Displaying items by tag: Barcelona

Mobile World Congress (MWC), the telecom industry’s largest global conference, has been postponed to late June 2021.

The conference usually takes place in late February or early March in Barcelona, Spain but it was canceled in 2020 as it coincided with the very beginning of the widespread COVID-19 outbreak.

It has now been announced that it will actually be held in 2021 but later than usual. MWC Barcelona will be held between June 28^th and July 1^st and MWC Shanghai is slotted in for 23^rd to 25^th February 2021.

The organization behind the event, the GSMA, anticipates that vaccines will be more widely available by then, catering to an estimate of around 85% of the hundred largest companies in the mobile sector.

The GSMA said that it will “have virtual elements to complement the overwhelming demand to convene physically.

MWC Los Angeles remains unchanged as it will take place later in the year. According to the GSMA, the event is scheduled for 26^th to 28^th October 2021.

The governing body that represents the world’s mobile operators is expected to discuss the ongoing issue of Chinese telecommunications vendor Huawei at this month’s Mobile World Congress in Barcelona.

The GSMA has proposed to its members that they hold a discussion regarding the possibility of a blanket ban on Huawei from the majority of developed markets within the ICT ecosystem.  A number of leading operators have expressed their disapproval at the tactics being used against Huawei, with many feeling it is a politically motivated campaign being led by the United States.

There is also a general consensus amongst ICT stakeholders and major players that any ban on Huawei will significantly impact the rollout of 5G networks. Vodafone CEO Nick Read has already publicly stated that a ban could delay the commercial deployment of 5G in Europe by up to two years.

It has been reported that the GSMA Director-General Mats Granryd has written to its members about Huawei and has said the current situation involving the Chinese vendor should be part of its agenda on its next board meeting in Barcelona later this month.

The GSMA represents mobile operators globally, and united more than 750 operators with over 350 companies as part of a broader mobile ecosystem, which includes the handset and device manufacturers, equipment providers and internet companies.

Huawei has found itself at the centre of intense scrutiny from the US in recent months, and was just like week charged with a number of indictments related to intellectual property theft and fraud. Huawei has vehemently denied any wrongdoing and has accused the US of participating in an ‘immoral political campaign’.

Diplomatic tensions between Beijing and Washington are strained and officials from both countries are set to meet again later this week to resume trade talks.

However, this isn’t the first time the US has went after a high-profile Chinese telecommunications company. Huawei’s domestic rival ZTE was pushed to the brink of bankruptcy after draconian measures were imposed against them by the US Department of Commerce.

Huawei has been banned from any role in the rollout of 5G networks in Australia and New Zealand. The European Union has said it will look at the issues that have been alleged by the US.

ZTE Corporation, a major international provider of telecommunications, enterprise and consumer technology solutions for the Mobile Internet, announced at Mobile World Congress, Barcelona, it launched its next-generation end-to-end (E2E) Public Cloud rich communication services (RCS) solution that helps customers reform service deployment, service interconnection and business models.

The solution fully satisfies global operators' requirements for rapid access, capacity expansion and functionality of the RCS service. To be specific, the solution can help small and medium-sized operators and mobile virtual network operators (MVNOs) rapidly deploy cloud-based RCS at low cost, and help large operators put cloud RCS into trial commercial use to initiate users.

Based on the interoperability of cloud platforms, ZTE's Public Cloud RCS platform supports interconnection between different operators including international branches, and can interconnect with their private RCS platforms through its RCS hub. It also achieves interconnection between operators and equipment vendors.

With the ZTE Public Cloud RCS solution, operators can develop RCS in flexible business models including service lease, service purchase and revenue share while greatly reducing investment costs and risks.

At the event, ZTE showcased all service functionalities of the Public Cloud RCS solution. The solution enhances traditional SMS and MMS functions to support instant messaging, group chat, messaging video and file, and location sharing. It also enhances the traditional call service to support voice over Internet protocol (VoIP), voice over WiFi (VoWiFi), multi-party audio/video call and Enrich Call.

ZTE also demonstrated its industry-first RCS set-top-box (STB) that uses RCS as the Smart Home entrance, and provides a multi-party video call function to converge with the Big Video service, thus promoting traffic consumption and monetizing traffic. As Mr. Zhu Jinyun, SVP of ZTE, mentioned, RCS will be more than an entrance of Smart Home and will bring greater value to individuals, homes, governments and enterprises in the future.

