WIREDGOV

As ever, all eyes in the tech world are on Mobile World Congress (#MWC17) as the four-day event kicks off in Barcelona today.

The world’s largest gathering for all those involved in the mobile industry will play host to the unveiling of all sorts of products, applications and services – from the outrageous to the life-changing to practical – all aiming to ensure people (and increasingly, things) can stay connected through mobile tech.

As in previous years, there has been much anticipation about what the competing manufacturers will announce at the show. The options are plentiful - from different screens and video quality to virtual reality capabilities to battery and memory capacity and even device shapes.

So far, Sony has announced no less than five new phones (including a 23 MP main and 16 MP rear camera), LG announced the G6 smartphone with a 5.7 inch display with Dolby (HDR) vision. Huawei’s P10 and P10 Plus phones boast dual lens camera technology. Blackberry (or rather the makers, TCL) has brought out the new touch and type Blackberry KeyOne. HMD Global’s Nokia 3310 retro feature phone albeit with a colour display and slim size. It looks like Samsung will keep us waiting for a month or two to bring out the Galaxy S8 with its rumoured dual-lens camera, 4200mAh battery, 6GB of RAM, iris scanner, AI assistant and curved 4K screen – although it did unveil over the weekend its new Gear VR headset.

With the anticipation of 5G technologies and applications well beyond the traditional bounds of personal communications and entertainment, MWC 2017 will also showcase mobile applications in drones, robots, automobiles, health and wellbeing monitors, artificial intelligence and virtual reality. The development of these more complex applications has progressed alongside innovations in network realisation, such as virtualisation, and security and resilience.

In the conference suites and networking areas, the Congress will also provide a forum to bring together influential tech leaders and policy makers to discuss the current issues within the sector, and how to shape business models, public policies and regulation for economic growth and social wellbeing.

Our CEO, Julian David, is moderating the session on The Path to Digital Europe during the Ministerial Programme (#MWC17MP) at this year’s MWC. Digital technology is a catalyst for innovation, competitiveness and growth for large and small businesses alike. This has been recognised across Europe as the region has set its sights on becoming a global leader in digital in order to attract investment and talent, and also to provide a better quality of life for citizens. To achieve a fully digital Europe, there are several complex questions that must be explored by policy makers, industry and all stakeholders such as:

• What needs to be done to ensure that every person and every organisation in Europe has the skills and incentives to fully benefit from ‘digital’?
• What should connectivity for the 2020s across Europe look like?
• What business and policy environment (e.g. on the balance between competition and investment incentives) is needed to enable the above?

Taking this into account, the panel at MWC will look at lessons that Europe can learn from other regions, the unique aspects of Europe that will both create new opportunities and challenges, and what the rollout of this ambitious undertaking might look like.

Join Julian David at 09:00 on 28 Feb at Auditorium A for The Path to Digital Europe.