The race to 2030 won’t be won in theory: DTW Ignite 2026 celebrates Catalyst Awards

Record 59 Catalysts showcase proof-of-concept solutions to real-life challenges, including agentic network operations

TM Forum celebrated the telecommunications industry's boldest problem-solving at the DTW Ignite 2026 Catalyst awards. This year, a record 59 teams solved real-life industry challenges with working code and a focus on measurable impact to reach the future, faster.

This year, 59 Catalyst teams involving more than 1,350 individuals representing over 250 organizations – including 105 CSPs – showcased the power of collaboration with live demonstrations of innovation across TM Forum's three Mission Summits: Autonomous Networks, Composable IT and Ecosystems, and Trustworthy AI and Data.

TM Forum Catalyst Awards celebrate teams experimenting boldly with real code, real proof-of-concepts, and real solutions to industry challenges, accelerating the industry's journey to the AI-native enterprise: not in theory, but in working demos that, at the same time, test and advance TM Forum's standards and frameworks.

"The Catalyst program shows what happens when the industry comes together with shared purpose and real urgency," said Aaron Boasman Patel, VP Innovation at TM Forum. " Bold ideas become working solutions, collaboration turns ambition into momentum, and teams deliver progress in useable code. What we see on stage at DTW Ignite is more than innovation; it is proof that the future can move faster when the right people build it together.”

 The ceremony opened by recognizing the Innovation Hub projects that are at the forefront of innovation. In six months, these projects moved beyond pilots, laying the foundations for an AI-Native ODA Canvas and advancing Level 5 autonomous networks.

Best Moonshot Catalyst awards were presented for:

• Autonomous Networks challenge
• WINNER: Game X - Phase II 
  
  
• Composable IT and Ecosystem challenge
• WINNER: Hyperconnected intelligent network of trust (HINT) for supply chain - Phase III.
   
• Trustworthy AI and Data challenge
• WINNER: Zero-trust agents for Autonomous Networks
   
• Showcase and storyline excellence
• WINNER: Business-aware GNN-healing networks and The butler did it: Turning telco infrastructure into AI services
  
  
• Attendees' choice
• WINNER: Conflict management in intent-based networks - Phase II

Outstanding Catalyst awards were presented for:

• Business gamechanger
• WINNER: Multi-agent intelligence for packet core operations
  
  
• Customer experience reinvention
• WINNER: Agentic I2O – Intent to outcome
  
  
• Innovative and futuristic
• WINNER: Robotic dog: AI at the edge - sustainable revenue at scale
  
  
• TM Forum asset excellence
• WINNER: E2E multi-agent smart network CapEx - Phase III
  
  
• AI and automation
• WINNER: Agent fabric: A2A-T runtime - Phase III
  
  
• Autonomy accelerator
• WINNER: Agentic NOC: AI-native operations for the autonomous telco 
  
  
• Rising star 
• WINNER: Cyber twin: Cyber-aware ontology for AIOps 
   
• Showcase and storyline excellence
• WINNER: Inter-operator composability for emergency response: OmniBOSS - Phase III 
  
  
• Attendees' choice
• WINNER: AI accelerated: Network optimization to intelligent maintenance and A2A-T: Accelerating AN L4 toward the era of multi-agent collaboration

 We also recognized the service providers and vendor companies with the highest levels of involvement and engagement in the Catalyst program, with Innovation Voyager and Visionary awards:

• Catalyst Innovation Visionary: Telkomsel, Huawei
• Catalyst Innovation Voyager: China Mobile, Telefonica, AsiaInfo, Infosys

For more than 25 years, the Catalyst program has continuously evolved to stay ahead of emerging industry challenges and opportunities, including breakthroughs in AI, automation, and agentic frameworks. The program forms a core part of TM Forum's Innovation Engine, enabling Members to collaborate openly, test ideas quickly, and progress solutions into commercial environments.

About TM Forum

TM Forum is an alliance of over 800 organizations spanning the global connectivity ecosystem, including the world’s top ten Communication Service Providers (CSPs), top three hyperscalers and Network Equipment Providers (NEPs), vendors, consultancies and system integrators, large and small.

We provide a place for our Members to collaborate, innovate, and deliver lasting change. Together, we are building a sustainable future for the industry in connectivity and beyond.

To find out more, visit: www.tmforum.org 

For media inquiries please contact:

Katy Branson
Head of Communications
TM Forum 

[email protected]