MWC22 Barcelona returns to Fira Gran Via on 28 February to 3 March 2022 with the theme of Connectivity Unleashed. Here, Antony Savvas highlights what the show will be offering.
The unleashed connectivity in question includes the key battle areas of 5G, IoT (Internet of Things), edge, Open RAN, artificial intelligence (AI), the metaverse and even 6G, with the event once against expecting to attract tens of thousands of attendees, if not the more than 100,000 of previous events, as we steadily come out of the pandemic.
“With a multi-layered health and safety plan, the global mobile ecosystem can convene safely to innovate, network, drive meaningful change and get business done,” say organisers GSMA. The deputy mayor of Barcelona, Jaume Collboni, has confirmed the city’s “political, institutional and operational support” for MWC22 Barcelona.
In 2021, GSMA hosted three scaled down MWC events in Shanghai, Los Angeles and Barcelona, but this year’s event is the big one. The event includes more than 1,000 speakers, over 1,500 exhibitors, 37 country pavilions and the Ministerial Programme for policymakers and industry leaders.
Show streams and events this time include 5G Connect sponsored by Salesforce, Advancing AI, Internet of Everything, CloudNet sponsored by Kyndryl, FinTech, start-up innovation at 4YFN (Four Years From Now), discussions around diversity and inclusion at Diversity4Tech, Tech Horizon and Industry City, co-delivered by Accenture.
“We’re looking forward to spirited discussions, powerful keynotes and seeing the very best of innovation at MWC22,” says John Hoffman, CEO of GSMA. “This year you will hear from many industry leaders with one thing in common. Mobile technology is driving their transformation, and to continue on this transformation journey they will use the week to collaborate, share insights, accelerate real change and conduct business.”
Speakers
He says the event is truly global, with more than 150 countries represented. A wide range of industries, including finance, football, and, for the first time, digital art and non-fungible tokens (NFTs), will take part. Sotheby’s CEO Charles Stewart will speak about how the convergence of the physical and digital worlds is creating new opportunities for the 277 year-old company.
Other main speakers include Shuky Sheffer, president and CEO of Amdocs; Anne Chow, CEO of AT&T; Adam Selipsky, CEO of Amazon Web Services; Yang Jie, chairman at China Mobile; Ruiwen Ke, chairman and CEO of China Telecom; LieHong Liu, chairman and CEO at China Unicom; Joan Laporta, president of FC Barcelona; Cher Wang, chairperson for HTC; Mauricio Ramos, CEO of Millicom; Pekka Lundmark, president and CEO at Nokia; Allison Kirkby, president and CEO at Telia Company; Jose Maria Alvarez-Pallete, chairman and CEO at Telefónica; Andy Penn, CEO of Telstra; Nick Read, CEO at Vodafone; and Cristiano Amon, president and CEO for Qualcomm.
Diversity4Tech Summit
The Diversity4Tech Summit will host a range of speakers focused on making a case for greater diversity and inclusion in business and the technology sector. The agenda includes talks, panels, awards and a roundtable all designed to accelerate transformation and inclusion – ‘inspiring attendees to demonstrate leadership on the issue’.
Policy debate
The GSMA Ministerial Programme expects more than 140 delegations. Ministers, policymakers and industry leaders will discuss closing the digital gap, meeting global climate targets, building policies for a digital world, and maximising the potential of 5G. “Political, regulatory and telecoms leaders recognise the importance of gathering in Barcelona to debate the issues and steer a course towards economic recovery and a digitally inclusive world,” says GSMA.
In addition, pavilions hosted by 37 country delegations from around the world will be on hand, eager to do business and share the latest innovations from their markets.
4YFN at the heart
4YFN will return once again to the heart of MWC, supported by sponsor Bstartup Banco Sabadell. In Hall 6, more than 500 international start-ups and over 300 speakers will convene to share insights on how to drive the ecosystem forward. “We anticipate more than €4 billion of potential investment available at this year’s event, and 200 start-ups will pitch to leading funds, VCs and CVCs,” GSMA says.
The GSMA also welcomes the WAS#15 event to Barcelona for the first time, which provides a forum for interworking and roaming discussions.
IoT market
As for IoT in the mobile network ecosystem, the global value of the cellular IoT market is expected to reach US$61bn by 2026, rising from US$31bn in 2022, according to Juniper Research. It identified the growth of 5G and cellular low-power wide area (LPWA) technologies as key to this 95% increase over the next four years.
Juniper Research urges operators to migrate IoT connections on legacy networks to networks that support LPWA technologies. It anticipates that demand from enterprises for low-cost monitoring technologies, enabled by LPWA networks, will increase as legacy networks are shut off over the next four years.
Juniper predicts that 5G IoT services will generate $9 billion of revenue by 2026, rising from $800 million in 2021. This represents a growth of 1,000% over the next five years, as 5G coverage expands and operators benefit from the increased number of 5G IoT connections.
Roaming
Extra IoT roaming activity globally has been tracked by communication services provider BICS, whose data has revealed that machine roaming on its network rose by 44% in 2021. The increase indicates a ‘huge upsurge generally in the adoption of IoT devices connecting globally’, says BICS.
