MWC18- Trapped in the Groundhog Loop

One of my LinkedIn contacts suggested me last year not to write more articles about MWC event. However, a couple of weeks ago talking with another contact that not attend this year told me he was expecting my article. So here it is, my fourth MWC article in a row since 2015. Am I a MWC addict?

You can read previous articles here:

Unfortunately, the Powerful GSMA rejected my ticket request as Analyst / Press (LinkedIn please help me next year) and of course I did not pay the prohibitive prices of Silver Pass, Gold Pass and Platinum Pass. At the end, conference sessions content is very generic and I can read free the content. I cannot justify the ROI for pay these tickets. Can you?

Avoiding the politics issues between Catalonia and Spain, it was the first MWC where the snow was probably the biggest surprise of the show. The snow and the rain did not allowed visitors to spend some time outside. A pain.

I do not know the final numbers, but I notice this year less attendants than 2017. No doubt GSMA will try to find excuses eg, political issues, but the reality is that the cost of the show do not convince to many usual large / medium / small companies. It is a fact that some big companies did not attend or send less delegates and use less square meters.

Again, visitors that attend 1 or 2 days do not have had time to move to other parallel events like 4YFN.  Running from meeting to meeting, bad lunch as usual. I’m sure I’ve lost weight these days.

The MWC18 has been an evolution of what we saw last 2 years. Not revolution. We need to wait another 5 years to see some notorious technological advances although GSMA should continue helping to create a better future

I was angry with the Search exhibitor page of the web . Please GSMA you have 1 year to improve. None exhibitor has included any product in the category of Blockchain or Internet of Things. Duplicates filters, etc.

Some people decided not go to MWC anymore because for them MWC is not productive, informative or fun. Other make Predictions for MWC this year.

The euphoria of 5G has dropped – More info about 5G at MWC18 here “ Intel, Qualcomm Talk About Accelerating 5G Efforts at MWC 2018

IoT – The word that describes my feeling is disappointment. Although expected, something sad because the word IoT begins to lose brightness and disappear from the stands. The Pavillion 8.0 dedicated to the IoT, was not star this year. Do you really deserve to be exhibitors at the MWC?

At least it was good to pulse the evolution and transformation of the IoT / M2M market. A new impulse will be necessary before 2020.

Unfortunately, I could not attend any of the Top 7 IoT Activities at Mobile World Congress. Please tell me if any of it was worth it.

It was funny to hear how Operators trying to explain the use cases of Blockchain in Telco sector.

Artificial Intelligence, Connected Vehicles and Robots the starts of MWC18.  It was interesting discuss with some Operators about the practical potential of Machine learning, Artificial Intelligence (AI), Robots in this sector.  The conclusion in this article “ You Can’t Teach an AI to Run a Telecom Network—Yet.”

MWC18 was in my opinion the year of the Connected Intelligent Vehicle. Operators, Technology Vendors and Car Manufacturers need to cooperate to avoid a technology nightmare for future drivers/passengers.

I cannot resist to compare this congress with the Groundhog Day festivities. I make no secret of my discomfort for the continuous decisions of GSMA to make this show useless for many. My unpleasantness for the prohibitive cost of the tickets, hotels in the town, and the arrogant executives who attend the event as movie stars and finally for the many parallel events that I have missed or meetings of 15 minutes because I had spent hours daily walking by the walk sides of Fira Halls and my frustration for not finding some companies in the labyrinth of  the pavilions.

Like Bill Murray in the movie, I discover year after year that MWC’s events repeating almost exactly. I feel I am trapped in a time loop that probably most of you are aware of.

I am glad if you have spent these days indulging in night parties, looking for new jobs or cheering you for the work you have in your great company.  Luckily for me, I do not return depressed, but my mind do not escape for some days to the MWC loop. Am I a MWC addict?

See you next year at MWC19 Barcelona

Thanks for your Comments and Likes

References:

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