Sony Pixel Power calrec Sony

MWC Shanghai 2021 Makes a Dramatic Return With 200,000 Representatives as an International Physical & Digital Event

05/03/2021

4 March 2021, Hong Kong: Connected Impact was the theme of MWC Shanghai 2021 and the GSMA has just revealed that the event held in February attracted around 25,000 attendees from 114 countries and territories. In a Covid era with extensive travel restrictions, this is an outstanding result. The My MWCS Online portal transformed the three-day event into a truly global affair which accounted for approximately 30 per cent of attendee turnout. Another 175,000 people viewed presentations, keynotes, and other program components via the event's official media partner, C114. Content from the event remains available over the next few weeks and can be accessed here: https://mwc2021-login.gotin.online/login_page?lang=en.

As Asia's leading exhibition and conference for the mobile ecosystem, MWC Shanghai attracted leaders across mobile and adjacent industries. With 350 speakers and senior-level executives making up around 58% of the conference crowd, including 576 CEO's, the event spanned 50,000 sqm across the Shanghai New International Expo Centre and Kerry Hotel Pudong. Playing host to 220 exhibitors and sponsors, the event was once again carbon-neutral and included discussion of the mobile industry's actions on reducing carbon footprints.

MWC Shanghai 2021 was a resounding success, safely held with enhanced Covid precautions, and despite extensive domestic and international travel and capacity restrictions triggered by the global pandemic. The event went ahead as a positive signal of our industry's determination to connect people, industry and society and contributing to global recovery, said CEO GSMA Ltd., John Hoffman. China has demonstrated an extraordinary commitment to growing the 5G landscape and was the perfect choice to launch our MWC series for 2021. I sincerely thank the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, Cyberspace Administration of China, Shanghai Municipal People's Government and Pudong New District Municipal Government, our Board, Partners, Exhibitors, Sponsors, Speakers, the Press and all involved in this event that make MWC Shanghai 2021 a reality.

The place to launch new products

MWC Shanghai 2021 was also a platform for product innovation, including a range of pioneering devices from leading players. Amongst the line-up was ZTE's Axon 30 smartphone, its latest endeavour to design a phone with a selfie camera hidden under the display. Oppo showed a 125-watt flash charger, which can fully recharge a smartphone in 20 minutes. Huawei, meanwhile, presented its folding Mate X2 handset, which the company proclaimed can be closed without there being a gap around the hinge, an issue that has plagued similar designs.

The IN crowd

Our new 5G Innovation Zone gave start-ups and entrepreneurs a platform to connect with investors and become future disruptors.

The zone included 80 exhibitors, displaying immersive 5G experiences that leveraged China Telecom's 5G, Cloud XR and Digital Twin technologies, creating a unique experience for participants by moving them from the physical space into the virtual dimension. It removed physical constraint and greatly enriched the quality of the exhibition.

It also showcased how the most cutting-edge 5G thinking and technology is already serving society, providing in-person and virtual guests with the opportunity to explore the best examples.

2021 AMOs Success

The Asia Mobile Awards are always a highlight of MWC Shanghai, and this year was no exception. The Outstanding Contribution to the Asia Mobile Industry Award recognises sustained or extraordinary contributions by individuals, organisations or collaborative achievements that advance the value and benefits of mobile communications for people, business and societies in Asia. This year, Mats Granryd, Director General of the GSMA, was proud to announce joint winners, Wang Xiaochu, chairman and CEO of China Unicom and Ke Ruiwen, chairman and CEO China Telecom, for the world's largest 5G commercial network sharing project.

The second honour, Smartphone of the Year, is awarded for outstanding performance, innovation and leadership as determined by assessing smartphones on the market during the last 18 months. John Hoffman announced the 2021 award went to Apple for the Apple iPhone 12 Pro Series. The judges also gave a special commendation to the Samsung Galaxy Z-Flip for continued innovation and development in the flexible display field.

Our thanks

In the most challenging circumstances, people came together. They demonstrated the ecosystem's strength, commitment to innovation, and firm belief that mobile technology must play a vital role in the global recovery. Our sincere thanks to our Board, Partners, Exhibitors, Sponsors, Speakers, the Press and all involved in this event. Your resilience, commitment, and generosity were felt by participants worldwide and created hope, sending a positive signal about what 2021 has in store.

Looking to Barcelona

The next platform for the mobile communications industry is MWC Barcelona in June, said Mats Granryd, Director General, GSMA. The lessons learnt in Shanghai and the momentum gained will enable us to deliver another world-class event. The global recovery from the pandemic will continue to rely on our industry's technology. The prospects for wireless connectivity have never been greater. Barcelona will be the place to be for anyone wanting to maximise those opportunities.

