Artificial intelligence, augmented reality or advances in 5G technologies are the focus of this year’s biggest telecommunications exhibition in the world, which kicked off this Monday in Barcelona and was also marked by China’s post-pandemic reopening.
The Mobile World Congress (WMC), which has been held annually in Barcelona since 2006, retains its original name, but in 2023 no new mobile phone device or technology will capture the attention of the expected over 80,000 people at the event.
According to the organization, more than half of the 80,000 attendees expected at MWC this year are outside the mobile phone world, and this Mobile World Congress coincides with a shrinking market for so-called “smartphone” mobile phones. phones, whose sales fell 11.3% in 2022 to 1.21 billion units.
The 18th edition of Mobile World Congress has the motto “Speed” and focuses on topics such as “5G acceleration”, technological financial services (“fintech”), augmented reality, open networks (OpenNet) and industry 4.0 (also known as the fourth industrial revolution and related to increased connectivity and artificial intelligence).
The bet of the roughly 2,000 exhibitors, who cover an area of 240,000 square meters, seems to have been to try and show visitors the future, or what technology companies assume the future will be more or less close, but always digital and technological. , in terms of transportation, video games or industrial production.
Walking through the halls of the Barcelona Fair these days is synonymous with meeting a robot dog, watching a humanoid surrounded by curious people, or entering a flight simulator to test new artificial intelligence and augmented reality technology.
Of these 2,000 exhibitors, MWC 150 represent Chinese companies that are returning to the show this year due to the recent reopening of China following the COVID-19 pandemic.
The number of visitors from Asia is expected to increase by 25% compared to last year, and only 4,000 to 5,000 people from China were supposed to come to the MWC in Barcelona, an event organized by the Worldwide Mobile Operators Association (GSMA, abbreviated in English). ).
However, the total attendance will be less than the 109,000 people who made it through MWC in 2019, the last edition before the pandemic.
It is the Chinese company, “technology giant” Huawei, that has the largest “booth” at the WMC, with an area of 11,000 square meters, which is also a record in the history of this fair, according to the organization.
Due to sanctions from the US and other countries, justified on security grounds and the possibility of Chinese espionage, Huawei’s mobile telecommunications business (specifically “smartphones”) has been hit particularly hard in recent years.
The Chinese giant’s “booth” still has a section dedicated to mobile phones, but inside the space there are guided tours for journalists and other visitors and guests that show how the company continues to grow, and on several continents in other development-related dimensions. 5G technology, construction of transmission infrastructure or production and storage of energy from renewable sources.
As part of the initiative ahead of the show on Sunday afternoon, Huawei invited partners and journalists to emphasize that it is “committed to research and technological development and looks forward to progress” based on sustainability, energy efficiency and environmental protection.
“Over the past decade, Huawei has invested more than 115 billion euros in research and development, with more than 45,000 authorized family patents (more than 110,000 parts) valid worldwide, with more than 90% of invention patents fully recognized. industry,” the company said in a statement released to reporters.
As with most of this year’s WMCs, 5G technology is the protagonist at Huawei’s booth, both in terms of how it’s already a reality and the extent to which it’s a promise the companies are working to fulfill.
Experts and industry estimate that by 2025, 5G transmission and communication networks will cover a third of the world’s population, and technologies are already included in the innovations related to healthcare, automation, aviation, industrial production or video games, which can already be seen in the halls of the Mobile World Congress 2023.
Author: Portuguese
Source: CM Jornal

I’m Tifany Hawkins, a professional journalist with years of experience in news reporting. I currently work for a prominent news website and write articles for 24NewsReporters as an author. My primary focus is on economy-related stories, though I am also experienced in several other areas of journalism.