In addition, the ZTE Public Cloud RCS solution opens standard application program interface (APIs) or software development kits (SDKs) to upstream and downstream players to establish a sustainable ecosystem. At the event, ZTE announced its cooperation with Voipswitch, a world-leading VoIP solution provider. Both parties will combine technical and marketing strengths, to introduce more Internet functionalities and UI customization capabilities to RCS to offer users richer and better experiences, looking to building up a strong ecosystem.

The GSMA's latest data shows that the RCS service has been put into commercial use with 50 operators in 36 countries, representing up to 156 RCS native terminals. Top telecom operators such as AT&T, T-Mobile, Sprint, and internet giants such as Google have been actively promoting RCS development. As Mr. Zhu said, RCS can help operators upgrade basic telecom services, unify number entrances, and open telecom capabilities, which becomes an inevitable choice for operators. As a major player in RCS, ZTE will continue to work with partners to boost RCS development.

ZTE Corporation a major international provider of telecommunications, enterprise and consumer technology solutions for mobile internet, and Intel, officially signed a strategic cooperation agreement at an IoT forum in Barcelona, Spain. Both parties will jointly establish an innovative lab for research and development of future key IoT technologies, including experimental verification, evaluation, and research and development of related technologies, thereby providing integrated market-oriented IoT solutions.

ZTE is committed to becoming an industry leader in the commercial use of IoT and 5G in the IoT field. ZTE and Intel have previously cooperated in many fields, such as IoT access technologies, open-source collaboration, IoT platforms, and solution integration.

Rose Schooler, Vice President of Intel's Sales Group and General Manager of Intel Global Internet of Things Sales said: "In Intel's vision, 5G will bring us a smarter internet and deliver a world of connectivity in a more flexible, effective and cheaper way. We are looking towards the infinite possibilities that come from 50 billion smart devices. Intel and ZTE will make joint efforts for the IoT lab. With rich experience and continuous innovation, we will create a new generation of IoT solutions for promoting the construction of an IoT application ecosystem as well as the development and prosperity of the IoT industry."

Chen Jie, CIO of ZTE, said: "IoT is not only an important part of the 'Made in China 2025' plan and the internet+ strategy, but also an important way to promote China's industrial advancement and economic revitalization. As a leader in independent innovation, ZTE continues to invest in research and development, to maintain continuous innovation and competitiveness, making breakthroughs in key technologies. In addition, ZTE actively explores business models, and is focusing on creating two major support platforms: an IoT ecosystem platform and capital platform. I am very pleased with the progress Intel and ZTE are making in the IoT field in joint R&D and the construction of the IoT Innovation Lab. I hope that both parties can work together to make breakthroughs in terminals, networks, and IoE PaaS. We will promote the construction of an IoT application ecosystem as well as the development and prosperity of the IoT industry by strengthening industrial collaboration, eliminating information silos, and creating industrial scale effects."

ZTE has built an open connection, management, and application platform together with Intel to provide services for upstream and downstream customers in the industry chain. ZTE's Smart IoT operating system (OS) provides intelligent capabilities for IoT terminals, and the IoT management platform enables simpler equipment and user management for customers. In addition, ZTE helps partners tap the value of each "BIT" by integrating big data and cloud computing capabilities.

As an ICT enabler for the IoT industry, ZTE provides Internet of Everything (IoE) solutions involving narrow band IoT (NB-IoT), long term evolution (LTE), LTE-M ASICs, modules, OSs for smart devices and software development kits, accelerating the development of various sensor technologies and facilitating the research and development of IoT application gateways, sensors, and modules.

With regards to terminals, ZTE focuses on chips, OS, communication modules, and intelligent gateways, and actively participates in industrial collaboration to create an open IoT platform for terminal hardware and software to help industry customers accelerate the development of intelligent IoT terminals.

As for networks, ZTE is committed to providing customers with better connectivity services and optimizing short-range, wide area network (WAN), metropolitan area network (MAN), and core network technologies, in order to meet differentiated needs for IoT application. ZTE implements technological innovation and upgrades in delay, capacity, and reliability.

ZTE has formulated end-to-end security solutions to provide customers with security services for simultaneous planning, construction, and operation. ZTE pushes to adapt to security strategies in different scenarios and create trustworthy application environments, OS platforms, and chip-level solutions for customers.