In research, IoT roaming traffic is predicted to rise by over 300% over the next four years, according to a recent Kaleido report. All this will solidify the business case for telecom operators to invest in 5G, to provide faster and ultra-reliable connectivity to the growing machine market, says BICS.
Matteo Gatta, the chief executive of BICS, says: “Our data highlights the fact that the return on investment in 5G for operators is already showing in the market, and the trajectory for mass machine communication is crystal clear. Operators have an open opportunity to support their enterprise customers on their 5G journey.”
Security
Security has been an ever-present concern when it comes to IoT deployments, including ones in remote locations that are harder to monitor and manage, and mission-critical data networks that are increasingly being targeted by hackers.
A PSA Certified 2022 Security Report predicts that this year will mark a turning point in securing the Internet of Things, as the industry collectively commits to addressing the historic lag between the rate of digital transformation and the speed of securing the ecosystem.
PSA Certified is a global partnership of securityconscious companies that are building security best practises into devices at scale. Its security framework and independent third-party evaluation scheme is spearheaded by Arm, CAICT, ProvenRun, Riscure, SGS Brightsight, TrustCB, UL, Applus+ Laboratories and ECSEC Laboratory, and it is aiming to unite the industry, standards bodies, regulators and insurers under one initiative.
The annual Security Report surveyed 1,040 technology decision makers across Europe, the US and APAC, and found that security was at the centre of IoT strategy and organisational culture, with 90% having increased the importance placed on security in the past 12 months. Almost 90% put security in their top three business priorities, and 42% of those rank building a security first culture as their top organisational priority.
“IoT security has moved well beyond the stage of early adopters and the direction of travel is clear – security is foundational, not optional,” says David Maidment, senior director for the secure devices ecosystem at Arm. “The research is an important reminder that security must be integrated into every device, process, company and culture if we are to take advantage of IoT’s potential as an enabler of digital transformation. Continued industry collaboration around security best practise is critical to driving this forward.”
Show perspectives
Dario Betti, the chief executive of the Mobile Ecosystem Forum (MEF), says of how IoT fits into MWC22: “It is difficult to find an obvious home for IoT, whether you’re talking about operators, vertical industries, system integrators or other players. The IoT ecosystem is widely dispersed and fragmented. MWC has stretched to agriculture, automotive and health, but it has never truly had a coherent IoT perspective. You could see that from the quizzical looks given by the attendees walking past the ambulances, excavators and sunflowers on show at MWC.”
But, he adds: “Yet there are questions that should be asked there. MWC is still the perfect place to address and iron out the connectivity issues around IoT, from roaming to commercial models. The end-to-end security of IoT still has much to be talked about, and operators are well positioned to orchestrate that debate. And the question of the identity of things – or at least the identity of devices right now – is finally being tackled. MWC remains the best forum to inform, debate and define key IoT matters.”
Metaverse
Plenty of properly connected things will be needed to make the evolving metaverse work, not just the big financial investments into the market being seen from the likes of Microsoft, Google, Sony, Samsung and, of course, Meta.
On the metaverse, Betti says: “It’s everywhere, but nowhere. Expect the mobile operators to think hard about the metaverse, the 3D virtual universe due to replace the 2D web browsing experience. Unfortunately, the metaverse does not exist yet, but many are working on it. Everybody is interested, but we will see more R&D than real products at MWC. Dazzling demonstrations? Yes. Stunning business opportunities? Not yet.”
IoT connectivity
The various ways things can be connected will be a continuing theme at MWC. Richard Hart, the head of connectivity at Quectel Wireless Solutions, says: “We’re sure to encounter new innovations at this year’s show having seen the industry-wide hiatus in meeting face-to-face and Quectel’s latest developments will be on display to showcase how we are transitioning from a module and antennas company into an IoT solutions provider. This meets market demand to consolidate and streamline the number of vendors companies interact with and to simplify the procurement processes that can significantly slow down IoT go-to-market. Now, with global connectivity on top, we’re making it simpler than ever before to bring IoT devices out into the market.”
“This year, alongside our comprehensive range of modules, antennas and customer devices, we’ll be demonstrating both our integrated SIM (iSIM) module and our new connectivity service,” adds Hart. “This brings together the iSIM low power wide area module and global connectivity, delivering the connectivity-enabled module as a single propositon.”
Hamish White, founder and CEO of Mobilise, says: “Telecoms customer expectations are changing, more than ever, they are looking for a personalised, simple, intuitive experience that allows them to manage their subscriptions entirely through digital channels. Widespread adoption of digital services such as flexible eSIMs is inevitable, and consumers are seeking faster services that are better catered to their needs.”
He adds: “Megatrends, such as AI and the adoption of 5G, will pave the way for a digital future. However, without the correct infrastructure in place to help operators really get to know and meet the demands of their customers, the ability to offer these technologies is almost meaningless. At MWC, we hope to advise players from across the telco industry on how to build a digital-first strategy, that allows them to connect with their audience and get digitalisation right.”
With operators and their partners seemingly working hard to address the concerns and needs of businesses and consumers, hopefully MWC22 will prove to be a big stepping stone to industry success.
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