Mobile World Congress 2017 wrap-up

GSMA Intelligence is today publishing its key findings from Mobile World Congress 2017. The show welcomed more than 108,000 visitors to Barcelona for the biggest event in the mobile industry. Across a broad range of topics, including 5G, devices, chatbots, artificial intelligence and Internet of Things, GSMA Intelligence presents its considered opinion on the key announcements and the key implications for the mobile ecosystem. Several broader themes run across much of our analysis and point the way for the industry as it continues to transform:

Investment: 5G places the industry at something of a crossroads: while widely recognised as an evolutionary step, it could be revolutionary in impact – but only with the right levels of investment. There was much discussion on how to ensure the right regulatory environment and adopt more pro-investment stances around the world.

Innovation: With innovation in smartphone form-factors clearly plateauing, this year there was a greater focus on chatbots and digital assistants (powered by AI), autonomous vehicles and IoT devices. And with 5G some way off launch, we also learnt of the innovative use cases already emerging for other technologies - from NB-IoT to LTE Advanced Pro.

Intelligence: The networks of the future have the potential to deliver the intelligence that will transform the industry – including network, location and ambient intelligence. But with increased intelligence and vast amounts of data comes a growing appreciation of the imperative for robust end-to-end security.