Mobile World Congress 2013
Barcelona
Fira Gran Via
February 25-28, 2013
Attendees: 72,000
Exhibitors: 1,700
Media: 3,400
Calysto Overview
The four-day 2013 Mobile World Congress in Barcelona can still claim bragging rights as the world’s largest trade show for the mobile ecosystem. The GSMA reported this year’s turnout at more than 72,000 attendees from 200 countries, up by eight percent over MWC 2012. Why yes, MWC#13 was trending globally on Twitter.
Firsthand Impressions: What stood out at MWC 2013?
Laura Borgstede, CEO, Calysto Communications:
Jason Meyers, Executive Vice President and Chief Content Officer, Calysto Communications:
“I would say number one is scale–not just of the show itself, but of the individual exhibitions. Exhibitors must be extremely confident about the return on investment they get from the show if they’re willing to invest what they do to have such massive booths–especially the ones that are the size of a city block.
Also, how comprehensive it is — encompassing everything from devices to infrastructure to apps to accessories. It’s surprising to me that one show can still address so many sectors and still be relevant.
What else? The irony of attendees not being able to communicate via mobile! That seems like it should be addressed first. Something is wrong with that.”
Brett Calder, Senior Director, Sales, Wireless Solutions, Globecomm:
“For carriers, it was mostly about the apps. MWC had a hall specifically geared towards developers.
The other trend was the increase in the exclusive mega booth put on by the larger vendors . . . in other words, a private tradeshow within MWC. Best example we saw was Ericsson, where we spent a majority of our time. The booth was very close to a main entrance and you needed access to get in, as it was tightly controlled and invitation only. They had their own coat check, bar, multiple food stations with a steady stream of unbelievably good free food, treats and drinks, tables, benches, comfortable chairs, places to eat, stand, mingle, meet, greeting area, etc. — all surrounding a large number of meeting rooms and demo stations, such as their connected car. The idea was that customers would come and not have to leave. They could be there all day — even had their own restrooms. They had their reception there as well, which was easily 2000 people.”
Who Came and Who Didn’t Show Up
Who was there? Mobile operators, equipment providers, software and Internet companies and representatives from automotive, finance and healthcare industry sectors, as well as government delegations from 143 countries. More than 50 per cent of this year’s Mobile World Congress attendees supposedly held C-level positions, with more than 4,300 CEOs, according to the GSMA, (although some viewed that assessment as optimistic).
While Apple, Microsoft, and Google didn’t have a booth this year (although there was an Android party), players such as Samsung, HTC, Nokia and Huawei were among those who made a splash.
“If claustrophobia is a measure of the 2013 Barcelona event’s success, it’s at the top of its game. Ericsson and Huawei carved pavilions the size of small villages and employed multiple layers of imposing body guards. Samsung, HTC and Nokia had enormous booths as well, but they were mere shopping malls compared to the Huawei village,” observed Fritz Nelson, Information Week. “But that was the extent of the fanfare. The show took on a workmanlike flavor in 2013, a reflection of where the mobile industry is in its young life. The major themes included carrier-based Software-Defined Networking, Small Cells, H.265 and network functions virtualization (NFV).”
The Guardian’s Frederic Filloux made an interesting observation:
“As seen last week, the mobile industry is red hot. The media sector will have to work harder to capture its share of that growth. Astonishingly, only two media companies deigned to show up: Pearson with its huge education business accounting for 75% of its 2012 revenue (v 7% for its Financial Times unit); and Agence France-Presse which is entering the customised application market. No other big media brand in sight, no trade organisations either. Apparently, the information sector is about to miss the mobile train.”
What Was Hot?
In additional to devices, M2M, Mcommerce, the connected car, Firefox OS, mobile cloud, green technology, and big data and analytics were mentioned again and again.
“Big data and analytics have been hailed as the next technology trends for telecom operators. As carriers feel the pressure to mine the huge amount of data they already have in both their customer base and their networks, they are seeking tools to help analyze and manage this information,”noted Roberta Prescott, RCR Wireless.
One new exhibit was the GSMA Connected City (#ConnectedCity), which was an actual city street that demonstrated intelligent wireless connections. (Here’s an interesting time lapse video of building the site: http:/ mwl.me/15zBs2L .)
Another was the NFC Experience, where according to the GSMA, more than 10,500 attendees used NFC-enabled handsets to exchange information and conduct transactions at locations throughout Fira Gran Via and in Barcelona.
What was ironic?
AT MWC, NFC and mobile money still has a way to go.
