I always feel that the ‘C’ in Mobile World Congress (MWC) should be ‘Conga’. You get a real sense of chaos and excitement as various PR people lead you through a dizzying flurry of tech announcements, briefings, and keynote speeches.
You have enough time to take in about 10% of what’s happening across the Fira Grand Via’s eight Halls. The bigger companies take over halls one to three, which leaves every startup imaginable fighting for spaces across halls four, five, six, and seven. If you manage to wade through all that and reach hall eight, all you win is the view of a concrete wall.
Mobile connectivity is the main deal with MWC and every time I have attended, the conference feels like we’re checking up on the progress of 5G. Since 2018, when it was the next big thing, it has dominated the show. If you remember 2019, it was fitted into smartphones, governments were talking up rollout plans, and things like the Internet of Things (IoT) were on the cusp of being revolutionized by it. However, I recall MWC 2023 being about fully realizing 5G – like we had all forgotten what it was meant to do. It was all 5.5G and the Metaverse (remember that?). I’m starting to doubt 5G will be fully realized before 6G arrives.
Part of the issue is that we had that big MWC break in 2020; we had more important things to worry about (let's not go into it again). That could arguably account for the stuttering rollout of 5G. There was a virtual return of the conference in 2021 which wasn’t quite the same, but since 2022, MWC has come back stronger; over 100,000 people attended in 2024.
And what about 5G? Well, it’s still one of the main themes of the show. ‘5G inside’ is about the next phase of its rollout; what will drive its evolution and how it can become a more ‘versatile, reliable, and ubiquitous’ network, according to the MWC website. Which is odd as that was what everyone thought 5G was going to be from the get-go.
“The question for telcos remains how to monetize 5G and leverage AI to enable other verticals to modernize, from Industry 4.0 to AI-powered cybersecurity via drone-as-a service options,” Forrester VP principal analyst, Thomas Husson, explains to ITPro.
The nod to generative AI is understandable as it will have its place at the conference, as it does now with all events. Under the theme of ‘AI+’, speakers and sessions will focus on the practical deployments and impact of generative AI. The aim is to understand how it will create new levels of ‘natural interaction’ between people and computers – essentially, how it will develop more personalized experiences.
Husson also suggests that telecom operators will begin to use their distribution channels to strike deals with various AI players, such as DeepSeek, OpenAI, and Google.
There is a skeptic in me who balks at the idea of generative AI being shoehorned into MWC. You can argue that it’s there purely because it’s the buzzy trend of the moment, but where AI is now has a lot to do with 5G. The speed and bandwidth of 5G networks have provided the infrastructure needed for AI systems to process and analyze vast amounts of data – where would generative AI be if not for the capability to compute at such volume?
And what of the new geopolitical landscape? MWC has seen its fair share of protests and there’s no shortage of talking points in 2025. The impact of generative AI on the workforce, the global skills shortage, groundbreaking elections, tariff wars, and, of course, the return of President Trump. One way or another they all have an impact on business and technology, and it feels unlikely that it won’t be mentioned in some way at MWC.
As ITPro’s reviews editor, I will be hoping to see some new office hardware – laptops, monitors, tablets, PCs – though I’m not expecting much in this regard. There aren’t many hardware launches at the event these days, as vendors mostly make announcements on their own terms and most of what’s new has already been seen at CES. I will be there from day one, so please do reach out to me – bobby.hellard@futurenet.com – and share your experiences with ITPro.
