The Editor's View: James Pearce of Telecom TV on MWC 2026
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It was great to chat to James Pearce, Editor at Telecom TV about what he'll be looking to feature at MWC. One massive takeaway: differentiation is key!
1. Roughly how many briefings are you planning to take at MWC?
“The first time I went, I took around thirty or forty briefings, which was probably a mistake.
At TelecomTV, we do a lot of video interviews. so I will be taking less briefings to allow for that. But I think five or six a day feels about right, as it gives time to write up news stories and other content in between.
- Who are you most keen to speak to – vendors, operators, or a mix?
“Telecom Operators, primarily, and industry bodies, but we do speak to a few vendors as well.”
- Are there particular job titles you find most valuable to meet?
“The more senior tend to be slightly better - C-level execs are preferred.”
- What topics are you most interested in discussing this year?
“I have previously heavily focussed on enterprise, and especially use cases, so that will always catch my eye. So, where do telcos see the enterprise opportunity?
Private 5G networks is a big space of interest. Digital sovereignty is also a really important topic at the moment. And of course, no-one will be able to ignore AI, which I am sure will be a dominant topic again this year.”
- How do you split your time between editorial and sponsored activity at MWC?
“At TelecomTV, we do video content with sponsored opportunities, editorial video interviews, written content for our newsletters and a daily roundup recorded on site.
- What advice would you give exhibitors trying to get your attention?
“Try to offer something different and have something interesting to say. I'll get hundreds of emails being pitched at me, and loads of phone calls. I know it's difficult when clients don't want to take risks, but a lot of the messaging from companies can fade together. Everyone's trying to talk about similar topics at MWC, so if you don't have something interesting or different to say, you're just going to get lost in the noise.”
- Any pitching pet peeves during MWC season?
“Make sure you personalise any emails. Again, I know PRs are really busy, but a bland email and generic pitch isn’t going to work. If it doesn't even have my name on it, and for example says “Dear Journalist”, I’m not going to open it. That happens more than you’d expect.
My main pet peeve is if your pitch is not relevant to me. For example, at TelecomTV, we don't really cover consumer tech, so please don't come to me with stories on handsets or mobile gaming. I'm not going to be interested, I'm not going to be open, I’m just going to be annoyed that you don’t know who you’re pitching!”