The wireless telecommunications world is set to again descend on Barcelona, Spain, for the annual Mobile World Congress event. The gathering is known as the largest wireless-specific event on the trade show calendar, drawing tens-of-thousands to discern what the market has in store for the coming year.
As in previous years, MWC is set to provide a stage for products and services that will likely shape the wireless telecommunications space, with this year’s main topics expected to include continued network evolution around the LTE standard, a number of new device unveilings and an increased presence of network software.
LTE’s continuing evolution
Infrastructure equipment vendors both big and small have been busy leading up to the MWC event announcing and pre-announcing news regarding updates to their list of products. Many of these revolve around further updates to LTE equipment, including faster speeds attainable from carrier aggregation. The push for adoption of CA-enabled LTE equipment is becoming an important component for mobile carriers that have to increasingly piece together disparate swaths of spectrum in order to serve an insatiable consumer appetite for mobile data services.
Another expected hit topic on the equipment side is the continued move to smaller network equipment by means of small cells. These options have already gained ground in the form of femtocells and distributed antenna systems, with the focus now changing towards more specialized metrocell equipment that falls somewhere in the middle in terms of coverage. This is also calling for the increased need for equipment that can be inserted into a network architecture and interoperate with more traditional equipment in the form of a heterogeneous network.
The stars of the show
While network equipment is critical as the backbone of the wireless telecommunications space, the stars of most shows end up being the mobile devices that lure consumers to those networks. This year’s MWC event is not expected to be any different, with a handful of large-scale device launches expected.
Samsung is expected to garner the most attention with the launch of an update Galaxy smartphone phone. Rumors indicate the latest edition will sport the S5 moniker, with the device itself sporting the latest and greatest in hardware and software. The company has an event scheduled for Feb. 24 where details on the device are expected to be announced.
Nokia is also expected to share a piece of the spotlight with the rollout of its first Android-powered smartphone. The device is expected to cater to the lower-end of the smartphone space, with Nokia continuing to use the Windows Mobile operating system from parent company Microsoft to handle the mid- and high-end of the smartphone space.
Not to be left out, LG announced it would unveil the latest addition to its G2 lineup with a slightly smaller Mini model, which will sport a 4.7-inch screen. The device will also include a quad-core processor of differing strengths depending on market and run Google’s latest Android 4.4 OS.
Chinese vendors like Huawei and ZTE are also expected to show updated devices at the MWC event, which tends to play well with the success those vendors have seen in capturing market share outside of North America.
Software galore
While hardware has always been a central theme to MWC events, advances in software have recently become an increasingly important sector of the wireless telecommunications space. This move has been pushed by carriers looking to increase network efficiencies in order to handle increased demand for mobile data services at a time when spectrum resources are becoming scarcer.
A lot of pre-MWC hype has surrounded network virtualization, and more specifically the roll out of software-defined networks and network functions virtualization platforms. A number of vendors have announced plans to show off their latest advances in this space, though most analysts don’t expect the market for such offerings to take off until at least next year.
RCR Wireless News will be taking a close look at the software, network virtualization, SDN and NFV activity from the MWC show floor, with plans to conduct dozens of interviews with companies providing new products for the space. Please remember to check back at RCRWireless.com throughout the MWC event to stay on top of the latest news from Barcelona.
Bored? Why not follow me on Twitter
