The GSMA will once again convene the global mobile industry at Mobile World Congress 2017 taking place in Barcelona from 27 February – 2 March. This year’s theme is ‘The Next Element,’ and the annual industry showcase will highlight just how elemental mobile has become in our everyday lives and the positive impact it is having for billions of people around the world.
With plenty going on throughout the week such as breaking industry news, global product launches and conference sessions, it is easy to lose track of time at the event. The conference programme features the thought-provoking keynote programme alongside more than 40 relevant track sessions covering a wide range of topics areas and technologies.
In this blog post we take a look ahead to the conference programme and address the all-important question – what can you expect to get out of Mobile World Congress 2017?
The one-word answer is ‘plenty’. While the keynote speakers will make the headlines, there are also conference sessions that cater to every interest in mobile. Only the most dynamic and insightful speakers are selected for the conference programme, which features sessions running between 60 and 90 minutes. Attendees can expect fresh ideas, announcements, debate and maybe even a bit of controversy from our speakers who are typically at the senior executive level of companies that are shaping the industry, from established giants to start-ups in mobile and across other adjacent industry sectors.
This year’s conference features seven themes that will help delegates to easily identify the sessions that are most relevant and are of the greatest interest. .
The conference themes for 2017 are:
Connected Consumers: The digital landscape is changing at an exponential pace. How will users interact with their digital environment? Sessions in this theme will also explore how brands and services can create richer services tailored specifically to the user.
Content and Media: For many service providers, how content is delivered will be a critical business issue in the years to come. Faster and more pervasive connectivity and new device formats open up new forms of entertainment and interaction, from VR headsets to Pokémon Go. Read more about this theme here.
Sustainable Development Goals: Mobile has a huge role to play in supporting the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Launched in September 2015, the SDGs aim to end poverty, halt climate change and fight injustice and inequality. The SDGs are big, and so is the mobile industry’s ambition to connect everyone and everything to a #betterfuture. From an enterprise perspective, what opportunities exist to build sustainable businesses in line with the SDGs?
The Fourth Industrial Revolution: While enterprises of all kinds have used telecoms and digital services for years, the scale of impact across all industries is ramping up dramatically, giving digital providers opportunity to play a greater role. This will be addressed from two angles: the application of technology and the evolution of business models, strategies and competitive marketplaces as digitisation increases. Read more here.
Platforms: This theme addresses the fundamentals that are going to determine the nature of our future digital world such as hardware evolution, digital privacy and identity, security and more. Explore this theme and the sessions here.
The Pervasive Network: The end goal of most network technology developments is to make mobile connectivity simple, essential and ubiquitous. Sessions in this theme will explore the increasing challenges of achieving this goal and how to overcome them.
Disruption: This theme examines where the ever-expanding digital environment is likely to see genuine disruption. Explore this theme in detail here.
We interviewed Nick Spencer, Conference Director about the conference programme:
Outside of the auditoria in Hall 4, there are numerous networking opportunities for everyone. Catch up with speakers or for those of you with a Gold or Platinum Pass, take time to use the VIP Lounge for impromptu meetings and make new contacts. Enjoy discovering exciting new companies from around the world on the Showcase Stage in between conference sessions or over lunch.
Also in Hall 4 is the GSMA Innovation City – one of the most popular attractions from last year. Visit Innovation City to understand how new connected technologies such as 5G and the Internet of Things means security and identity management has become ever more important in our daily lives. Connect and Explore a diverse showcase of innovative, topical and cutting edge products and services.
Follow and join the Mobile World Congress conversation using #MWC17 and follow @GSMAEvents on Twitter for the latest news and developments. Full list of GSMA social media channels is here.