MWC Barcelona - Fun-Sized Feed! Edition #1: Ready....Get Set...
Rhian Pamphilon
Marketing Strategist | Heritage & History Champion | Philanthropist & Mentor
MWC Barcelona was, pre-pandemic, one of the largest, buzziest and buzzword-iest tech shows in the world. From 2006 it was a major milestone in my working year - the focus for finding the latest and greatest of everything fun and tech, and for finding the comfiest shoes to endlessly tread the exhibition halls and streets of Barcelona.??
After 2020 was cancelled and 2021 mostly virtual, 2022 should be the year when the show gets back to something towards normal. For me though, it’s the first time that I am neither attending MWC Barcelona, nor have I worked on any projects for anyone attending or exhibiting there.
So, as my LinkedIn feed fills with #MWC22, I’m viewing the party from the comfort of my own home (on the south coast of England), with a fresh mind, fresh coffee and comfy slippers ??. OK, and maybe a glass of cava once the show gets under way. ?Salud!
Ready….Get Set…..And Plan Ahead!
Over the years, MWC Barcelona has become so big and so busy that finding ways to cut through the noise with information in advance has become tremendously important. Let’s pick out some of the folks who I think are doing a great job in getting ahead of the MWC week frenzy! ?Anyone who gets this right is going to see a good payoff in getting quality meetings secured in advance of the show.?
Top Tip 1 - Where to look for news
There are so many news sources…. And you just can’t keep up with them all. Here is a small selection of my own go-tos, all ramping up this week with pre-show insights.
·??????The GSMA - is the industry trade association for the mobile telcos as well as the organiser of the show, so you can expect their feeds to pick out all the key components of the event. They also have a LinkedIn showcase page for MWC Barcelona.
·??????Mobile World Live – is the TV channel of the GSMA, so definitely one to follow for daily news updates as well as keynotes either live or on catchup. ?
·??????Telecom TV – these fun folks have established a go-to series of MWC updates called “The Slice”, delivered jointly from their London studio and roving reporters in Barcelona. Their Top 10 lookbacks at past amusing industry announcements is not to be missed! Check out last year's number 1 - for a tongue-in-cheek primer on handset history.
Top Tip 2 - Quantifying the value of tech, not just tech for tech's sake
Over the many decades that I’ve been around tech, there have been many valiant attempts to quantify the value which technology brings to business and to society. A couple of significant new reports have caught my eye and it's always worth following the authors/researchers too, as they will be discussing and promoting the reports as the show unfolds.
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·??????GSMA Research: The Socio-Economic Benefits of Mid-Band 5G Services? finds that?mobile network services in the mid-band spectrum range could add more than $610 billion to global GDP by 2030. ?
Read the report | Follow the authors | Stefano Suardi | Pau Castells
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·??????EY Research: Enterprise 5G: is the Industry 4.0 growth opportunity being overlooked??This signature annual research from EY is now running for the 3rd year so provides significant comparison data. It shows a strong investment outlook for 5G but only 24% of respondents being confident of their organisation’s ability to implement.?
Read the report | Follow the authors | Tom Loozen | Adrian Baschnonga
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Top Tip 3 - What's New from Cloud City | Telco DR
I loved the 2021 Cloud City bold move from Danielle Royston and Telco DR. Taking over a massive exhibition space at short notice, building a huge showcase to champion telcos' move to the public cloud, a party atmosphere, and Jon Bon Jovi performing live! Her support must have felt like a huge turning point in the viability of the 2021 show for the organisers, as Covid toppled major corporate participants like dominos.
It was always going to be interesting to see how she would follow up her 2021 triumph – as she says herself – “2021 got tongues wagging..”. Take a look at the 2021 highlights reel!
No doubt Danielle will continue to make news and her on-stage keynote is bound to be a must-watch next week. Cloud City 2022 is virtual and I particularly like:
·??????Timeliness – launched well in advance of MWC so you have time to explore.
·??????Ease of finding your way around the content – there are just 4 topics on the site and it’s really simple to access with just your email address.
·??????Simplicity of the message and the passion with which Danielle puts it across, including lots of great examples of telco/public cloud partnerships since last year - Vodafone + Google, AT&T + Microsoft Azure, Dish Networks + AWS.
?Here's: TelcoDR Cloud City and do follow Danielle on LinkedIn and Twitter.
So that’s it for today – let me know what YOU think about MWC Barcelona in the comments below. MWC Barcelona - Fun-Sized Feed will be back with another edition when the show kicks off for real on Monday, and then I will track the show live next week!??
That's why we're here! ?? Enjoy our content and coverage... which has already started by the way ?? https://bit.ly/3BQplUv
Member of Senior Leadership Team Council and Managing Partner Telco+ at Singtel NCS
3 年Lucky you Rhian Pamphilon ??
Hi Rhian, like you MWC used to be an essential element of my working year. I first went in 2004 I think and then went to all but one from then on until the pandemic (I missed the one a few weeks before my son's first birthday). I do have some indirect client interest in the show this year, but fortunately or unfortunately (I'm not sure which) I don't have to attend. So, like you, I will be watching with interest from the sidelines.