities. The event’s triple focus on Composable IT & Ecosystems, Autonomous Networks, and AI & Data Innovation provides a comprehensive roadmap for achieving scalable, secure, and interoperable AI-enabled networks. The inclusion of Huawei’s OTF and the combined program expands the horizons for intelligent operations and growth, reinforcing the importance of cross-sector collaboration and practical experimentation through Catalyst projects, Innovation Zone demonstrations, and interactive sessions. With more than 130 speakers, 50 Catalyst initiatives, and partnerships spanning AWS, IBM, Microsoft, Nvidia, and T-Mobile, DTW Ignite promises to deliver actionable insights, real-world case studies, and tangible strategies that telcos can apply to their networks and services. The event’s emphasis on open architectures, standardization, and collaborative problem-solving aligns with the industry’s ongoing push toward scalable AI solutions, providing a blueprint for how telecom operators can emerge from the AI era stronger, more resilient, and better positioned to innovate for customers. As the telecommunications landscape evolves, DTW Ignite is positioned to serve as a catalyst for lasting change, helping the industry move from concepts to concrete outcomes and from pilots to enterprise-scale deployments.