MWC2017_Barcelona-2

Barcelona, world capital of Mobile and new technologies

Barcelona has welcomed the 12th edition of the prestigious Mobile World Congress (MWC), the largest and most important technology fair held in Europe, which took place from February 27 to March 2 in the Fira de Barcelona.

En esta nueva edición, Barcelona ha batido nuevos récords, con un 7% más de participación en el MWC. A la cita no han faltado las principales compañías del sector tecnológico y se han logrado unas excelentes cifras de participación (récord): 2.300 expositores, 108.000 visitantes profesionales provenientes de más de 208 países, más de 160 delegaciones gubernamentales y más de 3.500 medios de comunicación.

In this new edition, Barcelona has beaten new records, with 7% more participation in the MWC. The principal companies of the technology sector were present and they achieved some excellent (record) participation figures: 2,300 exhibitors, 108,000 professional visitors coming from more than 208 countries, plus 160 governmental delegations and more than 3,500 members of the media.

According to its organizers, GSMA (association of the large operators) in collaboration with the Fira de Barcelona, quantified the impact of the MWC at more than 465 million euros for Barcelona’s economy, in addition to the generation of more than 13,200 temporary jobs. Furthermore, the hotel establishments reached full occupancy during the days of the congress and the previous weekend, according to the Gremio de Hoteles de Barcelona (Barcelona Hotels Association), where more than 10,000 euros per night were paid for the rent of some of the luxury suites for corporate stays or events in the most exclusive hotels of Barcelona.

During the four days, the show exhibited and presented the latest novelties in the development of mobile technology, connected devices and services. But also technological innovations typical of futurist films, such as drones and autonomous cars. It had the presence of five car manufacturers, Peugeot, Daimler, Seat, BMW and Ford.

Also, among many other parallel events, we can highlight the Women4Tech meeting dedicated to the role of women in the technological industry.

MWC 17 Women 4 Tech Conf 2

 

Growth of mobile telephony

The evolution of the wireless networks has been one of the great protagonists of this edition. Operators and engineers work so that the new 5G mobile telephone generation is a reality. This new technology will allow an instantaneous response to any order.

Furthermore, according to the study of the GSMA presented in the MWC, the number of mobile telephone clients will exceed 5,000 million at mid-2017. An upward trend, which grows hand in hand with wide-band mobile networks and Smartphones. And the fact is, in recent years, the implementation of mobile devices has favored the advance and the implementation of the Internet in the entire world, with mobile devices surpassing the computer.

MWC 17 Salon

 

Novelties and curiosities

Artificial intelligence and the Internet of Things (IoT)have had their space in the MWC 2017. Devices that learn alone, robots, houses connected with assistants managed by voice and Smart Cities that save energy thanks to sensors. Virtual realityaugmented reality and 360 video, applied to video-games as well as to retail and the industries are consolidated and placed within the reach of the general public. This technology places powerful marketing tools which manage to seduce the client at the service of the real estate sector and other sectors.

In the telephony terrain, one of the novelties most commented on was the presentation of the new Nokia 3310, an homage to the trend-setting device of this brand. As for the Japanese firm Sony, it has launched the Xperia Touch, a smart projector that is capable of converting any surface into a touch screen of up to 23”. In addition, it can also be used as a traditional video projector of up to 82” with stereo sound.

Samsung, the great South Korean titan, did not present its star device, the Samsung Galaxy S8, and reports that the date of presentation will be March 29. For its part, it has made known some new virtual reality glasses. A device with remote control that gains in credibility and feels the control of the experience in first person.

In turn, Telefónica and Vodafone took advantage of the MWC to announce their own prototypes of cars connected with remote driving through 5G technology with the C-V2X (Cellular Vehicle-to-Everything) technology.

Now all that remains for us is to enjoy the novelties that were brought to us in this edition of the MWC and to wait impatiently for all that will come in 2018.

MWC17 Drones 2

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