Nokia has relaunched one of its most popular ever devices at MWC in Barcelona. The Finnish technology company has reintroduced the ‘3310’ – which was first launched to the mobile phone industry 17 years ago. Nokia’s ‘3310’ – is considered as an iconic handset due to its incredible popularity amongst customers in the early 00’s when Nokia dominated the mobile phone market.

One of the popular features of the ‘3310’ was its sturdiness and was revered for its incredible battery life that enabled the device to last for days without needing to be charged. More than 126 million were produced before the product was phased out in 2005.

However, at MWC, Nokia has unveiled its modern version of the ‘3310’. Some analysts are predicting great success for the new look Nokia in some regions – with the general consensus amongst technology experts that the reintroduction of the nostalgic handset is the best way to relaunch Nokia’s phone brand!

The revamped device will be sold under license by Finnish start-up firm HMD Global – who in addition to the ‘3310’ unveiled several Nokia-branded Android smartphones. Ben Wood, a technology consultant from CCS Insight said there was huge affection for the phone. He said “The 3310 was the first mass-market mobile and there's a massive amount of nostalgia and affection for it," commented Ben Wood from the technology consultancy CCS Insight. If HMD had just announced three Android devices they would have barely got a couple of column inches in the press. So, the 3310 is a very clever move and we expect it will sell in significant volumes."

Nokia made the announcement at the tech show in Barcelona which has once again drawn a massive crowd of technology exhibitors, vendors and tech experts to the Spanish city from all over the world. LG, Huawei and Lenovo have unveiled new devices at MWC. Nokia no longer makes phones itself, but manufactures telecoms equipment, Ozo virtual reality cameras, and health kit under the Withings brand.

The new 3310 qualifies as a "feature phone" rather than a smartphone as it only provides limited internet facilities. However, its advantage over more powerful handsets is its battery life. HMD says the color-screened phone has up to a month's standby time and delivers more than 22 hours of talk time.

It also comes with the modern version of the classic game Snake preinstalled. Its launch price is €49 ($51,75; £41.51) and it expected to be a big hit in regions such as India and the Philippines.

If we want to describe the role of mobile in today’s world, the list is never-ending. Mobile is the force behind every emerging innovation; it is revolutionary, ever-adapting and dynamic. Mobile has definitely become fundamental to our everyday lives.

At this year’s Mobile World Congress (MWC), the world’s biggest and best mobile industry event, a massive exhibition, an award-winning conference, outstanding networking opportunities, partner programs and the Glomo Awards will all take place.

Organized by the GSMA, MWC will take place in the Mobile World Capital Barcelona, Spain, at two venues: Fira Gran Via and Fira Montjuïc from Monday, 27 February to Thursday, 2 March.

“We have a great event lined up for February. I’m particularly excited about the conference, where we’ll see several keynote speakers make their Mobile World Congress debut,” said Michael O’Hara, chief marketing officer, GSMA. “Across the entire event, attendees will have the opportunity to explore and experience the cutting-edge technologies, products and services that have become so fundamental to our everyday lives.”

The confirmed keynote speakers for the four-day conference program, representing companies across the mobile ecosystem and adjacent industry sectors, include: Sunil Bharti Mittal, founder and chairman, Bharti Enterprises and chairman-elect, GSMA; Takashi Niino, president and CEO, NEC Corporation; Reed Hastings, founder and CEO, Netflix; Bob Moritz, global chairman, PwC; Allison Kirkby, president and Group CEO, Tele2; John Martin, chairman and CEO, Turner; Jeff Lawson, founder, CEO and chairman, Twilio; Patrick Gelsinger, CEO, VMware

As for the major exhibition highlights, Innovation City will feature more innovative mobile products and services than ever before, allowing visitors to explore and connect with the latest innovation in areas such as 5G, the internet of things, security and identity. Huawei and UNLIMIT powered by Reliance are the newest organizations participating in the Innovation City, joining previously confirmed companies AT&T, Cisco Jasper, KT Corporation and Sierra Wireless in a unique experiential exhibition space.

Furthermore, new for the 2017 edition of Mobile World Congress, NEXTech will showcase forward-thinking companies and disruptive technologies, from virtual reality/augmented reality and robotics, to cognitive computing, artificial intelligence and more. The hall features several pavilions and zones including the NEXTech Pavilion (incorporating VR/AR, robotics and AI), the IoT Pavilion and the Drone Zone. The NEXTech Lab will also form part of the pavilion, with an open theatre offering content-led presentations by industry experts leading in these cutting-edge technologies.

