By administrator | 11 March 2022 | Uncategorized

Wow! What an incredible event MWC 2022 turned out to be. Each year, the Jargon PR team travels to Barcelona to attend the show, and time and time again we leave feeling completely amazed and fascinated about the year ahead. We saw tons of exciting new developments this time round, including progressions towards 5G and WiFi-7, exciting new product launches, talks about the metaverse, NFT discussions and even a robot dog… it appeared that MWC had it all! 

Whilst it was hard to pick just a few highlights, this blog breaks down our favourite moments from the show: 

An Escape From Reality

A big talking point of MWC 2022, was an increasing focus on the future of virtual worlds, and it appears that there has been a huge push in progression surrounding VR and AR technologies this year.

We’ve all seen the use of these technologies for entertainment purposes over the years, and this remained prevalent at the show, most notably highlighted by SK Telecom’s 4D metaverse rollercoaster ride. However, as well as for entertainment, it seems that VR continues to shift towards practical experiences. A prime example was HTC, which offered its version of the metaverse, known as Viveverse. This is a virtual platform which allows users to openly move between different ‘worlds’, whilst keeping the same avatar. These areas include, VIVE Connect (a users homespace in the Viveverse) and VIVE Sync (a meeting space where users can collaborate). Cher Wang, Chairwoman at HTC said: “Our vision is a world where technology fades to the background, and experiences come to the forefront”. 

From a practical perspective, tools like Viveverse can be very useful in the years to come. One example of the benefits can be seen with home working, as virtual worlds open up doors to minimise that sense of isolation that can often come with working alone at home. Will we see a future when we can bring the office to us, allowing for a collaborative environment where we can keep all home comforts?

Internet Capabilities Make a Dramatic Acceleration

Of course, there was big talk about 5G at MWC this year. Yang Jie from China Mobile, the world’s biggest mobile operator, announced that the brand is working towards activating in the region of one million 5G base stations by the end of 2022, with over 300 million individuals subscribed to them. 

With an increasing capability of modern day technology, a switch to a 5G network is becoming more and more essential as the year’s go on to power new possibilities. Whilst 5G remains in the early stages, If China Mobile’s plans come into fruition, then the whole world can get excited about a 5G future. Rapid response times of around 100X that of existing 4G networks will mean we will no longer need to wait for commands, with information being delivered in real time. This will mean that 5G will allow us to simply do more – and do it faster – as information will be delivered with maximum efficiency. These new capabilities will also help to further enable the VR and virtual experiences.

Sustainability At The Top of the Agenda

It was great to see that sustainability played a big part at MWC this year, as we hopefully continue to strive towards a better future for all. One of the most important sustainability key notes was the “Ambition in Action” keynote, led by CEO of Nokia, Pekka Lundmark. Lundmark put forward the important point, that unfortunately, we are not doing as much as we should be to cater for the environment, and the alarming increase in global temperature means we need to start taking action, today.

Fortunately, smart connectivity can play a huge role in aiding this problem, with the ability to allow for up to 20% of the world’s carbon reduction by 2030. But how? Lundmark’s talk offered that the answer is in solar and wind energy powered by high speed communications networks, which maximise efficiency through distributing energy via a more streamlined and therefore less wasteful approach. 

This progress will mean that businesses will be able to receive ultra reliable energy from the most sustainable sources, whilst saving costs, creating a win-win situation. Once we breakthrough with this innovation, it seems that this will be an amazing long term solution to challenge climate change. 

We had a fantastic time at MWC 2022 hearing all about the exciting future of the telecommunications industry – and even got the opportunity to network with some brilliant companies. Bring on MWC 2023!