According to the Associated Press: “At the world’s largest cellphone trade show, here in Barcelona this week, the 70,000 attendees are encouraged to use their cellphones —instead their keycards— to get past the turnstiles at the door. But very few people took the chance to do that. The process of setting up the phone to act as a keycard proved too much of a hassle.”
The Program
The speaker lineup was once again impressive, with representatives from all sectors that touch on mobile: the American Heart Association, Apigee, AT&T, Bharti Airtel, China Mobile, CNN Digital, Deezer, Deutsche Telekom, Dropbox, Ericsson, General Motors, Foursquare, Jana, Jolla, Juniper Networks, KT Corp., Mozilla Foundation, Nielsen, Nokia, NTT DOCOMO, Ooredoo, Qualcomm, Telefónica , Tele2, Tribal DDB Worldwide, Ubuntu, Viber and Vodafone, among others.
Topics covered big data, mobile cloud, mWallets, NFC, small cells and smart cities, as well as the role of mobile in industries like advertising, automotive, finance and retail.
Exhibition Area
For 2013 Mobile World Congress moved to the Fira Gran Via in the Port Olimpic district of Barcelona. Fira Gran Via is significantly larger than the previous location, with all halls under one roof. There were issues to be worked out with transportation, but the new venue seemed to create a favorable impression for the majority. More than 1,700 companies exhibited across eight halls and outdoor spaces at Fira Gran Via.
However, Tony Olvet of IDC Canada has this:
Insight
Shelly Palmer, Fox 5 New York, observed: “If you came to Mobile World Congress 2013 expecting super-exciting product announcements from major manufacturers and hoping to see groundbreaking technologies, you came to the wrong place for the wrong reason. If you came to see who’s who, get a general health check of the industry and meet people with whom you could do business, MWC 2013 did not disappoint. . . . But Mobile World Congress is a show in transition. It’s less about hardware and more about people doing business. For those who came to Barcelona with clear objectives, MWC 2013 was an unqualified success.”
Palmer echoes our philosophy here at Calysto. MWC is still the show to beat for establishing a presence in the mobile ecosystem and with the media and analysts who cover this world – if – you arrive with a solid plan to leverage your presence; productive meetings and the right agenda with the appropriate media, analysts, and influencers who can help drive your business objectives for the coming year.
Next year: The 2014 Mobile World Congress returns to Fira Gran Via during February 24-27, 2014.
To reaffirm the importance of mobile, at the start of the 2013 show the GSMA released a new state-of-the-industry report, The Mobile Economy 2013. You can visit www.GSMAMobileEconomy.com to learn more, or you can download the infographic. Among the predictions: the mobile ecosystem will add 1.3 million jobs in the next five years and LTE/4G networks will account for one in five mobile broadband connections by 2017 (versus one in 25 in 1012).
Laura Borgstede, CEO, Calysto Communications:
Articles of Interest
Mobile World Congress Show Dailies 2013
Pinterest
Fierce Wireless @ MWC 2013
RCR Wireless @ MWC 2013
The Wall Street Journal @ MWC 2013
Smartphone roundup: Fastest, biggest, and brightest from MWC 2013
RCR Wireless
By Martha DeGrasse
March 6, 2013
Telecom Analytics: Increased interest in big data solutions for carriers; more MWC highlights
RCR Wireless
By Roberta Prescott
March 5, 2013
Connected car ‘most exciting space’ in emerging devices, but 2G hard to find – MWC 2013 Scorecard
Fierce Wireless
By Mike Dano
March 5, 2013
No Google, No Microsoft, No Problem: MWC 2013
Information Week
By Fritz Nelson
March 6, 2013
Mobile Industry Sees A Shift in Innovation
The Wall Street Journal
By Ben Rooney
March 6, 2013
No Google, No Microsoft, No Problem: MWC 2013
Information Week
By Fritz Nelson
March 6, 2013
Mobile World Congress: news media will have to fight to stay in the game
Guardian.co.uk
By Fréderic Filloux
March 4, 2013
MWC 2013: Best Of Gadgets And Technology
Technatori
By Dan Reyes
March 04, 2013
MOBILE WORLD CONGRESS 2013 BARCELONA: CHEAPER, BETTER, FASTER, BROADER
Forrester Blogs
By Clement Teo
March 4, 2013
Mobile World Congress 2013 – A Show in Transition
By Shelly Palmer
March 2, 2013
Companies Struggle To Popularize Mobile Money
Associated Press
By Peter Svensson
March 1, 2013
Cyborg tech rises at Mobile World Congress
CNET
By Brian Bennett
February 28, 2013
What mattered as MWC begins
CNET
By Katie Collins
February 25, 2013
10 Notable Phones and Tablets from Mobile World Congress 2013
Time
By Jared Newman
Feb. 27, 2013