MWC: World Mobile Telephony Congress kicks off in Barcelona with explicit support for Ukraine

From ‘tech’ to geopolitics: the world mobile telephony congress (MWC), a key event for the new technology sector, began on Monday in Barcelona with the condemnation of the war in Ukraine by the organizers, who they symbolically removed the Russian pavilion from the event.

The fair, which is being held until Thursday in the city in northeastern Spain, “strongly condemns the Russian invasion of Ukraine”, Mats Granryd, General Director of the Association of Telecommunications Operators (GSMA), affirmed in the inaugural conference, between resounding applause.

“Our thoughts are with all those affected by the war”, added Nick Read, CEO of the telephone giant Vodafone, who recalled that the Ukrainian conflict was added to multiple problems “political, economic, social and environmental” that is already facing the world.

Due to the situation in Ukraine, the organizers decided on Friday to suppress the pavilion dedicated to Russian companies. “The GSMA complies with all government sanctions and policies arising from this situation”, they explained then.

This space was to house a dozen companies from the technology sector from this country, which could attend but no longer enjoy their own venue. Companies such as the cybersecurity specialist Kaspersky or Infinet Wireless, both Russian, were present at the show on Monday.

The space of We/Ar Studio, the only accredited Ukrainian company, however, was empty, an AFP journalist confirmed.

“There is a war in Ukraine since last Thursday, so we will not be present [en Barcelona]. We have stayed in Ukraine to fight for our country”, told AFP Daria Fedko, co-founder and regional director of the company.

“The puzzling events of the early 21st century, such as what is happening in Ukraine right now, have reminded us that technology has no value” in itself, José María Álvarez Pallete, general director of the Spanish operator Telefónica, indicated on his side.

“Technology has allowed us to change things and do many new things, but we are the ones who must decide what and how to do it”, he added.

Market under stress

In the year that he hopes will mark his recovery, the MWC projects to receive between 40,000 and 60,000 visitors. These figures are still far from those before the pandemic (100,000 visitors in 2019), but they are encouraging for the organizers after two years of health crisis.

The congress ended up being canceled at the last minute in 2020 due to the trickle of cancellations from the big players in the sector, already concerned about the spread of a virus that weeks later would officially explode in Europe.

Last year it was held, but at the beginning of summer and in a reduced format, with only 20,000 participants.

According to the organizers, who have projected this 16th edition as the definitive overcoming of the pandemic, 1,500 exhibitors from 170 countries will be present in Barcelona this year. Among them, the vast majority of the giants in the sector, except for the Japanese Sony and the Chinese Lenovo, which will only participate telematically in the event.

Under the motto “triggered connectivity”, this edition will address topics ranging from the rise of 5G to the opportunities offered by the Internet of Things (IoT), passing through the metaverse and the impact of new technologies on the environment.

Beyond the ‘gadgets’, “it will be interesting to see how manufacturers position themselves” in the smartphone market, especially in the face of “Huawei’s difficulties”, which has lost momentum due to the sanctions imposed by the United States, according to Thomas Husson, an analyst at Forrester.

The question of the sanctions imposed on Moscow after the invasion of Ukraine will be another of the issues closely followed. Washington has already decided to limit technology exports to Russia, which could add further strain to a sector already struggling with a chip shortage.

“It is unlikely that the market for smartphones and other smart products will not be affected by the impact of the crisis in Ukraine, considering the economic and geographical importance of Russia and Ukraine”, Marina Koytcheva, from the CCS cabinet, assessed AFP.

Despite the slowdown in recent years, the smartphone market grew by 5.7% in 2021, when 1.35 billion devices were sold worldwide, according to the IDC cabinet. Since the summer, however, the sector has been suffering from these shortage problems, which have weighed on its fourth quarter results.