Building on the success of the Graphene Pavilion in 2016, the Graphene Flagship, a consortium of over 150 academic and industrial research groups in 23 countries, will return to Mobile World Congress with the Graphene Experience Zone. Additionally, on Thursday, March 2, the Graphene Flagship will present a full-day conference on graphene and its impact on the mobile industry, featuring a keynote speech by Nobel Laureate Konstantin Novoselov focusing on “From Datacom to IoT, Enabled by Graphene”.

As for the Women4Tech (W4T) Summit, which will include presentations from leaders in mobile and related industries, it will be held on Thursday, March 2 and is sponsored by Accenture.

Additional companies participating at Mobile World Congress, includes Baidu, BT Group, China Mobile, GoPro, MasterCard, Netflix, NTT DOCOMO, Ooredoo, PayPal, SEAT, SK Telecom, Tencent, Twitter and Verizon. These companies join previously announced exhibitors including AOL, Cisco Systems, Deutsche Telekom, Ericsson, Ford, Google, Hewlett Packard Enterprise, HTC, Huawei, IBM, Intel, Lenovo, LG, Mercedes-Benz, Microsoft, NEC, Nokia Solutions and Networks, Oracle, Orange, Philips Lighting, Qualcomm Incorporated, Samsung Electronics, SAP, Sony Mobile, Telefónica, Vodafone, Volkswagen and ZTE, among others.

The Mobile World Congress is the cornerstone of the Mobile World Capital that encompasses programs and activities that span the entire year and will benefit not only the citizens of Barcelona, Catalonia and Spain, but also the worldwide mobile industry.

China’s ZTE has announced that it will unveil its first ‘gigabit’ handset at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona next week. The eagerly anticipated device is set to contain 360-degree panoramic video capabilities, enhanced HD video and cloud storage.

Full specifications of the new handset remain under wraps, but the Chinese company teased the Barcelona launch of the ZTE Gigabit Phone alongside an upgraded version of its flagship Axon7 and other new products in its Blaze series.

ZTE have further disclosed that its new device offers an improved entertainment experience –which includes a fast cache of high quality music and video content. In a statement issued by the Chinese firm they revealed that the new ZTE Gigabit Phone represented an important cornerstone on the path to 5G.

A spokesman said: “The introduction of the forward-looking smartphone, the ZTE Gigabit Phone, marks an important cornerstone for the 5G mobile era.” In addition to this, ZTE believes the device will revolutionize ‘connectivity’ with a new standard of download speeds, 1Gb/s, bringing a qualitative leap to a new world of mobile experience.

Analysts are predicted that Gigabit LTE will be a key theme at Mobile World Congress this year, which follows a demonstration of network technology which was conducted by Australian firm Telstra in January.

Analyst firm CCS offered their predictions for MWC, they said: “Gigabit LTE is going to be the headline story when it comes to network evolution. To deliver the download speeds to consumers, they will need a device able of accessing next-generation technology.”

Samsung have announced that they will not be unveiling the highly anticipated launch of their Galaxy S8 at the Mobile World Congress expo in Barcelona next month.

MWC is the flagship event which traditionally sees all the major smartphone brands from all around the world show off their latest products. However, it has now been officially disclosed that Samsung will not be one of the leading mobile smartphone brands showcasing its new devices.

The new Galaxy S8 is the South Korean’s company’s new phone that will succeed the disastrous Galaxy Note 7, which had to be recalled shortly after going on sale due to issues with faulty batteries – which were established as the cause of problems following an investigation by Samsung into the incidents.  

The phone was a severe safety hazard and was catching fire due to the faulty batteries , and in one instance the Galaxy Note 7 actually self-combusted.

Because of the disastrous impact of the Galaxy Note 7 on Samsung’s financial performance last year, there is naturally a lot of pressure on Samsung to deliver a successful product from its stakeholders after their experience last year with the launch of its new S8.

Samsung declined as to why they were not launching the company’s flagship mobile at MWC – and its decision has raised eyebrows because it launched its new devices at the MWC in Barcelona for the last three years.

It has not been established when the S8 will eventually make its debut. However, it’s likely that new battery testing and quality assurance processes, introduced after Samsung discovered the cause behind the demise of the Note 7, might be pushing back its launch test.

The handset is rumored to have a screen that’s curved at the sides and nearly bezel less; it might also feature iris scanner, a pressure-sensitive display and hopefully, a headphone jack.

