MWC review: the editorial awards

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A lighthearted look at some of the most memorable moments of this year’s Mobile World Congress.

Love it or hate it, Mobile World Congress is always an experience. We have come to expect certain things from the show floor: big, flamboyant stands you could easily get lost in, eye-catching exhibits that make delegates do a double-take, and the use of technology in ways we wouldn’t have expected. And amongst the 100,000 attendees – MWC attracted record numbers this week, according to the GSMA, despite the best efforts of the Barcelona transport system – there are always a handful that stand out in the memory for one reason or another.

So this year, we thought we would wrap up the event by creating our own awards for the companies and people that made the biggest impression on the editorial team during the course of the week.

The MWC 2016 Total Telecom editorial awards trophies* go to:

Best Fira hospitality
When it came to show floor hospitality, Ericsson walked away with the prize for creating an uber-stand complete with two catering stations, various mobile food wagons and a coffee bar. The Total Telecom team was happily sustained by an Ericsson hotdog on Wednesday, setting us up for an afternoon of sausage-fuelled frenetic copywriting in a way that a press room cookie could never hope to match.

Best use of new technology
Mobile World Congress is packed with demonstrations of new technology that will one day come to market and – probably – improve our lives. Virtual reality was the hottest topic this year and Samsung stole the show with its VR rollercoaster. Not surprising really: what’s not to like about a crowd of middle-aged men in suits donning super-stylish headsets and being flung from side to side while being encouraged to whoop and throw their arms in the air? No wonder there was a perpetual queue and crowd of photo-taking gawkers. Unfortunately, we didn’t have time to queue up for the ride, what with back-to-back briefings; the effects of the previous evening’s post-show ‘refreshments’ were also a factor.

Most eye-catching exhibit
Fellow Korean firm SK Telecom also went down the VR route, building a giant yellow submarine to hold an immersive <groan> underwater experience. Given that standard MWC operating procedure is to work too hard, play too hard and sleep too little, there was no shortage of delegates rubbing their eyes in disbelief at what was doubtless the equivalent of a big pink elephant at the entrance to hall 3. For those that are still unsure, we can confirm that it really existed.

Best use of IoT
To date, we have been only moderately excited about the potential of the Internet of Things for our daily lives. Sure, the big healthcare applications and so forth genuinely have the potential to change the world, but do we really need a connected fridge or washing machine? (Admittedly, a driverless car to get us home from the airport on Thursday would have been most welcome though.) It will come as no surprise to anyone that the innovation that convinced us to change our minds was the connected beer tap on functional display at the Sigfox stand. Perfectly chilled beer at all times? Yes please!

The German engineering award
What do you do if you need to host a sizeable crowd of journalists on your booth for a press conference? Build a football stand, of course. Deutsche Telekom CEO Tim Hoettges’ presentation was slick, although perhaps not quite like watching Brazil, and fortunately there were no colourful chants or questionable meat pies. A Mexican wave would have been a welcome addition though.

The multitasking award
Not many people can host a briefing while simultaneously taming an uncooperative air-conditioning unit, but Syniverse CMO Mary Clark can. Without breaking her stride, Clark was able to discuss the very real trust issues related to sharing personal information with mobile operators while asking if everyone in the room was happy with the temperature and adjusting it accordingly. This despite an air conditioner that was chucking out searing hot air while displaying a snowflake icon on its screen. Clark also wins bonus points for sharing some of her immense wine knowledge with select members of the telco-hack community, albeit to the slight detriment to our productivity the next morning.

Most controversial briefing
Congress can be a lawless place, but we still weren’t expecting the threat of virtual physical violence that stemmed from one innocent press briefing. Wrapping up an interview with veteran industry consultant Bengt Nordström by asking what, if anything, will come after 5G, in the context of vendors needing to keep selling hardware to operators, led to an assumption within the Twitter community that we were definitely discussing 6G and it was not well received. "Nearly punched you (in spirit at least)," said a certain inventor of VoLTE. Incidentally Nordström believes vendors will likely bring together advancements in computing and programming over the next decade to create a new technology standard. Very measured, and no mention of 6G!

Best Barcelona experience
When Orange invited us to dinner, we had no idea of what lay in store. A mountain of canapés and 17 courses of taste explosions later we realised we would never look at food in the same way again. The highlights were a pair of liquid-centred orbs that looked and tasted like olives, but definitely weren’t; foie gras served in cotton candy; a liquid salad; and chocolate-filled peppers for dessert. It was a far cry from the – admittedly delicious – patatas bravas and jamon that normally form a good three-quarters of our MWC diet.