Tuesday 22 September, 2026
GSMA joined leaders from across government, industry and the digital ecosystem at the Global Digital Collaboration Conference (GDC26), held from 1–3 September 2026 in Geneva. As a co-organiser, GSMA helped shape discussions on how trusted, interoperable digital identity can strengthen confidence and enable a safer digital economy.
Key themes at the conference
With the European Digital Identity implementation deadline looming, the progress was palpable towards the objective of millions of citizens accessing an identity wallet for their daily interactions with public services. The potential of the business wallet in simplifying many B2B use cases was evident and the momentum in this space was apparent. The conference featured much of the standardisation and technology innovation currently underway, with the main theme of putting users in control of their identity whilst ensuring security, preserving privacy and optimising user experience.
The telecom identity track at GDC
In this context, it was great to see the emergence of a telecom identity theme at the conference and to explore the complementarity between telecom identity capabilities and digital identity initiatives worldwide.
Telecom identity brings operational capabilities that already exist at scale. Boosted by GSMA Open Gateway, many mobile identity signals are available through APIs to assist verifiers with authentication and identity checks. Mobile networks are also improving how business identity is presented to consumers to improve business communications.
David Porteous (session moderator) set out that scams are eroding trust in the mobile ecosystem — 86% of unrecognised calls go unanswered globally. Consumers need to know who’s calling, whether they’re legitimate and whether they’re authorised to act. Trust is both a consumer-protection and an economic-inclusion issue.
Tom Sugden (GSMA) explained what successful OVC implementation and widespread adoption would look like for consumers and organisations at either end of the mobile ecosystem and trust-chain, highlighting how this answers the calls to protect consumers and enjoy the economic benefits of a trusted mobile ecosystem. Specifically, detailed explanation of how the GSMA is responding to demand from our members to convene the industry to create the OVC vetting framework and technical standards, which will allow implementation and adoption.
Glyn Povah (Telefonica) set out the MNO commercial and operational view, the scale of the problem and opportunity scam and fraud presents to MNOs and their customers, and how in his role as Chair of the OVC Subgroup, he was looking forward to helping to solve a foundational problem for the mobile ecosystem.
Randy Warshaw set out the architectural and technical challenges, including verification of identity, rights and roles; cryptographic trust models; open and interoperable approaches; and governance principles. Randy responded to a challenge from the audience around the risk of bad actors subverting the OVC framework by stating this would be inevitable and the vetting framework and technical standards would need to continually evolve in response.
Goran Vranic (World Bank) set out the broader economic context — how access to verifiable identity is a prerequisite for participation in a stable, scalable digital economy, the struggles SMEs and informal businesses face to obtain and prove formal status digitally, and the potential for OVC to extend towards a Digital Business ID, drawing parallels with the GSMA’s earlier role in expanding access to payments and finance and advocating a tiered “identify first, formalise as you grow” approach.
Key takeaways include:
- A common, shared framework is foundational. The industry sees the demand but has so far responded with fragmented non-interoperable branded communications solutions. OVC’s value is convening the ecosystem around a single framework and set of technical standards.
- Trust isn’t just consumer protection, it’s economic and societal opportunity too. There are real value propositions across the mobile ecosystem, including MNOs, but also for small businesses and not-for-profit organisations. We must be inclusive.
- Resilience and security are important, but perfection is not desirable. It’s more important to get started and learn as we go than wait for a perfect framework and technical standards. Continual evolution will be essential.
The discussion explored how telecom identity capabilities and the European Digital Identity Wallet (EUDI) ecosystem are beginning to converge, with participants highlighting both complementary strengths and areas of overlap. Speakers examined where telecom capabilities such as verified numbers, caller authentication and network-based trust signals could enhance wallet-based identity journeys, while also considering how responsibilities should be divided between public and private sector identity infrastructures. The conversation also addressed the standards, governance models and business incentives needed to enable interoperability at scale, alongside the role that mobile networks can play in contributing fraud and risk signals to strengthen trust across the digital identity ecosystem.
Key takeaways include:
- Telecom identity and EUDI are largely complementary. Mobile networks can contribute trusted signals, verified communications and authentication capabilities that enhance wallet-based identity ecosystems.
- Several high-value use cases are ready today. Business communications, caller verification and verified phone number use cases can deliver near-term value while broader wallet ecosystems continue to mature.
- Interoperability will be critical. Common standards, governance frameworks and clear roles across public and private sector actors are needed to avoid fragmentation and enable adoption at scale. Interoperability goes beyond technology: success will hinge on enabling scalable, secure and viable operating and business models, as recently described in the GSMA’s European Identity Group (EIG) whitepaper.
Conclusion
GDC26 reinforced the importance of collaboration between telecoms, governments, standards bodies and the wider identity ecosystem. GSMA will continue working with partners to advance interoperable approaches to identity and trusted communications, helping translate these discussions into solutions that can be deployed at scale.
