Mobile World Congress Barcelona 2020 (MWC Barcelona 2020)

The 15th edition of the Mobile World Congress Barcelona 2020 (MWC Barcelona 2020) will take place in Barcelona from February 24th to 27th, with events at the Fira Montjuïc (just 5 minutes walk from out hotel, La França Travellers) and Gran Vía Fira Barcelona.

For the transfer of the participants between both Fira Montjuïc and Gran Vía Fira Barcelona there will be buses that will take the 5 kilometers route every 5-7 minutes. The Fira Montjuïc bus stop will be located on Avenida de Maria Cristina, and the bus stop of Gran Vía Fira Barcelona will be at the North Entrance.

This fair of mobile technologies had 109.000 visitors in 2019. This is the world’s largest exhibition on the mobile industry, where representatives from global mobile operators, mobile device manufacturers, mobile technology and service providers, content distributors, as well as investors from the areas of wireless systems and mobile applications.

In the 2020 edition, more than 2.400 of the most important names in the mobile market will exhibit their new phones and cellular technology. The latest trends and advances in wireless and mobile communications will be announced. This is an industry that is constantly changing.

The following companies will be present: Accenture, Alibaba Cloud, ARM, AT&T, BMW, Cisco Systems, Deutsche Telekom, Ericsson, Facebook, Google, HTC, Huawei, Intel, Lenovo, LG, Mercedes-Benz, Microsoft, NTT DOCOMO, Nokia Solutions and Networks, Ooredoo, Oracle, Orange, Qualcomm Incorporated, SAP, SEAT, SK Telecom, Telefónica, Verizon, Vodafone, Xiaomi y ZTE, among others.

As in previous editions of this congress, the theme of the different pavilions will be about the present and the future of mobile technology. The Digital Planet section will deal with communication applications.

In the NEXT Tech Hall there will be demonstrations of the avant-garde advances in artificial intelligence, drones, robotics and virtual reality.

The GSMA Innovation City 2020 will show the innovations of the mobile market, such as 5G and IoT.

Under the motto “Intelligent Connectivity”, 7 core themes will be developed at the MWC 2020:

• Artificial Intelligence

Artificial Intelligence will have a transformative effect on consumers, businesses and governments around the world.  The deep technological revolution and the impact it has on our professional and personal life will be discussed.

• Connectivity: The 5G Era – Sponsored by Deloitte

The challenge, complexity, application and impact of global connectivity will be discussed. An analysis of issues related to connectivity will be carried out, such as the business connectivity ecosystem, its implementation, cases, scalable platforms, business models, regulation, investment and the commercial and cultural challenges that will be faced when working with new and diverse markets/industries.

• Customer engagement

Customer engagement has always been the goal of brands, service providers and governments, but its evolution and importance has increased in recent years thanks to the internet, mobile devices and later smartphones.

There will be a dialogue on how a benchmark can be established to get customer participation, retain it, increase the number of customers and therefore revenue.

• Industry X: Sponsored by Citi

By combining new technologies such as the IoT industry, big data, analysis, artificial intelligence, robotics, 3D printing and their learning, industries can unlock engagement models with new customers, employees and Partners.

The challenges, opportunities, adaptability and unlimited potential of industrial IoT and digital transformation will be examined.

• Media & Entertainment

As the expectation for Augmented Reality (AR) / Virtual  Reality (VR) and other forms of richer immersive content grows, the impact on networks, events and overall consumer engagement will grow.

Huge challenges will be presented to those involved in these intertwined industries. The challenges, revenue models, and the relationship between consumption growth and network capacity will be examined.

• Our planet

The world needs the telephony sector to contribute to creating a safe, clean and equitable world.

The topics of debate will be the interconnected responsibility of the technology industries in terms of the environment and unattended and unconnected people, and the accessibility of the disabled to technology.

• Security and privacy

Recent scandals have eroded confidence in the digital ecosystem. We are at a juncture in the evolution of the internet. As we enter the era of Artificial Intelligence, there is growing interest in privacy legislation and the ethics of data use. They will discuss responsibilities to find the point of balance with consumers, governments, regulators and industries.

Some of the speakers confirmed for this edition are the following:

• Marc Fontaine, Digital Transformation Officer, Airbus
• Mats Granryd, Director General, GSMA
• John Chambers, CEO & Founder, JC2 Ventures
• Rajeev Suri, President & CEO, Nokia
• Vas Narasimhan, CEO, Novartis
• KazuhiroYoshizawa, President & CEO, NTT Docomo, Inc.
• Stéphane Richard, Chairman & CEO, Orange, S.A.
• Sara Spangelo, Co-Founder & CEO, Swarm Technologies
• CP Gurnani, CEO & Managing Director, Tech Mahindra
• José María Álvarez-Pallete López, Chairman & CEO, Telefónica S.A.
• Robert Bakish, Presidente y CEO, Viacom

In parallel, between February 25th and 29th, the Youth Mobile Festival (YoMo) will be held again for the fourth year at La Farga de L’Hospitalet in Barcelona. Young people, teachers and families will attend this event on science, technology, engineering, art / design and mathematics (STEAM).

It is expected that 30.000 attendees will be received at this fair. The YoMo Family Day will take place on Saturday, 29^th February, and will receive more than 7.000 members of the public, from the age of three and their families.

Don’t miss anything about the event and check the official agenda.

If you need accommodation in Barcelona, we hope you come to La França Travellers!