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Mobile World Congress (MWC 2018) is the biggest show on the Mobile and Smart Connected Ecosystem that is taking place Barcelona, from Feb 26 to Mar 1, 2018. With in excess of 100,000 attendees expected for the third year in a row, MWC 2018 is an event of massive scope that brings together all major players in mobility ecosystem.

Source: Strategy Analytics

MWC 2018 will cover many of the themes covered in Strategy Analytics’ free MWC 2018 Preview Report, including:

• Connectivity, 5G use cases in IoT
• Artificial Intelligence & Machine Learning
• Security
• Smart Cities
• Real-time Location Systems

In addition to these themes, we are expecting to see a greater focus on solid commercial go-to-market partnerships,focused on industry specialisation, as opposed to purely technology-focused conversations. However, we are fully expecting the usual level of technobabble, including misunderstandings around AI, Blockchain and questionable 5G use cases, as well as well-meaning, but ultimately ambiguous statements of intent, such as the World Bank Group and GSMA Partnership to Leverage IoT Big Data for Development announced on Day 1 of the show!

Network rollouts were a key theme coming into the show, with 2018 the year that mobile IoT networks start to really scale, with the GSMA announcing that to date, 23 mobile operators have commercially launched 41 Mobile IoT networks worldwide, across both NB-IoT1 and LTE-M2. This growth is supported by 34 IoT Labs and an expanding community of over 800 organisations in the GSMA’s Mobile IoT Innovators Community.

In the unlicensed connectivity space, LoRa got a boost in India, with Senet, a provider of cloud-based software, global connectivity service platforms and SenRa, a Low-Power Wide-Area Network provider deploying LoRaWAN connectivity throughout India, announcing that in less than three months since launching their initial coverage, SenRa has deployed across ten cities throughout India, including Delhi, Bengaluru, Ahmedabad and Pune.

G+D Mobile Security demonstrated its eSIM management enabled solution that will allow car owners to download their private mobile subscription to a second SIM which is soldered into the car’s telematics box. This new approach uses G+D’s eSIM management technology and will significantly ease the use of telephony and infotainment services in cars.

With many carriers still figuring out their go-to-market smart home strategies, the space received a lift with Vodafone announcing that it would become Samsung’s exclusive strategic telecoms partner in selected European markets to develop and launch a range of consumer Internet of Things (IoT) ‘Smart Home’ product and services. The “V-Home by Vodafone” suite brings together Samsung’s “SmartThings” open platform and the “V by Vodafone” consumer IoT system (launched in November 2017) to offer consumers home automation, security and safety products and services.

In a smart home security boost, Telefónica announced it will embed the McAfee Secure Home Platform in broadband routers for security for all devices connected to the network, to reinforce the online security for Telefónica’s broadband and mobile customers across its markets in Europe and Latin America. The solution will be progressively deployed starting June 2018 and include devices (such as home automation systems, gaming platforms, wearables, Smart TVs and home appliances).

Samsung was ever-present on Day 1 around IoT, following the launch of the S9 smartphone on Sunday, with Multi-Tech Systems, a global manufacturer of M2M and IoT communication devices, announcing that its MultiConnect Dragonfly embedded Cellular System-on-Module’s (SoM) are now fully integrated with the Samsung ARTIK Modules, within the Samsung Starter Kit. Samsung also provided an update on its Harman subsidiary, announcing that Harman’s gateway solutions, together with Samsung ARTIK secure System-on-Modules (SoMs) and cloud services, would provide complete, secure, end-to-end solutions for both products and value-added services for a range of vertical markets including manufacturing, healthcare, smart cities, smart homes and smart buildings. Harman also announced that it would integrate AR functionality into its Media Suite using PTC’s Vuforia AR platform.

Qualcomm took the opportunity on Day 1 to not only highlight its commitment to the IoT, but that it was also making money from IoT (over $1 Billion in Fiscal Year 2017, it claimed) and also how it is committed to driving development within IoT through partnerships, wiith the company drawing on a number of high-profile brands, including Cisco Meraki, Honeywell, Fossil Group, GoPro, Sonim Technologies, and Whirlpool Corporation and their adoption of Qualcomm technologies. Qualcomm stated that its “highly differentiated chipset products, reference designs and more than 30 purpose-built platforms” are not only facilitating IoT adoption and development, but are making it as easy as possible for brands to enter the IoT space.

Ericsson and China Mobile announced plans to sign a cooperation framework agreement at Mobile World Congress (MWC) 2018 to develop Internet of Things (IoT) opportunities in industry and enterprises. The partnership will build on Ericsson’s leadership in industry services and Device Connection Platform IoT (DCP-IoT) Connectivity Management platform, as part of the IoT Accelerator Platform, to help China Mobile expand IoT business worldwide.

Be sure to check back here tomorrow for more highlights from the Strategy Analytics IoT Team at Mobile World Congress 2018.