BARCELONA, Spain--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Mar 17, 2026--
On March 2, 2026, the "2026 Global WLAN Industry Forum," hosted by the World WLAN Application Alliance (WAA), was held in Barcelona, Spain. Under the theme "AI-WLAN: Envisioning a New Premium Intelligent WLAN Ecosystem," the forum brought together over a hundred technical experts, operators, equipment manufacturers, and representatives from international organizations from around the world to discuss the integrated development path of AI and WLAN.
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As the world's first international industry organization dedicated on WLAN application experience, WAA proposed the goal of building a "Global Hub for AI-WLAN Technical Exchange and Standardization." During the forum, WAA, jointly with international organizations, operators, and leading equipment enterprises, released the "International Cooperation Initiatives on AI-WLAN Standardization" and signed memorandums of understanding with the World Broadband Association (WBBA) and the Global Intelligent Internet of Things Consortium (GIIC), laying a solid foundation for breaking down standards barriers and advancing technical collaboration.
ZHANG Ping, President of the WAA, stated that building a new intelligent ecosystem with AI-WLAN is the shared vision of the industry. GAN Bin, Vice President of Huawei, mentioned that AI transforms wireless local area networks from "passive response" to "active prediction," better meeting the differentiated needs of various industries.
During the keynote session, representatives from international standards organizations and industry leaders such as IEEE, ITU-T, ISO/IEC, SAMENA, WBA, China Mobile, Huawei, H3C, and Qualcomm engaged in in-depth discussions on topics such as technological evolution, standard harmonization, and scenario-based implementation. The panel discussion focused on AI-WLAN applications and standardization innovation, consolidating industry consensus.
As a professionally significant and internationally oriented industry event, the hosting of the 2026 Global WLAN Industry Forum not only established a core platform for global WLAN industry collaboration and exchange but also strengthened international consensus on the integrated development of AI and WLAN, reinforcing the foundation for global industry cooperation. WAA will leverage this forum as an opportunity to continuously deepen the two-way integration of AI and WLAN, further enhance international cooperation, and continue to play its role as a "coordinator" and "promoter." It will persistently build bridges for global industry collaboration, deepen international technical exchanges and standard cooperation, and promote the benefits of high-quality WLAN experiences for users worldwide, collectively writing a new chapter in the development of the AI-WLAN intelligent network ecosystem.
2026 Global WLAN Industry Forum Convened in Barcelona, Advancing a New AI-WLAN Industry Ecosystem
NEW YORK (AP) — The U.S. stock market is pushing to more records Thursday as companies like Dollar Tree, Snowflake and Hormel Foods keep piling up profits. That's even as oil prices continue to swing and more data shows pressure building on the economy because of the war with Iran.
The S&P 500 added 0.5% to its all-time high set the day before after drifting between small gains and losses earlier in the morning. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 10 points, or less than 0.1%, as of 1:26 p.m. Eastern time, and the Nasdaq composite was 0.8% higher after both indexes also set records the day before.
Even with worries about expensive oil and high inflation, the U.S. stock market has run to records largely because U.S. companies keep making more money. Stock prices tend to follow the path of corporate profits over the long term, and companies have been routinely topping analysts' expectations for the first three months of 2026.
Dollar Tree’s stock soared 19% after it became the latest to report fatter profit than analysts expected. CEO Mike Creedon said improved store conditions helped the retailer make more profit off each $1 in sales during the latest quarter despite tariffs adding to its costs. The company also gave a forecast for profit over the full year that topped analysts’ expectations.
Kohl’s rallied 18.9% after the retailer reported better results for the latest quarter than analysts had feared, while Best Buy climbed 18% following its own better-than-expected profit report. Hormel Foods climbed 13.1% after a strong performance for its Jennie-O ground turkey and exports of its Spam luncheon meat helped it report a better profit than analysts expected.
Snowflake rose 38.8% after saying artificial intelligence continues to be a strong driver of its business, and profit and revenue for the latest quarter exceeded expectations.
They helped offset a dip for Marvell Technology, which fell 3.1% after its profit for the latest quarter only matched analysts' expectations. It also said AI is driving big revenue growth for it, particularly its data center business.
In the oil market, prices ticked higher following their latest U-turns. The price for a barrel of benchmark U.S. crude oil rose 0.4% to $89.04, but only after bouncing between $87 and $92. It's been swinging as hopes rise and fall that the United States and Iran may reach a deal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and get oil flowing again from the Persian Gulf to customers worldwide.
The latest threat to the ceasefire in the war came after U.S. Central Command said Kuwait had intercepted missiles launched by Iran late Wednesday night. That followed earlier “defensive” strikes by the U.S. military on missile launch sites and minelaying boats in southern Iran.
In the bond market, Treasury yields eased after a report said the measure of inflation that the Federal Reserve likes to use accelerated last month but was roughly within economists’ expectations.
The yield on the 10-year Treasury fell to 4.46% from 4.48% late Wednesday after giving up an earlier gain.
Data also showed how U.S. households are less able to save money, with the personal savings rate down to a four-year low of 2.6%, “pointing up the financial pressure on lower- and middle-income families,” according to Gary Schlossberg, global strategist at Wells Fargo Investment Institute.
U.S. households have been saying they’re feeling discouraged about the economy and inflation, even as the stock market keeps chugging along.
High yields in bond markets worldwide recently have threatened to slow economies and undercut prices for stocks and all kinds of other investments. High yields have already forced the average long-term U.S. mortgage rate to its most expensive level since last summer, and they could curtail companies’ borrowing to build the AI data centers that have supported the U.S. economy’s growth recently.
A report on Thursday said the pace of sales of new U.S. homes unexpectedly slowed last month, as the weight of higher mortgage rates hurts the market.
In stock markets abroad, indexes dipped across much of Europe and Asia. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng fell 1.3% for one of the world’s larger losses.
AP Business Writer Elaine Kurtenbach contributed to this report.
Trader Robert Arciero works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Friday, May 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)
A person looks at an electronic stock board showing Japan's Nikkei index at a securities firm Monday, May 25, 2026, in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)
FILE - A person stands in front of an electronic stock board showing Japan's Nikkei index, seen through the glass wall of an office building in Tokyo, May 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko, File)
Currency traders work near a screen showing the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI), top center, and the foreign exchange rate between U.S. dollar and South Korean won, top left, at the foreign exchange dealing room of the Hana Bank headquarters in Seoul, South Korea, Thursday, May 28, 2026. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)
A currency trader watches monitors near a screen showing the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI), top center, and the foreign exchange rate between U.S. dollar and South Korean won, top left, at the foreign exchange dealing room of the Hana Bank headquarters in Seoul, South Korea, Thursday, May 28, 2026. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)
Asia markets index of Japan, South Korea and Australia is seen on a screen at the foreign exchange dealing room of the Hana Bank headquarters in Seoul, South Korea, Thursday, May 28, 2026. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)
