With less than a week to go, the countdown to Mobile World Congress 2018 is nearing its end. One of the most popular attractions at the event is the GSMA Innovation City, which attracted over 30,000 unique visitors last year alone. Back for 2018, the Innovation City will offer attendees a view into the future of mobile with industry partners and the GSMA’s programmes and initiatives showcasing a spectacular array of the latest cutting-edge technologies including artificial intelligence, 5G, chatbots and more.

In keeping with the Mobile World Congress 2018 theme of “Creating a Better Future”, this year’s exhibits at Innovation City, through a range of hands-on demonstrations, will illustrate how mobile impacts virtually every aspect of our lives in sectors such as transport, health, agriculture, industry, home and retail.

Preview the exciting showcases in store for attendees in this final blog before the event and experience it all at the Innovation City throughout Mobile World Congress 2018 in Hall 4, adjacent to the Conference Village.

GSMA Innovation City Partners

The GSMA Innovation City is supported by some of the leading brands in the mobile industry including Cisco IoT, Huawei, KT Corporation, Sierra Wireless and Turkcell/Lifecell Ventures.

• Cisco IoT will enable visitors to experience first-hand how businesses globally are using the Cisco IoT Data Control platform to maximise the value of their IoT data.
• Huawei will demonstrate its innovative mobile applications through a range of demonstrations including a ‘Moon Landing Cloud Virtual Reality’ demo, where attendees can enter the ‘Lunar Lander’ and experience a moon landing via a wireless VR headset.
• KT Corporation will showcase its 5G network service for the first time ever, demonstrate their first commercial 5G technologies, and visitors can play a game to learn about the security of blockchain and KT’s research and development in this area.
• Sierra Wireless will allow visitors to experience examples of how the IoT is creating a better future in all facets of life, including a LPWA-connected work boot to improve worker safety.
• Turkcell/Lifecell Ventures will demonstrate how it is taking the communication and entertainment experience to the next level, using LPWA NB-IoT networks to support smart agriculture, and using their big data analytics tools to respond instantly to humanitarian crises with smart city simulations.

GSMA Future Networks Programme

The GSMA Future Networks programme has partnered with major brands, operators, aggregators and technology providers to showcase cutting-edge innovations, demonstrating how Rich Communication Services (RCS) is the future of brand engagement and how 5G is more than just a generational change from 4G.

Attendees can see the first RCS campaigns that are live in the market and discover how major brands are utilising this dynamic platform for consumer communications.

Visitors to the Innovation City can also experience a number of demos that will highlight the exciting future of 5G. These range from a 5G football competition to experience the power of 5G’s low latency through remote robotic technologies, to a demo showcasing how 5G networks will transform critical communications for the emergency services, among others.

Find out more about Future Networks’ RCS and 5G demos here.

GSMA Identity Programme

The GSMA Identity programme will be showcasing its digital identity solution, Mobile Connect, in a variety of contexts.

Attendees can experience two ‘mobile authentication for healthcare’ demos, the first of which will showcase how Mobile Connect is supporting paramedics with secure access to patient medical records in emergency situations. The second demonstration will highlight how patients can use the digital identity solution to securely log in to their health centre account.

In addition to the application of Mobile Connect in medical scenarios, attendees can learn how it is supporting cross-border identity verification, compatible with the European Union e-Identification and Trust Services (eIDAS) regulation.

Explore the list of Mobile Connect demos at GSMA Innovation City here.

GSMA Internet of Things Programme

Visit the GSMA Internet of Things programme at Innovation City to experience how mobile technology is shaping the IoT through a range of cutting-edge demonstrations with leading companies including China Mobile, Far EasTone, Samsung and Telefónica.

Through these live demos, attendees can discover how licensed LPWA networks are transforming everyday life for cities, businesses, communities and citizens around the world, how operators are working with cities and using IoT Big Data analytics to improve the health prospects and quality of life for citizens, and much more. You can even get hands-on and test out your boxing skills on the IoT Punch Bag, which measures the power of your shots and transmits the data in real time via a live Mobile IoT network.

Find out more about the Internet of Things programme’s demos at Innovation City here.

GSMA Industry Purpose

Join the GSMA Industry Purpose programme in the #BetterFuture area of Innovation City to see how mobile operators are connecting everyone and everything to a better future.

Visitors can explore Big Data for Social Good through demos of the latest trials with Telefónica and Airtel, discover the SDGs in Action app and the Mobile Industry Impact Report, or explore the #CaseForChange journey through an immersive 360° video experience.

GSMA Mobile for Development Programme

Visit the GSMA Mobile for Development programme’s Humanitarian Innovation Showcase to get real-life examples of how mobile hardware is being used in the developing world including;

• Ericsson Connect to Learn: a holistic education system requiring low technical literacy, enabling improved education in humanitarian contexts that are difficult to access, with limited resources and connectivity.

• Nokia Saving Lives: a mobile-enabled remote sensing drone system helping emergency responders to collect, analyse and act on data more efficiently following a crisis, while also restoring connectivity.

• NuRAN GSM LiteCell: an easy to deploy GSM base station that has been used to restore connectivity following natural disasters in Puerto Rico, Italy and the Philippines.

• Pawame: a pay-as-you-go solar system currently active in Kakuma refugee camp, Kenya.

There will also be an immersive 360° interactive experience from X’s Project Loon displayed on virtual reality headsets, showcasing the mobile and humanitarian story.

Be part of the conversation

Finally, don’t forget to join and follow the conversation on social media using #MWC18 on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram and Snapchat, and new for this year, you can keep updated with the latest news and updates or find the information you need within Facebook Messenger.

We look forward to welcoming both new and returning attendees to Mobile World Congress for what promises to be the most remarkable event yet, showcasing how mobile is creating a better future.