Telecom Trends at CES 2026: It Might Be Quiet, But It’s Impactful

CES 2026 drew 148,000 attendees, featured more than 400 sessions conducted by 1,300 speakers, and generated 37,000 content pieces globally.

Despite all that traction, everything that was related to the telecom industry flew under the radar.

That’s exactly why we, at BuyTVInternetPhone, decided to bring the spotlight to telecom; we scoured every telecom trend at CES 2026 that will shape the industry's future, even if it wasn’t the loudest headline.

If you’re interested in what CES 2026 revealed about the telecom future, then stick around and let us break down what the most powerful tech event unfolded.

What Actually is CES?

Consumer Electronics Show (CES) is a highly influential tech event that has been held every year in Las Vegas since 1998. Major tech giants and startups showcase breakthrough technologies, set trends, and bring innovation for the end consumers that matter. It took place from January 6^th to 9^th, 2026, at the Las Vegas Center and surrounding hotels.

What Telecom Changes to Expect After CES 2026?

In a nutshell, these are the changes that we expect in the telecom industry after CES 2026:

• AI won’t be a breakthrough, but it will be a significant part of the infrastructure.
• 5G standalone and 5.5G gear will lay the groundwork for 6G.
• MediaTek WiFi 8 Filogic Chipset will be in mass production by the end of the year.
• Low to mid-tier smartphones will have satellite connectivity as well.
• Low-earth orbiting satellite infrastructure will expand, becoming the norm across the globe.
• AI and cybersecurity will work hand in hand to detect and mitigate threats to networks in real time.

Each of these innovations deserves more details. So, let us explain everything comprehensively.

Future of Telecom in 2026

Away from the spotlight, a lot will be going on in the telecom industry in 2026. Let’s get straight into it:

WiFi 8 Will Have Its Foundation Ready

MediaTek was one of the first companies to deliver a chipset (Filogic 880 & 380) for WiFi 7, and it is following suit at CES 2026. They have announced the WiFi 8 Filogic chipset at CES 2026, which will power all major WiFi 8 routers and mesh systems when they are released to the masses.

WiFi 8 Filogic will not focus on the ultra-fast speed, but rather on reliability. It is much needed because none of the previous generation prioritized Ultra High Reliability (UHR), and also, the massive innovation in AI-driven applications relies more on reliability than speed. That doesn’t mean the speed will be affected; it will remain the same high-speed at 23Gbps.

However, the throughput of this speed will be boosted by up to 80%, thanks to the WiFi 8’s Dynamic Subband Operation (DSO). In simple words, less bandwidth will be wasted, and all of the devices in your home (not just your gaming PC) will work seamlessly.

When Will WiFi 8 Release?

The actual release date hasn’t been announced yet, but it will be somewhere around in 2028. The footing of WiFi 8 has been laid at CES 2026 with the release of MediaTek WiFi 8 Filogic, and its mass production will be underway by the end of the year. In 2026 and 2027, the mass production of WiFi 8 routers will start, and then it will likely hit the market in 2028, switching the scene of connectivity.

AI Will Be More Infused into Telecom Hardware

This started a while ago, but it will pick up pace in 2026.

How, exactly?

For starters, AI will be present everywhere, even though it will be small. For example, AI-powered hardware will accompany the already existing infrastructure to keep tabs on the network all the time. If an issue occurs, it will try to self-heal the network before moving it to the next stage.

This, essentially, will eliminate the need for a 24/7 manual check of the network, which is possible in ideal scenarios that don’t exist in the real world.

Apart from that, agentic-AI will essentially be tailored according to each provider. It has been there, but the problem with that was alterations; a brand offers a new promotion, and it has to retrain the agentic knowledge in the LLMs. Meanwhile, the customer support is disrupted because of incorrect logic caused by changes.

This will be fixed in 2026 with the help of ontological AI. Ontological AI is basically enforcing and imposing business rules and sense on the LLMs. With the help of that, they will be able to maneuver the changes more effectively, resulting in minimal distress among the end users of the service.