For information about how to attend and pass types for MWC Barcelona, please visit: www.mwcbarcelona.com/attend/register-your-interest

ENDS

About GSMA

The GSMA represents the interests of mobile operators worldwide, uniting more than 750 operators with almost 400 companies in the broader mobile ecosystem, including handset and device makers, software companies, equipment providers and internet companies, as well as o
LINK: https://www.gsma.com/newsroom/all-documents/mwc-shanghai-2021-makes-a-...
See more stories from gsma

Most recent headlines

05/01/2027

Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be demoed at CES 2026

Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...

09/10/2026

Dolby Expands Dolby OptiView Platform with New Capabilities at IBC 2026

September 10 2026, 06:00 (PDT) Dolby Expands Dolby OptiView Platform with New Capabilities at IBC 2026 New Sports Intelligence helps providers better unders...

07/10/2026

Dalet Flex LTS Delivers Smarter Media Operations from Ingest to Distribution

Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, today announced the latest Long-Term Supported (LTS) release of Dalet Flex. Build...

14/09/2026

ESPNs MNF Gets in Tune With Apple Music, Adds Ludacris to In the Air Tonight Open

Lil Baby's Dead Fresh kicks off ESPN's Week 1 Monday Night Football, ...

14/09/2026

ESPN's Monday Night Football Begins Its Super Bowl Run With Year 2 of Flagship, New Tech, and 4K HDR Distribution

With Super Bowl LXI waiting in Los Angeles, ESPN will use the regular season to ...

14/09/2026

Give Me the Backstory: Get to Know Padraic McKinley, the Director of The Weight

By Bailey Pennick One of the most exciting things about the Sundance Film Festival is having a front-row seat for the bright future of independent filmmaking. ...

14/09/2026

Sony expand WH headphone line-up

Three new models introduced Sony have just announced the launch of three new pairs of headphones that span their premium, mid-range and entry-level line-ups...

14/09/2026

Audient unveil Horizon interfaces

New flagship Thunderbolt units aimed at pro studios Audient's latest announcement sees the company introduce three new high-end audio interfaces designe...

14/09/2026

Cobalt Digital to Bring New and Enhanced Practical Solutions to Evolving Broadcast Workflows at IBC2026

Cobalt Digital IBC Stand 8.F90 // Journalists: Click to visit Cobalt Highlights...

14/09/2026

TV Tech Unveils Best of Show Winners at IBC2026

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

14/09/2026

TV Skyline Becomes 'World's First Ultrix FR30 Customer

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

14/09/2026

Bitmovin AI Scene Analysis Selected by Nine to Enhance it...

Bitmovin, a leading provider of video streaming solutions, has announced that Australia's largest media company, Nine Entertainment (Nine), has deployed Bit...

14/09/2026

Creativepool Annual 2026 Winners Announced

Creativepool Annual 2026 Winners Announced Brie Clayton September 13, 2026 0 Comments The creative industry's Most' awards celebrates another...

14/09/2026

Award-winning network Sky Mobile to Offer iPhone Duo, iPhone 18 Pro, iPhone 18 Pro Max, Apple Watch Series 12, and AirPods 5

Monday 14 September 2026 Award-winning network Sky Mobile to Offer iPhone Duo, ...

14/09/2026

Major updates for Apple\u2019s software platforms are now\u00A0available - UPDATE - Posted on 14 September 2026

Apple's latest software updates introduce Siri AI, a more intelligent, knowl...

14/09/2026

WTA Awards Tier 4 to Agility Beyond Space Subic Bay and Cikarang sites

WTA Awards Tier 4 to Agility Beyond Space Subic Bay and Cikarang sites...

14/09/2026

Perplexity Portable Computer Is Now Available on Windows, Powered by NVIDIA RTX

As local models become more capable, AI agents can handle more work directly on a PC while keeping sensitive information on the device. Portable Computer is a ...

14/09/2026

First look image of The Walsh Sisters series two released

RT in association with the BBC today released first look image from the second series of The Walsh Sisters, inspired by the novels of international best-sellin...

13/09/2026

Elektron reveal the Outbox 8

Offers eight audio and CV outputs via USB Elektron's latest launch offers a convenient way for users to integrate hardware instruments, effects and mixe...

13/09/2026

Pixel Academy Announces Autumn Courses

Pixel Academy Announces Autumn Courses Brie Clayton September 13, 2026 0 Comments The ACT Entertainment tvONE and Green Hippo Pixel Academy has releas...

