Mobile World Congress (MWC) is upon us again, and you can be sure that it is going to be filled with plenty of news, announcements, as well as product launches. Things might get a little bit more crazy than your normal, run-of-the-mill press event, but that's what such conferences are for. To deliver the latest news and newest devices with as much fanfare as possible. If you would like to get a more detailed breakdown on the conference agenda, keynotes, schedule and speakers, we are more than pleased to provide you with a quick primer.
MWC 2017: What does it entail?
There will be over 40 relevant track sessions on offer, and the conference will cover the latest trends, challenges and growth strategies where the global mobile industry is concerned. The conference itself will be part of the Platinum, Gold and Silver passes.
MWC 2017 Keynote Speakers
The keynote speakers at MWC 2017 is a long list of luminaries, and we would like to break it down for you so that you will be able to better plan your news coverage when you are on the ground. Without much further ado, they are Travis Johnson (Global CEO, Ansible), John Stankey (CEO, AT&T Entertainment Group), Sunil Bharti Mittal (Chairman, GSMA and Founder and Chairman, Bharti Enterprises), Dave O'Flanagan (CEO & Co-Founder, Boxever), Jeremy Oppenheim (Executive Director, BUSINESS AND SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT COMMISSION), Jean-Briac Perrette (President & CEO, DISCOVERY NETWORKS), Strive Masiyiwa (Founder and Executive Chairman, ECONET), Andrus Ansip (Vice-President for the Digital Single Market, EUROPEAN COMMISSION) Josep Maria Bartomeu (President, FC BARCELONA), Alejandro Agag (CEO, Formula E Holdings Ltd.) Farah Ramzan Golant, CEO, GIRL EFFECT), Mats Granryd (Director General, GSMA), Eric Xu (Xu Zhijun) (Deputy Chairman of the Board, Rotating CEO, Huawei), Eric Xu (Xu Zhijun) (Deputy Chairman of the Board, Rotating CEO, Huawei), Eugene Kaspersky (Chairman and CEO, KASPERSKY LAB), Ted Livingston (Founder & CEO, KIK), Chang-Gyu Hwang (Chairman and CEO, KT CORPORATION), Alexey Reznikovich (Managing Partner, L1 TECHNOLOGY), Mike Friese (President and CEO, Liberty Global), Mike Fries (President and CEO, LIBERTY GLOBAL), Takeshi Idezawa (CEO and President, Line Corporation), among others.
Apart from that, you will be able to find other speakers in the exhaustive list here.
MWC Tours
If you are interested to go on a MWC Tour, you are spoilt for choice. There is the 5G and NFV Tour, the Connected World Tour, Content & Media Tour, IoT Security Tour, Mobile Advertising Tour, and Retail & Digital Commerce Tour. There will be two sessions for each tour every single day, running from Monday through to Wednesday. Hence, if you play your cards right, you would be able to complete all six tours in three days, breaking them down to two per day. The earliest tour starts at 10am, while the last tour kicks off at 3.15pm.
Other MWC 2017 happenings
While MWC is not as large as CES, it is large enough to keep you occupied over the next few days, and then some. Those who would like something that is more forward looking can check out the NEXTech Hall 8.0 which will showcase what the future holds for us in terms of technology.
Apart from that, there will be the Pavilion area, where one can check out government-funded Pavilions that are an avenue for companies to broaden their reach among industry observers and insiders.
Then there is the GSMA Innovation City that intends to offer a far more diverse showcase of innovative, topical and cutting edge products as well as services. It is hoped to continue its sense of success as the Innovation City made its debut last year.
Last but not least, enjoy yourself! Oh, and do keep a keen eye out for pickpockets as it is going to be a buzzing event with a potpourri of people there, so keep your personal belongings close to you always and be alert while you check out the snazziest mobile products and technologies on display.
