5 March 2013 – I stayed in Barcelona for a few days after the event to unwind and just enjoy the city. And quite frankly after 75,000+ attendees (and potential clients), over 1,500 exhibitors, 30+ educational sessions and presentations, 220 business cards and BUMP contacts to sort through … I am whipped. I will have a more detailed analysis in a few weeks but to start while some of this is still fresh:
1. If there was one major take-away this year it was that “Mobile First” is, like, soooo last year. We have moved to “Mobile Only” in such an amazing short period of time. Mobile is more than just the latest step forward in tech innovation; mobile is fundamentally reshaping operating models, business models and marketplaces. It’s not sufficient to think “mobile first” anymore. The postdigital future begins with “mobile only.”
2. From a hardware perspective, key launches centered on devices like the Samsung Note 8.0 tablet computer, Huawei’s Ascend P2 smartphone, which at speeds of 150Mhz the Chinese technology giant claims is the fastest in the world today, and Nokia, which as well as bringing out new Lumia 520 and 720 devices for the high street, unveiled a €15 phone, the Nokia 105, as part of a common industry drive to connect the next 1bn people to the internet.
3. But despite all the wizardry on display, there were more pressing matters at play. Like how mobile operators are going to continue investing in the rollout of next-generation 4G LTE (Long Term Evolution) networks and actually make money out of the investment in the face of declining revenues as consumers evolve from voice and text services to mobile data. According to the GSM Association (GSMA), mobile operator data revenues are predicted to overtake voice revenues globally by 2018. The new networks will have massive socioeconomic benefits across the world in terms of things like mobile health and allowing people who never had a bank account before to suddenly engage in e-commerce.
4. Operators this year said they feel the industry is overburdened in terms of regulations and taxes and mostly they are annoyed that internet giants like Facebook and Google are carving out lucrative empires on the back of their networks while the operators themselves are seeing their own revenues plummet.
5. It is a predicament. Mobile revenues are falling and operators are tasked with building massive next-generation 4G networks after bidding for expensive spectrum licences. “Operators are under pressure,” said GSMA director-general Anne Bouverot, pointing out that the networks know they will be integral in the connected lives of the future but have to be certain of getting a return on their investment.
6. The regulation issue was discussed at almost every session, almost every coffee break, and at almost every dinner. Operators are facing regulation and taxation based on the principle of mobile being a luxury industry with high margins. They are still burdened by outdated regulation and taxation in a challenging ecosystem. The central role of operators is challenged by new players from the software and hardware worlds.
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