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Mobile World Congress (MWC 2019) - From Monday 25th to Thursday 28th February, over 2,400 leading companies and 107,000 attendees will come together at Fira Gran Via and Fira Montjuic to discuss the latest innovations and explore the hottest topics influencing the industry.

There were clearly a few topics which dominated the MWC 2019 agenda: 5G, Edge computing, foldable devices, IoT and AI. In the past few days, these topics dominated so much of the discussion at MWC 2019 because of the new services and capabilities promised, as well as the imminent arrival (of 5G & Foldable devices). It’s all about connecting the mobile industry with vertical industries. As a result, nearly all vendors coming to MWC had a 5G story to tell. 

The healthcare industry represents a significant long-term opportunity for the IoT, with contributions from the healthcare IT ecosystem, non-IT healthcare budget diverted to IoT, and medical devices. At MWC 2019, the first tele-mentored surgery over a 5G connection was performed between the Fira Gran Via and Hospital Clinic de Barcelona, with a renowned medical expert advising an in-theatre surgeon on a live operation in near real time. The procedure used a Vodafone Spain-provided 5G connection. Vodafone has been working on a number of other health-related projects in the city including a connected ambulance pilot.

During a panel discussion, executives highlighted a number of security threats facing IoT, warning the mobile ecosystem needs to address such issues before it’s too late. Debates around the boundaries of privacy, security, social responsibility, and innovative ways to benefit from IoT are likely to continue to fuel IT spending this year and beyond.

If we recall the major launches on first day of MWC 2019 - all eyes were on the launch of foldable devices from Samsung, Huawei, LG and other vendors, as well as innovative ways to interact with the device (voice, facial recognition, and biometrics etc). We believe the focus will go beyond the device itself as we enter the age of “Intelligent Connectivity” highlighted as the catchphrase by the GSMA for MWC this year.

We enjoyed participating in Mobile World Live TV panel debates around the future of IoT with companies such as Kore and Red Hat, as well as moderating panels on 5G, IoT and Analytics in the Smarter Enterprise with Orange, Telefonica, Mavenir and Cisco. 

Scratching below the surface of the announcements, it is clear that IoT is now very real, although challenges remain. We were encouraged by partnerships between Arm and Vodafone, Telefonica and SAP with Microsoft and others. All these partnerships will help to both speed up and drive down the cost, of deployments. 

We hope you’ve enjoyed our IoT coverage of MWC. As MWC 2019 draws to a close, the Strategy Analytics IoT Strategies team will be publishing a full review of the hottest IoT news and trends from the event, in a report available to clients soon. 

Please click here for Monday 25^th February blog, Tuesday 26^th February blog, and Wednesday 27^th February blog.