Johannesburg, 02 March 2026 — On the eve of MWC Barcelona 2026, Huawei officially launched its 5G-A Mobile Backhaul Network architecture tailored for the Agentic MBB (Mobile Broadband) era. Defined by core capabilities including 10GE/25GE to the site, L3 to the site, and end-to-end SRv6, the new architecture is designed to enhance differentiated experience assurance, enabling operators to drive revenue growth through experience-based operations.
5G-A Oriented MBH Architecture, Building a New Foundation for the Agentic MBB Era
Experience Monetization Becomes the Mainstream Trend in the Agentic MBB Era
While the 4G era focused on “Connecting People” and traditional 5G on the “Internet of Things (IoT),” 5G-A (5G-Advanced) marks a leap toward “Intelligent Internet of Everything + Integrated Sensing and Communication.” This evolution shifts the operators’ focus from traditional traffic-based monetization to differentiated experience monetization, anchored in extreme bandwidth, robust fault protection, and deterministic SLA (Service Level Agreement) assurance. To align with this 5G-A evolution, Huawei has redefined the mobile backhaul architecture, transitioning from “best-effort” forwarding to deterministic transport to provide a solid foundation for innovative service deployment.
As 5G-A scales globally, traditional backhaul networks are facing 3 bottlenecks:
- Constrained Interface Rates: The development of Ultra-HD video and 3D live streaming has driven 5G-A base station peak throughput beyond 8Gbps. Consequently, traditional GE-to-site links have become a bottleneck, failing to meet the rigorous demands for lossless backhaul.
- Inflexible Network Routing: Over 50% of access devices are limited to Layer 2 (L2) switching, forcing cross-site traffic into redundant, circuitous routing. This architecture cannot support the ultra-low latency required for mission-critical services such as industrial control and the low-altitude economy.
- Inadequate Differentiated Experience Assurance: Emerging sectors like the low-altitude economy and autonomous driving demand differentiated high reliability, flexible scheduling, and deterministic transmission. Traditional backhaul networks, hindered by insufficient reliability and poor network programmability, struggle to fulfill these sophisticated service requirements.
To address these challenges, Huawei’s new-generation mobile backhaul architecture introduces three key features:
- 10GE/25GE to the Site: By upgrading access-layer links to 10GE/25GE, Huawei provides a “lossless backhaul” pipeline for 5G-A sites. This fully unleashes the 10Gbps potential of the wireless air interface, empowering operators to expand premium 5G value-added services,such as HD live streaming, 8K video, XR, and AI vision, and driving significant ARPU growth.
- L3 to the Site: By deploying Layer 3 routing capabilities directly to the edge, it enables “shortest-path” forwarding for traffic between base stations, meeting the demands of latency-sensitive applications. It also serves as an incubator for innovative B2B services, including industrial control, edge computing, and the low-altitude economy, effectively broadening the horizons of operator growth.
- End-to-End SRv6: It enables minute-level network traffic scheduling. During congestion, the system performs global traffic optimization to automatically release suppressed traffic, helping operators boost DOU (Data Over Usage) by more than 20%.
The solution has already entered the phase of large-scale commercial deployment. In a demonstration zone in China, the upgrade from 10GE to 25GE at the access layer is already supporting the rapid rollout of high-quality naked-eye 3D, XR, and AI services. In South Africa, an operator deployed Huawei’s E2E SRv6 solution to achieve real-time traffic optimization. By successfully releasing suppressed traffic, the ARPU surged from $18 to $25.
The upgrade to 5G-A backhaul is more than a simple speed boost—it is a fundamental evolution from a traditional “data pipe” to a “foundational base” for differentiated experience assurance. At MWC Barcelona 2026, Huawei cordially invites global customers and partners to join us in exploring the infinite possibilities of innovative services in the Agentic MBB era.
