Award Solutions is the trusted training partner of the Mobile World Congress for over a decade. With that honor comes the ability to lead the Topic Tours for the GSMA and MWC. MWC23 offered three tours this year, 5G Now and Tomorrow, Internet of Things, and the tour I have the privilege of leading, What's Hot at MWC?
Attending this year's MWC made for my first real travel since early 2020. Seeing people and being at the conference was great, which reminded me how much I missed conferences. I said that phrase so often that some people started to mock me for how much I expressed the sentiment.
What's a GSMA Topic Tour?
A Topic Tour is a set of companies in a specific area of interest that, as a tour stop, can give a short demo to tour participants. Tour guides from Award Solutions help "connect the dots" and concepts for each tour stop and how a company fits in the broader telecommunications ecosystem. My tour, the What's Hot at MWC? Tour provided a more general grouping of companies covering many technologies outside 5G and IoT.
I want to create a series discussing exciting things on the What's Hot Tour. So join me as I start with an overview of the tour through the eyes of a participant. Let's begin at the Topic Tours booth in the hallways above Hall 4.
A What's Hot at MWC Topic Tour Walkthrough
From upstairs in Hall 4, we walk down to Hall 3 to our first stop, Segway. Segway discussed the company's history and showed off its new kick-scooters, eScooters, eMowers, and an electric all-terrain utility vehicle, go-kart, and concept motorcycle. The mock of their solid-state hydrogen motorcycle ended their tour stop in style.
Our next stop is Cinemo, located in the middle walkway of Congress Hall, stretching the length of Halls 4, 5, 6, and 7. Cinemo spoke of their screen-sharing technology, used for years in the automotive industry, and how their middleware solutions translate to other markets like gaming, physical fitness, and advertising.
As I mentioned, Award Solutions Topic Tour guides use long walks between stops, like our next one, to "connect the dots" for participants. The 4 Years From Now (4YFN) area in Hall 8.1 contained VentureLabs, whose mission is to support entrepreneurs with training and support. The VentureLabs stop is a unique experience for each tour group, offering a different set of startups presenting their services and products to the group.
HyperloopTT, at our next stop in Hall 6, showed a prototype of their high-speed terrestrial transport system. HyperloopTT builds capsules in tubes of near vacuum sent at speeds rivaling air traffic.
After a short walk across Hall 6, we stop at The Next Hospital, a group of companies pioneering health care using cutting-edge technology. Demonstrations at this stop include robotic surgery, remote consultations, advancements in breast cancer detection, and an exoskeleton used to help a paralyzed man after 20 years.
Hall 4 encompasses our remaining stops beginning with the European Quantum Space, which promotes quantum technology. EQS includes several companies in the quantum space representing three pillars: quantum computing, quantum communications, and quantum sensing.
Across the aisle, it's time to "look up" at Aalto. Aalto is a subsidiary of Airbus producing a glider able to fly in the stratosphere for months at a time. In addition, it has included base station equipment that provides coverage to areas that don't have coverage today or need additional capacity.
The GSMA Pavilion at the back of Hall 4 contains many partners with demos, but the What's Hot at MWC Tour focused on World Mobile. World Mobile produces a balloon able to provide connectivity for wireless communications, providing opportunities for people in remote areas.
Lastly, our tour ends at the front of Hall 4 in Industry City. Industry City is a group of booths showcasing how the FinTech, Manufacturing, and Smart Mobility industries show the way forward in connected technology.
The overview of the What's Hot at MWC Topic Tour should give perspective, insight, encouragement, and connectivity for emerging technologies and services related to the goal of the GSMA's Mobile World Congress 2023. In addition, look for write-ups that dive deeper into various companies, tour topics, and trends from #MWC23.
For additional information on MWC Topic Tours, reach out to the GSMA Sponsorship department. Thank you to all the Topic Tour participants, their representatives, and Minerva Torrecillas and Elisabet Vendrell for keeping the tour moving forward, literally.
Chris Reece, Technologist, Award Solutions, Inc.
Chris Reece works with leading global service providers, transforming networks and empowering individuals in 5G, Virtualization/Containerization, and Machine Learning/Artificial Intelligence. Service providers rely on Chris to paint both the big picture and the business impact of technology and appreciate his enthusiasm for getting into deep, detailed discussions when needed. You may have seen Chris on Award Solutions' YouTube Channel. In addition, Chris is featured at leading telecom conferences worldwide, including MWC, and in publications like IEEE Spectrum and DZONE.
Chris holds a master's degree in Computer Science Telecommunications from the University of Missouri at Kansas City and a bachelor's degree in Computer Science and Mathematics from Cameron University. He also holds four patents in wireless technologies.