Uncovering what’s next in mobile and beyond at MWC24

In the 12 months since the last edition of MWC Barcelona, Generative AI has dominated the technology industry headlines with companies from across the mobile sector eager to grab a slice of the highly hyped and much debated space. So, it’s no shock to see it feature so prominently on this year’s schedule.

Expect the technology to be a frequent reference point across the event with plenty of lively discussion about its usefulness, who runs it, industry use cases and whether it’s just another bubble about to burst.

Its journey into mainstream consciousness has not been without controversy with questions over whether the models are getting too good, bias and the knock-on societal impact of a highly AI-aided workforce.

One of the most interesting issues from a pure mobile industry perspective is how this rapidly evolving technology can be best embraced – whether that’s within an operator’s own business or through building go-to-market models to sell the technology to third parties bundled with more traditional services.

Regulation is never far away when it comes to developing technology areas. In this case data management, copyright, ethics and how models are developed are likely to be key themes.

It will also be a real shock if at least one prominent speaker doesn’t bring up some AI-fear cinema classics, so better brush-up on The Terminator, Robocop and Blade Runner terminology before hitting sessions on the topic to ensure the references aren’t lost.

While MWC’s Future First theme lends itself to discussion on concepts expected to shape the 5G-Advanced and 6G eras, the continued drive to generate cash from existing investments is likely to be front and centre of many attendees’ minds.

With an ever-increasing number of nations entering the standalone 5G era the show is expected to be bursting with food for thought on uses for the upgraded infrastructure and potential of private networks within industry.

Use cases of network slicing are being touted for a range of sectors with data points and eye catching deployments available to back-up conceptual discussions of previous years.

Sport arenas, heavy industry, broadcast and healthcare have been long touted as potential golden eggs for 5G, and given some of the demonstrations and deployments presented by operators and vendors in the last year these will form a massively important strand of MWC24.

Digital manufacturing is one of the core themes of the event alongside “game changers” covering extended reality. So expect inspirational presentations and ideas from work already going on with third parties.

Following last year’s flagship Barcelona MWC the GSMA announced 56% of the 88,500 attendees at the event came from industries adjacent to mobile. To build on this, the event’s popular Industry City has been expanded and rolled into a new Connected Industries area in Hall 4.

The area covers Industry 4.0 in Manufacturing alongside summits on smart mobility, fintech and mobile commerce, sports and entertainment.

Within this zone demonstrations from a range of segments will be available covering areas such as healthcare, hospitality, maritime, manufacturing, mining, aviation and agriculture.

With such a proliferation of exhibitors showcasing how mobile technology is already enabling digital industries expect a healthy smattering of robot arms and automated bots in the halls. And, if it’s anything like last year, the robots will also be preparing a few decent lattes and well poured beers.

Open RAN, adoption of satellite connectivity and sustainability have been prominent industry issues over the last year and, given the huge presence of key vendors in the halls, MWC provides the perfect opportunity to discover innovations set to shape tomorrow’s mobile networks.

The space race has been hotting-up all year and, with several dedicated sessions taking place, the future role of non-terrestrial networks is sure to be a key talking point. Those with a keen interest in the extra-terrestrial will also be hopeful at least one of the exhibitors brings some rocket or satellite kit with them.

Open RAN has been a strong stream in recent years and 2024 looks to be no different as deployments continue to increase in both their numbers and scope. The event is set to showcase progress made so far with players at the forefront of this ecosystem presenting related sessions.

On the topic of opening infrastructure, one of the major announcements of MWC23 was the launch of the GSMA Open Gateway initiative. Momentum on this has continued all year, so expect some major updates to progress at MWC24.

With such a packed agenda of sessions and meeting diaries crammed to breaking point finding time for a thorough explore of the exhibition halls can be tough.

However, these unscheduled walks might just be where the next big business opportunity or technology is to be found. They also provide the perfect opportunity for some pretty unusual team photos.

With exhibitors spread across the show covering everything from the latest in electronic dance mat technology to vehicles, there is inspiration (and often something a bit strange) around every corner.

According to statistics from GSMA Intelligence the number of connected IoT devices will reach over 15 billion in two years. Many of the types of devices and sensors being adopted will be showcased across the halls at MWC, alongside technology central to actually connecting them.

Unusual draws in the exhibition last year included a robot dog, a big name CEO drumming on his stand, a replica of Godzilla, retro handsets, high-end vehicles, industrial machinery, a multitude of extended reality experiences and video games including a classic Street Fighter II cabinet.

So when you have a minute take a stroll. On the next stand you might discover a game changing technology, or a large display of mobile phones last used twenty years ago.