During Annual Conference, Telecom Companies Hope To Bounce Back From Slump

When telecom companies assemble in the Spanish city of Barcelona on Monday for the annual Mobile World Congress (MWC), the biggest event on the industry's calendar, they will try to put a positive spin on their present financial crisis.

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With the beginning of a worldwide economic slowdown and rising prices, demand for goods such as smartphones has decreased, creating difficult times for businesses all along the supply chain.

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The MWC is put on by the industry association GSMA, but this year's show will benefit from the return of Chinese delegates after China officially eased Covid-era travel restrictions, according to GSMA.

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Some 80,000 visitors are anticipated in Barcelona to see the most recent developments and concepts from industry juggernauts including Samsung, Huawei, Nokia, and Ericsson.

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There will also be prominent speeches from the CEOs of network carriers like Vodafone, Orange, China Mobile, and Deutsche Telekom.

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The GSMA is making an effort to advance a futuristic agenda that includes well publicized ideas like artificial intelligence, 6G, and the Internet of Things.

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Yet, a significant portion of the companies exhibiting at the show will be focusing on the crucial issue of how to generate revenue amid difficult economic times.

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Now that the tech sector as a whole has struggled, companies like Google and Meta have laid off thousands of workers.

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Telecom businesses have not seen as much pain, despite Ericsson's announcement last week that 1,400 staff will lose their jobs.

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Getting a return on their significant investment in 5G networks is one of the main issues for operators.

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These companies have long advocated for paying a premium to the network operators so that bandwidth-hungry companies like Netflix and Google can use their networks.

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On Thursday, the European Union opened a public consultation on the subject.

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According to Omdia analyst Dario Talmesio, "What they are trying to do is actually disrupt the economics of the internet."

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Although it was ambitious, he claimed that telecom companies currently enjoyed "an unprecedented amount of political backing," largely as a result of American big tech companies' poor reputations in Europe.

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Consumer brands are concentrating on moving more units because, according to the IDC research, worldwide smartphone sales last year fell by 11.3% compared to 2021.

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Thomas Husson from the analytical firm Forrester stated, "The market suffered greatly last year."

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He claimed that consumers in Western Europe and other "mature" countries were simply keeping their smartphones for much longer than previously, which was causing manufacturers a lot of trouble in addition to a general economic downturn.

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But, it's unlikely that many glitzy new smartphones will be unveiled during the MWC because the majority of businesses prefer to host their own specialized events.

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According to IDC, Samsung and Apple continued to dominate the handset industry last year, taking up about 40% of sales.

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The other three top-ranked Chinese firms were Xiaomi, Oppo, and Vivo. However, all three had a dismal year with sharply declining sales.

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The GSMA, meanwhile, is sticking with Chinese brands to revive an event that was postponed due to the epidemic and hindered in the years that followed by stringent masking and distance regulations.

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Before the event, GSMA's John Hoffman stated at a news conference that "We'll have many delegates from China" and that things were beginning to return to normal.

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The event's key sponsor, Huawei, will have a pavilion that is the largest in the event's decades-long history, according to the GSMA.

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In 2020, the Chinese tech giant was the second-largest smartphone manufacturer in the world, but it reduced its device production when US regulators claimed Beijing was in control of the company.

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Although Huawei currently concentrates on network hardware and cloud servers, EU leaders are urging states to stop using Huawei gear in 5G networks.

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While European nations ban Huawei, direct competitors Nokia and Ericsson are vying for some of the market. Both companies will send sizable teams to Barcelona.

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According to the GSMA, there will be 2,000 exhibitors and over 750 operators and manufacturers at the four-day trade exhibition.

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