How CES 2026 Will Impact 5G Rollout?

5G is already out of the buzzword category because of its underwhelming implementation. It happened for the greater good, and now, the service providers can actually fix the real issues behind-the-scenes.

One of them was the reliance on the 4G cores, which didn’t meet the expectations associated with 5G.

At CES 2026, that fix was called Standalone 5G (acronym of 5G SA).

What is Standalone 5G?

Since the existing 5G infrastructure was dependent on the 4G cores, it wasn’t standalone.

But in 2026, providers will build 5G cores that will support only the 5G network. As a user, you will observe improved performance over the cellular network.

As a cherry on top, these 5G cores will unlock network slicing.

Network slicing is basically creating lanes within the network that will prioritize bandwidth based on the priority number. If a surgeon has to perform a remote surgery, the lane through which they will work will be a priority lane, and that’s network slicing.

What is 5.5G and What Difference Does It Make?

It is the advanced version of 5G, which is currently called 5.5G. After CES 2026, it is promised to be up and running in 2026 with notable names like Nokia, Ericsson, and T-Mobile securing their contract to roll out 5.5G in their respective regions.

Although it is an incremental upgrade over the 5G network, the early movers will have significantly less cost shifting to the 6G network.

This raises another question: what difference will 5.5G make?

The RedCap technology behind 5.5G will actually connect smaller IoT devices more precisely (better location information) and will offer higher upload speeds. As a result, robotics coupled with IoT will see more production and end-user engagement with these products.

Satellite Internet Connectivity Will Bloom

We know this might not be the first time you are hearing this, but in 2026, it will likely happen.

Why BuyTVInternetPhone’s authors are confident of that?

The first reason is Infinix. The Chinese mobile phone manufacturer that makes affordable Android phones. At CES 2026, they announced their latest Infinix Note 60 smartphone will come with built-in satellite connectivity.

This is a reserved feature for the flagship phones. We are talking about the Samsung Galaxy S series, iPhones, and the Pixels of the modern world.

However, according to Verified Market Reports, the major chunk (45%) of the smartphones is dominated by the affordable category ($300-$699). When affordable smartphones, which are actually owned by the masses, have satellite connectivity, it will increase the demand for satellite internet, pushing investors to pour some money here.

That’s exactly why most major telecommunication and even non-telecom brands are pushing to get their fair share of the market; Vodafone is collaborating with AST, Apple joins Globalstar, and more will follow.

As the icing on the cake, the fear of natural disasters that destroy everything, let alone cellular infrastructure, is helping with some more Newtons of force in the push towards satellite connectivity.

Cybersecurity Coupled with AI Will Make Networks More Robust

The backbone of this development is the Threat Intelligence Platforms (TIPs).

We know it sounds complicated, but let us de-complexify this for you.

Back in 2011, when you had to clean your floor, you would have turned on your vacuum cleaner to remove dirt and stuff from your rug. But today, you can buy a robot vacuum cleaner that will constantly move around your floor to keep it clean.

Similarly, AI-enabled cybersecurity will automatically detect the dirt (network anomalies, malware attacks, and areas for performance optimization) and will remove it. The system behind these automated responses is TIPs, which works in the background to keep networks checked in real time and ward off any potential problems without human intervention.

CES 2026: A Final Peek into the Future of Telecom Trends

To wrap this up, we can say that CES 2026 may have highlighted the eye-catching gadgets and futuristic demos. But its real telecom story was written lowkey, where AI-driven networks, Wi-Fi 8 foundations, satellite-connected phones, 5G Standalone cores, and smarter cybersecurity systems were stars of the show.

We see that in 2026, together, these incremental innovations will power a future where connectivity is no longer just about speed, but about intelligence, resilience, and reach that keeps devices, people, and entire industries reliably connected no matter where they are or what they’re doing.