The biggest event in Asia’s mobile calendar, the Mobile World Congress Shanghai 2016, took place from 29 June to 1 July. The three-day exhibition and conference attracted executives from the industry’s largest and most influential mobile operators, device makers, equipment providers, software developers and internet companies, as well as technology-savvy consumers. Delegates discussed the opportunities for the mobile industry to differentiate connectivity, by adding more intelligence and security, and explored how public and private organisations can collaborate to fund next-generation network rollouts.
The Congress hosted nearly 550 exhibitors, including 18 pavilions. It was a truly international showcase, with 64 per cent of exhibiting companies from outside of China. “We are thrilled with the results of our 2016 Mobile World Congress Shanghai, which set new records for attendance and exhibition,” said John Hoffman, CEO, GSMA Ltd. “This was our largest and most ambitious event in Asia, with many new event features and programmes for business attendees and consumers alike. It truly showcased the power of mobile and its impact in our everyday lives.”
The two-day conference programme included keynotes from leaders of Alibaba, AT&T Mobility, Baidu, China Mobile, China Telecom, Ericsson, HTC, KDDI, NTT DOCOMO, Oberthur, Qualcomm, ZTE and other organisations. Conference sessions covered 5G, automotive, cyber security, digital commerce, gaming, IoT, hardware innovation, mobile media and content, and smart cities, among other topics.
The highlights of each day, videos of interviews and keynote speeches are available on the Mobile World Live website.
Mobile World Congress Shanghai also featured a range of GSMA and partner programmes, providing attendees the opportunity to build knowledge, gain insights and share best practices. These educational programmes focused on connected vehicles, devices, digital commerce, drones, graphene, IoT, 5G and next-generation networks, mobile entertainment, mobile security, video, virtual reality and other subjects. A detailed overview of the activities that took place during the event can be assessed here.
The Congress highlighted how two items are high on the mobile agenda in Asia: operators’ transformation in the digital world and commercial 5G rollout. Advances in these fields will be presented at the 2017 Mobile World Congress Shanghai, which will be held the week of 26 June 2017.