MOBILE WORLD CONGRESS
Report from the Fira 2023 marks four years since the launch of the first 5G airwaves in the UK, so how does the market view the technology? Where better to get the answer than Mobile World Congress?
After three years of cancelled shows and mask-wearing the mobile and communications industry once again descended on Barcelona for Mobile World Congress. The exhibition saw over 88,500 attendees and 2,400 exhibitors from over 200 countries and territories discuss the latest goings on in the mobile landscape. In previous years Samsung, Sony, HTC and every manufacturer that runs android have launched phones at the event, and the show presents an opportunity for the industry to take stock of the trends to expect over the next year; and before you ask, it’s too early for 6G. What are the key trends coming out of MWC? Alex Baines, Senior Account Director (EMEA), First Orion: “We saw several key trends at MWC this year, but there was a lot of talk throughout the industry about the impact of Chat GPT. After years of announcements and discussions surrounding AI, the reality that AI has truly arrived was felt throughout. The industry is seeking to harness the technology to avoid being left behind. “On the communications side, new call
industry moves away from solely addressing the issue with identification and blocking, toward end-to-end validation of good calls.” Mathieu Lagrange, Networks and Security Director, and member of the board at b<>com: “I thought that there were less exhibitions related to consumers, and more addressing 5G and private markets rather than the consumer markets. I noticed more information around Network, Equipment, and RAN vendors, especially related to private networks. There were lots of new entrants and exhibitors that were presenting solutions addressing the private network market, with small RAN and small cells equipment.” What’s next for 5G? David Stokes, Head of IP Solutions and IP Portfolio Marketing at Ribbon Communications: “5G was a key talking point at MWC23, with many conceding that it has, to date, been a bit of a disappointment. A lack of obvious new revenue sources, particularly from B2B use cases, means ROI from heavy 5G CAPEX investment has been slow to materialise. At the same time, too much deliberation and thumb twiddling over finding these 5G use cases is only increasing the likelihood of 5G being sold as a utility, like 4G before it. “The reality is that if operators are to live up to the hype they have built for 5G, then their networks must be clearly differentiated from previous generations and deliver new, game-changing services. These services will rely on a highly diversified set of performance characteristics, so called service level agreements (SLAs), which must be guaranteed by the operator. Automating the xHaul network is necessary to help operators deal with the complexity of expanding their service and networking portfolios. But the right infrastructure is critical to provide the mobility that operators need in order to maximise the 5G opportunity.”
Alex Baines Senior Account Director (EMEA)
firstorion.com
validation practices are emerging as the
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