The city of Barcelona became the world capital of sustainability for three days after hosting four international events focused on sustainable development at Fira de Barcelona's Gran Via. Over 32,000 professionals from a hundred countries discovered the latest innovations, trends and technologies, as well as sharing experiences regarding smart cities, energy, the integral water cycle and circular economy through the Smart City Expo World Congress, Circular Economy European Summit (CEES), iWater and the European Utility Week.

Smart City Expo World Congress, organized by Fira de Barcelona, has experienced a 30% increase in the number of exhibitors over its previous edition, with 591, and has brought together 600 cities and 16,688 attendees who have been able to share experiences, discover the latest solutions and learn from the 420 experts featured in its congress program.

The event focused its sixth edition on the strategies and tools available to promote the empowerment of citizens and a greater involvement and participation in municipal processes and design. Keynote speakers included Ellen MacArthur, Susan Etlinger, Parag Khanna, David Bollier, Kent Larson and David Harvey.

The event also hosted the first CEES, a conference focused exclusively on the promotion of a new economic model that redesigns the current production processes based on the extraction-manufacturing-use-disposal scheme, which many consider exhausted, to focus on the reuse of materials and resources.

Iwater, Fira's new trade show dedicated to the integral water cycle, exceeded its expectations by receiving its first edition 4,562 visitors and 127 exhibitors. With the aim of creating a unique business, knowledge and networking platform for agents linked to the water sector, the event has addressed key issues such as efficient water management, reuse, water stress and scarcity of resources, infrastructure financing or new models of public-private collaboration. After its success, Iwater is working on the upcoming 2018 edition.

The last of the four shows held at the Gran Via venue was the European Utility Week, the leading platform for energy and resource management, organized by private operators Synergy and Clarion Events. The event focused on the optimization of the power network, the development of renewable energy, energy storage, as well as the opportunities and challenges that the Internet of Things is bringing to this industry.

The sixth edition of the Smart City Expo World Congress (SCEWC), from 15-17 November in Fira de Barcelona's Gran Via exhibition centre, brings together 600 cities from five continents in the biggest-ever gathering of municipal authorities in the event's history. The cities represented will be examining the latest trends in the use of technologies to implement sustainable urban planning and discussing the common challenges facing them in the future. Barcelona will thus become the global capital of smart cities during the three days of the event.

Of the 600 cities attending SCEWC, 50 of them will have their own pavilions. New York, Berlin, Casablanca, Graz, Karlsruhe, London, Luxembourg, Quebec, Seoul, Vienna, Tel Aviv, Copenhagen, Medellín and Barcelona are just some of the cities that will be showcasing their innovations in the implementation of smart solutions for metropolitan growth. With the presence of cities from five continents, SCEWC has consolidated itself as an essential meeting point and a crucial bridge for sharing smart experiences and exemplary practices among the cities and territories of the world.

It is worth highlighting the high number of cities from India and Asia, with the organization of events such as the China Forum, organized by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Development of the People's Republic of China, which will bring together the leading players and companies such as Huawei and ZTE to analyze the strategies being driven by the Asian giant to implement smart solutions in the metropolitan growth of China's cities.

As well as the cities taking part, SCEWC will be hosting some of the leading companies in the sectors of mobility, communications and technology, such as Cisco, Microsoft, FCC, Ferrovial, Fiware, MasterCard, Philips, Seat, Siemens, Telefónica, Suez, SAP and Telekom, amongst others. The involvement of these companies makes the event a key meeting place for cities looking to meet their future development needs and firms whose smart products and solutions have the capacity to respond to the challenges posed by urban transformation.

The participating cities and exhibitors at the show will share the event with the 412 planned speakers at the round tables. The program of conferences at this edition of SCEWC is based on the theme of ‘Cities for Citizens', focusing on the design of strategies for citizen empowerment and the democratic participation of people in the development of their cities. Speakers include the expert on the circular economy, Ellen MacArthur; the director of Big Boulder and a benchmark in the field of big data, Susan Etlinger; the co-founder of the Commons Strategies Group and activist in the fight against the excesses of intellectual property law, David Bollier, and international geopolitical analyst Parag Khanna, as the keynote speakers at the event.

With over 600 cities, 412 speakers and the leading companies in the smart urban solutions industry, SCEWC 2016 will be the biggest-ever edition of what is already the premier world event on smart cities. Moreover, this year it has enlarged its international scope with new events in Casablanca (Morocco), Istanbul (Turkey), Kyoto (Japan) and Puebla (Mexico).