Mobile World Congress 2016 wrap-up

GSMA Intelligence together with Mobile World Live is publishing its key findings from Mobile World Congress. For the first time in the event’s history, the 2016 edition of Mobile World Congress welcomed more than 100,000 visitors to Barcelona for the mobile industry’s biggest event. Attendees from over 200 countries convened to showcase new products and reflect on key industry issues and announcements.

Overall, the mood at Mobile World Congress was one of tangible progress towards standards, the practicalities of implementation and use cases. Operators and vendors are moving to deploy solutions aimed at tackling the digital transformation required for new business models. The industry continues to reshape for the opportunities and challenges ahead.

Our analysis is organised into three key areas:

Devices: Focus shifts as smartphone innovation slows; Wearables start to mean business; Virtual reality: vendors jostle for position

Networks: Industry demonstrates 5G technology and intent; Connecting the unconnected – balloons and drones to the rescue? NFV – a prerequisite for network innovation; Ecosystem collaboration drives readiness of mobile IoT

Services: IoT platforms suffer from cacophony of standards; Rapid expansion of security threat expected by 2020; Mobile commerce ecosystem continues to expand; The sharing economy: on-demand gets physical; Ad-blocking momentum continues as battle lines are drawn