GSMA Mobile World Congress, MWC 2013

- a preview of what will be happening at the Mobile World Congress, 2013, to be held in Barcelona at the Fira Gran Via between 25 and 28 February 2013.

The 2013 GSMA Mobile World Congress, MWC will be held between 25 and 28 February 2013 in the Fira de Barcelona Gran Via, Barcelona, Spain.

The GSMA Mobile World Congress is held each year and it is a the place for those in the mobile industry to gather, network and conduct business.

Over the years, the GSMA Mobile World Congress has established itself as the major global event in the mobile telecommunications calendar. It provides a world class conference featuring the major figures from the industry; panel discussions proving insights into the thinking behind future trends, and an exhibition with more than 1,400 companies displaying the cutting-edge products and technologies that define the future of mobile. In addition to this, the annual Global Mobile Awards ceremony is held where awards are presented for the most innovative mobile solutions and initiatives from around the globe.

Inside one of the halls at MWC

Mobile World Congress 2012

GSMA MWC 2012 was a particularly successful event. The halls were full and the mood was up-beat. In 2012, GSMA Mobile World Congress featured the following headline figures:

• 67,000 mobile professionals from 205 countries attended.
• More than 50 per cent of attendees held C-level positions, including more than3,500 CEOs.
• 10,000 mobile developers attended as part of App Planet.
• Over 1,500 exhibiting companies which occupied 70,500 net square metres of exhibition and business meeting space
• More than 3,300 international print, online and broadcast media attended

GSMA anticipates building on these figures for the Mobile World Congress 2013.

MWC conference

In this year's MWC conference many industry thought leaders are presenting. These include the names below and more:

• Franco Bernabe   Chairman, GSMA & Chairman & CEO Telecom Italia Group
• Vittorio Colao   Chief Executive, Vodafone
• Axel Dauchez   CEO Deezer
• Stephen Elop   President & CEO, Nokia
• Stephen Girsky   Vice-Chairman GM
• Drew Houston   Founder and CEO Dropbox
• Paul Jacobs   Chairman & CEO, Qualcomm
• Kevin Johnson   CEO Juniper Networks
• Kaoru Kato   President & CEO, NTT DOCOMO
• Gary Kovacs   CEO, Mozilla
• Suk-Chae Lee   CEO, KT Corp
• Dr. Nasser Marafih   CEO, Qtel
• Talmon Marco   Founder and CEO, Viber Media
• Sunil Mittal   Chairman and MD Bharti Airtel
• Lars Nyberg   President & CEO, TeliaSonera
• Rene Obermann   CEO Deutsche Telekom
• Randall Stephenson   Chairman AT&T
• Hans Vestberg   President and CEO Ericsson
• Susan Whiting   Vice Chair, Nielsen

Fira de Barcelona Gran Via

2013 sees Mobile World Congress within a new venue, Fira de Barcelona Gran Via. This is more up to date than the old venue, and promises to offer a much better environment for the Congress. Undoubtedly there will be some teething problems, but it should be a good move.

The new location is further out from the centre, but transport is available via busses and also the FGC. The three metro-like commuter lines operated by the FGC are numbered L6 to L8. Line 8, L8 stops are a number of places including Catalunya, Espanya, and this can be taken to the stop named Europa/Fira.

Fira Gran Via Aerial View

Gran Via Europe Hall Entrance

Beyond the Mobile World Congress itself, the Mobile World Capital is being set up. This features two additional elements: the Mobile World Centre and the Mobile World Festival. The Mobile World Centre will comprise permanent and temporary exhibitions which meld culture and technological innovation, facilities for the development and incubation of mobile solutions, and retail and hospitality venues. The Mobile World Festival, which is targeted to the general public, will incorporate a range of activities including sporting events, music and art festivals, film awards, applications and technology fairs and more.