{"id":37,"date":"2013-03-05T13:48:55","date_gmt":"2013-03-05T13:48:55","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.scotland.gov.uk\/digital\/?p=37"},"modified":"2018-02-19T15:10:58","modified_gmt":"2018-02-19T15:10:58","slug":"mobile-world-congress-barcelona-25-to-28-february-2013","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.gov.scot\/digital\/2013\/03\/05\/mobile-world-congress-barcelona-25-to-28-february-2013\/","title":{"rendered":"Mobile World Congress: Barcelona, 25 to 28 February 2013"},"content":{"rendered":"

I attended the Mobile World Congress (MWC) in Barcelona from 25-28 February. This is the biggest mobile event in the world and it\u2019s so much more than just a conference. MWC also incorporates the world\u2019s biggest trade show and exhibition for the mobile industry, perhaps the world\u2019s entire technology industry. In the world of mobile, MWC was the<\/em> place to be \u2013 and I had the privilege of representing the Scottish Government at it.<\/p>\n

The world\u2019s press reported exciting new product launches such as Samsung\u2019s new tablet, the Galaxy Note 8.0. With a few notable exceptions, every name in the mobile world had a presence: Samsung, Nokia, Telef\u00f3nica, Vodafone, LG\u2026 the list is endless. But it\u2019s not just about big names. Of the 1,500 companies which exhibited at MWC the vast majority are probably unknown to the layperson. These are the apps developers, the handset manufacturers, the telecoms infrastructure vendors and every other part of the supply chain, no matter how small. They are all equally important \u2013 and MWC gives them the platform to showcase themselves to the world, to do business, and, to firmly secure their position as an integral part of the global mobile industry.<\/p>\n

Scottish Development International (SDI) supported a group of innovative 21 Scottish companies at MWC. It is expected that the international business opportunities for these companies will help them to achieve an expected combined turnover of \u00a316 million over the next year, rising to \u00a3103 million over the next three years.<\/p>\n

Barcelona itself is certainly worthy of its accolade \u2013 the Mobile Word Capital \u2013 and MWC is clearly a big deal for the city. MWC banners graced the main thoroughfares including the Passeig de Gr\u00e0cia<\/em> (location of Antoni Gaudi\u2019s iconic \u201cLa Pedrera<\/em>\u201d), and Barcelona has a new, permanent mobile exhibition. Mobile technology is prevalent, an example being QR codes displayed on tour bus stops: these enable easy access to information via smartphones.<\/p>\n

For me, MWC was a golden opportunity to better understand the direction in which the mobile industry is moving and the trends driving mobile usage. It\u2019s about infrastructure and networks, devices and software \u2013 and everything in between. It\u2019s about understanding how each and every element of the mobile supply chain fits together. Most importantly of all, it\u2019s about understanding how mobile must feature in Scotland\u2019s world class digital vision.<\/p>\n

Right from opening keynote which brought together the CEOs of a number of global mobile telecoms leaders, a number of important key themes emerged, and these recurred over the next few days:<\/p>\n

Mobile is growing faster than ever before \u2013 and it\u2019s smartphone and tablet usage which are the key drivers. According to one speaker, these devices have now put the PC industry in turmoil. Secondly, we\u2019re moving towards using cloud-based services \u2013 which we can access from multiple devices from multiple locations. The chances are that you\u2019re already a regular user of cloud services even if you don\u2019t realise it: popular ones include Facebook, YouTube and the BBC i-Player. And finally, convergence. Devices are converging (tablets and smartphones are prime examples) \u2013 and moving forward, we will see heavier blurring of fixed and mobile networks. The ability to consume data-rich cloud-based services at any time, any place and on any device, will set an expectation for ubiquitous coverage of high-speed mobile networks. This is what Scotland must<\/em> aspire to.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I attended the Mobile World Congress (MWC) in Barcelona from 25-28 February. This is the biggest mobile event in the world and it\u2019s so much more than just a conference. MWC also incorporates the world\u2019s biggest trade show and exhibition for the mobile industry, perhaps the world\u2019s entire technology industry. In the world of mobile,…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":41,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8,9],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-37","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-mobile-broadband","category-mwc2013"],"yoast_head":"\nMobile World Congress: Barcelona, 25 to 28 February 2013 - Digital<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/blogs.gov.scot\/digital\/2013\/03\/05\/mobile-world-congress-barcelona-25-to-28-february-2013\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Mobile World Congress: Barcelona, 25 to 28 February 2013 - Digital\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"I attended the Mobile World Congress (MWC) in Barcelona from 25-28 February. 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