The annual gathering of the great and good in mobile and tech comes at a crucial time for the sector.
Mobile World Congress has been a fixture on the telecommunications calendar for many, many years now. As more than 100,000 delegates gather in Barcelona next week, the background music suggests a focal shift toward making the most of what we have rather than the announcing of any revolutionary or game-changing developments.
The same… but different
At first glance, MWC 2025 looks a lot like the two most recent version of the events which have taken place since coming back properly following Covid. There will still be approximately 100,000 delegates visiting over the week, the leading operators will still have gleamingly ginormous exhibition stands to visit (looking forward to seeing the Ericsson stand this year, as it opens its previously invite-only stand for all to see) and there will be a parade of C-suite speakers appearing on the main stage and across the event. The events’ key themes feel familiar too; 5G, IoT, edge, cloud and quantum computing all appear prominently with AI feeling ubiquitous to all discussions, as you would expect.
But the lead up to the event does reveal some subtle differences which are a necessary reflection of the geo-political and economic factors putting a squeeze on operators and leading to an overall sense that this year’s event is as much about making the most of what we have as it is about trying to grab headlines with eye-catching innovations.
What is and what isn’t being talked about
The tone is somewhat set by the first of the six conference themes for 2025. 5G Inside will focus on how network operators can ‘leverage’ the unique capabilities of 5G to deliver revenue-generating services and cost reductions. Speaker sessions and associated roundtables reflect this focus with titles including ‘Monetising 5G Networks’, ‘Unlocking the full potential of smart manufacturing’ and ‘5G Advanced: One year later, what is the business promise?’ being indicative of the overall tone. Network slicing and increased use of 5G private networks will also be discussed across the nine halls of the Fira de Barcelona.
6G is notably absent as a keynote topic. The topic is being discussed at the event but much more in terms of moving incrementally to the new standard in a considered and measured way that is as wary of committing the same errors made in the jump to 5G as it is keen to ensure new opportunities and innovations can be created and exploited in the future. Worth coming to the NGMN Press & Industry Briefing on Wednesday lunchtime on the Vodafone stand for more on this topic.
The 2025 key topics?
If 6G isn’t going to be the main buzzword of the event, what will be? While everyone still seems to want see AI as key theme, it feels like Open Gateway APIs are definitely the thing that the GSMA wants you to know about. Fitting snugly with the idea of MWC being where ‘mobile and technologies converge’ the GSMA has a number of use cases built on Open Gateway APIs to show off on its stand during the week. One example supports individuals protected by restraining orders by making victims aware of the proximity of people identified as dangerous in real time, along with alerting law enforcement and other people to offer extra protection. Will be interesting to see how that works.
Convergence seems to be a big theme too as the sector looks at integration with other parts of the telecoms sector. The event organiser is keen to point out how the show is about ‘more than just mobile’ and the theme of integration with fibre, FWA and satellite technologies will be more prominent than ever this year.
Of the 1,200 speakers on the packed agenda, 30% are from ‘adjacent’ sectors, a further illustration of how the sector is looking to ‘ubiquitous’ connectivity to help drive revenue growth. Case in point being the recent successful trial using OneWeb LEO satellites to deliver 5G from space.
Links to the fibre broadband sector will be on show at the Vodafone stage, where the operator will explain how its successful test of ‘drone-enabled network maintenance’ will reduce maintenance costs and time for the repair of breakages in fibre backhaul lines. This could be a massive boost for physical network operators.
See you there?
Proactive International PR will be present across the whole week and we are looking forward to enjoying the entire experience – even the queues for coffee and a sandwich. If you are attending, we’d love to say ‘hi’ so please email james.page@proactive-pr.com and we’ll see you there!