The Future Networks Guide to MWC Americas 2018

Mobile World Congress Americas 2018 will take place from Wednesday 12 September to Friday 14 September, with some additional Future Networks events happening on Tuesday 11 September. We look forward to welcoming you to the many exciting Seminars, Labs and Roundtables we will be hosting throughout this Congress.

RCS and the Future of Messaging at Mobile World Congress

Rich Communications Services (RCS) is an upgrade t0 SMS on a global scale, bringing the messaging services of the future to over 5 billion mobile phone users worldwide. RCS is an operator service that will work on any smart device or network, and will give customers the experience they’ve come to expect from OTTs, natively in their handset. With 57 Operator launches, 170 million Monthly Active Users, and an ever increasing number of live RCS campaigns from major global brands, it’s clear to see that this operator platform is already revolutionising the business messaging market.

5G at Mobile World Congress

5G could account for as many as 1.2 billion connections by 2025. By then, 5G networks are likely to cover one third of the world’s population. The impact on the mobile industry and its customers will be profound. 5G will bring an evolution in VR and AR, an area where we have seen growth in devices and applications over the last two years. They have so far been seen as somewhat dispensable functions due to latency and/or low quality of virtual images, but trials such as these could very well showcase the improvements made with 5G.

Network Economics at Mobile World Congress

Mobile operators account for between 1-2% of total global energy consumption. To quickly bring the 5G network into reality, mobile network operators will need to devise mechanisms to improve the capital intensity at which they operate. The long-term goal of the Future Networks Programme is to boost population coverage of high-speed broadband while optimising capital intensity by unlocking additional value from networks in a cost-efficient manner. The GSMA want to bring together the ‘best of the best’ innovators in the areas of Energy Efficiency, Infrastructure Sharing and Backhaul Relief with our Operator Members to facilitate this network optimisation.

Download our free Future Networks Event Guide, where you will find a extensive list of RCS and 5G seminars, demonstrations and activities at this year’s Mobile World Congress Americas in Los Angeles.