MWC, the largest exhibition in the mobile industry, attracted 8 visitors
Presenting 'Velocity' as the MWC 2023 theme
Overview of the MWC exhibition
Exhibition name: MWC 2023
Period: 2023.2.27.(Mon)~3.2.(Thu)
Venue: Fira Bercelona Gran Via, Barcelona, Spain
History: Held every year since 1987
Scale: 110,000㎡ / about 2,400 companies (23), about 8 visitors
Organizer: GSMA (Global System for Mobile communication Association)
Items: All fields of wireless communication mobile ecosystem, mobile computing and Internet, contents, AI, 5G, IoT, AR/VR, cloud
Website: https://www.mwcbarcelona.com/gsma
[Source: Exhibition website]
MWC in Barcelona, Spain is known as one of the world's top three high-tech industry exhibitions along with CES in the U.S. and IFA in Germany. Among them, MWC, as the name of the exhibition itself suggests, has a theme suitable for mobile networks, occupying an important position in the global telecommunications industry. It is also an exhibition where you can check the mobile industry trends that change faster than any other industry every year. More than 3 companies from 2023 countries participated in this MWC 202 and 2400 visitors visited. Considering that there were about 8 MWC visitors in 8500 when the corona pandemic was slowly ending, it can be said that changes in the mobile industry are accelerating and global networking activities for new technology development are in full swing again.
<View of Telefonica's booth, Spain's largest telecommunications company>
[Source: Self-portrait of the Madrid Trade Center]
Exhibition Key Features
The theme of MWC 2023 was 'Velocity'. The organizers, GSMA, stressed that 5G is driving new innovations with faster global adoption and faster mobile communication speeds. Seminars and forums for discussion on the current changes in the mobile industry, such as the continuous expansion of 5G penetration and the expansion of 6G data infrastructure for future technologies, were held here and there.
The 2023 themes of MWC 5 are 5G Acceleration (Expansion of 5G and subsequent changes), Reality+ (Lifestyle changed by immersive technologies such as AR, VR, and MR), OpenNet (Changes in the mobile communication industry brought about by open networks, etc.) ), Fintech (view of the changes brought by fintech to the financial industry and new transaction methods), and Digital Everything (digitalization of everything in everyday life). Among the five themes, 'Digital Everything' means that as digital technology expands to all industries, new opportunities and an era of digitalization of all industries beyond Industry 4.0 will arrive.
So, at MWC 2023, various innovative products using the mobile ecosystem were introduced. As a representative example, robots using 5G were introduced. Surgical robots that reduce patients' recovery time and pain, and robot dogs that can work in dangerous environments that are difficult for humans to access, such as national defense, public order maintenance, and disaster situations, drew attention. Meanwhile, Spanish low-cost airline Vueling presented how the customer experience will change through the metabus built on the basis of 5G. It showed constant innovation in the mobile ecosystem, such as purchasing tickets in virtual space and experiencing airline services.
Above all else, at this exhibition, we were able to reaffirm the remarkable development of China's mobile ecosystem technology. At the US CES held in January, the number of Chinese companies participating was low due to the conflict between the US and China, and many major companies did not participate, making it difficult to showcase China's innovative technologies to the world. However, major companies such as Huawei and ZTE all participated in this MWC, showing off China's innovative technology. In particular, China's Oppo's foldable phone showed technology comparable to Samsung Electronics' Galaxy Z Flip series, and Xiaomi's AR glasses drew attention with a mini LED window mounted on the lens.
[Source: Self-portrait of the Madrid Trade Center]
In the past, MWC was a stage that showcased the latest smartphone technologies of global companies and mainly focused on smartphone-related products, but in recent MWC, derivative industries and new players using the mobile ecosystem such as metabus, robots, drones, AI, and various applications are appearing. are appearing In other words, MWC is gradually evolving into an exhibition that showcases new use cases and business models using telecommunications beyond a simple mobile exhibition.
Analyzing MWC from the business side of a company, the exhibition is also a good exhibition to meet buyers from various continents such as Europe, the Middle East, and Latin America. Compared to other exhibitions, the ratio of executives who have the right to make purchasing decisions is higher among visitors than general visitors, and it is an effective place to showcase innovative technologies of companies to visitors around the world to strengthen their brand image. In particular, it is a good opportunity for startups to actively promote their technologies and business models to attract investment.
Since 2009, KOTRA has organized the MWC Korea Pavilion every year and has been supporting domestic small and medium-sized enterprises to develop overseas markets by utilizing the 'Korea' brand, a mobile powerhouse. This year, a total of 28 companies (16 general companies and 12 startups) in the software and hardware fields, such as platforms, solutions, and IoT applications, participated in the KOTRA Korean Pavilion. Businessmen from various countries visited the KOTRA Korean Pavilion by promoting products using digital marketing and arranging business meetings with buyers and investors in advance. In particular, this year, KOTRA, the Korea Information and Communication Technology Industry Association, and Daegu Technopark joined forces to form the 'Integrated Korean Pavilion', and a total of 76 companies recruited from each organization conducted joint marketing.
Meanwhile, KOTRA held a startup IR pitching event to promote domestic startups. External accelerators and pre-pitching training were provided to 12 startups to showcase high-quality pitching, and by utilizing the network of KOTRA overseas business centers around the world, about 100 high-quality investors were invited to show off their startup technologies and products.
Company A, a domestic company that participated in this MWC2023, said, “This MWC was held again on a large scale after the COVID-XNUMX, so we were able to see the products of companies with innovative technologies at a glance.” As much as we gather, we plan to participate next year by preparing new technologies and products this year.”
[Source: Self-photographed at the KOTRA Madrid Trade Center]
Prospects and Implications
This MWC was held again on a large scale after the COVID-19 pandemic, drawing great attention to which technologies will be showcased even before the event. Above all, it was a more meaningful event as domestic small and medium-sized companies, which had been hidden behind global mobile companies, were given another opportunity to stand out on the international stage. I am already looking forward to what technologies and innovations will be the hot topic at MWC next year.