13/09/2026

2Vision Powers Dawid Podsiado's Obrotowy Tour with Blackmagic Design

2Vision Powers Dawid Podsiad o's Obrotowy Tour with Blackmagic Design Brie Clayton September 13, 2026 0 Comments Touring multicamera workflow buil...

13/09/2026

Chyron, Matrox Video Partner At IBC 2026

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

13/09/2026

Sky releases trailer for Crystal Lake, an A24 produced prequel series to Friday the 13th, coming this October

Sunday 13 September 2026 Sky releases trailer for Crystal Lake, an A24 produced...

12/09/2026

If I Go Will They Miss Me Explores Fractured Fatherhood Through a Poetic Lens

J. Alphonse Nicholson, Danielle Brooks, Walter Thompson-Hernandez, and Bodhi Dell attend the premiere of If I Go Will They Miss Me at the Library Center Theat...

12/09/2026

Transformer Boost from Great Eastern FX Co.

Latest Obsolete Devices pedal announced Great Eastern FX Co. have just launched the latest pedal in their Obsolete Devices series, a range of effects pedals...

12/09/2026

Colorfront And Qumulo Team-Up To Make Every Frame Of Footage Searchable For The Life Of A Production

September 11, 2026 BUDAPEST & SEATTLE, 10 September 2026 - Qumulo and Colorfron...

12/09/2026

New Type RT console and Apex M6 Modular I/O Platform

Calrec expands its IP ecosystem with new Type RT console and Apex M6 Modular I/O Platform at IBC 2026 Type RT is the centrepiece of Calrec's news at IBC 202...

12/09/2026

Calrec expands its IP ecosystem with new Type RT console...

At IBC 2026, Calrec has unveiled Type RT, a new 6, 12 and 18-motorised fader console range that condenses everything a broadcast audio desk needs into a compact...

12/09/2026

Matrox, NVIDIA Integrate ORIGIN, Holoscan For Media

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

12/09/2026

Ross Video Debuts New Live Production Technology at IBC2026

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

12/09/2026

FCC Nominee Thumann Severs to Testify in Senate Sept. 17

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

12/09/2026

TV Skyline Becomes The World's First Ultrix FR30 Customer

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

12/09/2026

Ikegami Introduces VN Versions of Four UNICAM XE Cameras At IBC2026

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

12/09/2026

Riedel Technology Powers Record Breaking Esports World Cu...

WUPPERTAL, Germany Sept. 11, 2026 From July 6 to Aug. 23, 2026, Paris hosted the Esports World Cup (EWC), a seven-week live production spanning eight stages...

12/09/2026

Mediacom Deploys Riedel Easy5G for Wireless Camera Covera...

Riedel Communications today announced that Mediacom has purchased and deployed Easy5G , Riedel's Private 5G solution, for live broadcast coverage of La Vuel...

12/09/2026

A Decade of Innovation AMP VISUAL TV Builds on Ten Years...

AMP VISUAL TV is continuing the evolution of its production infrastructure with further investments in Riedel technology across its OB fleet and fixed productio...

12/09/2026

Touring Video Expands Flexible Production Workflows With...

Riedel Communications today announced that Touring Video, a premier entertainment mobile production service company, continues to expand its production workflow...

12/09/2026

Atomos Expands Accessory Ecosystem with New SHAPE and Sma...

Atomos (7.B19) today announced new third-party accessories for Sumo PRO-19 and Shinobi 7 II, developed by SHAPE and SmallRig to give production teams more ways ...

12/09/2026

Deity Microphones Brings PR 2ii, TC-2, and D4RX to IBC2026

Deity Microphones Brings PR 2ii, TC-2, and D4RX to IBC2026 Brie Clayton September 11, 2026 0 Comments The Deity PR-2ii arrives with production firmwar...

12/09/2026

Blackmagic Design Announces Special Pricing for Ultra HD Products

Blackmagic Design Announces Special Pricing for Ultra HD Products Brie Clayton September 11, 2026 0 Comments Now customers can afford to upgrade to Ul...

12/09/2026

Grass Valley EDIUS Future Assurance Program launched at IBC2026

Grass Valley EDIUS Future Assurance Program launched at IBC2026 Brie Clayton September 11, 2026 0 Comments New program gives EDIUS customers access to...

12/09/2026

Berklee Students Develop New Ideas for Live Entertainment and Travel in London

Berklee Students Develop New Ideas for Live Entertainment and Travel in London This summer, a group of music business students collaborated with Heathrow, Bri...

11/09/2026

IBC 2026: Calrec Launches Type RT Console and Apex M6 Modular I/O Platform

Calrec will introduce two new products at IBC2026 (Stand 8.C47, RAI Amsterdam, September 11-14): the Type RT broadcast production console and the Apex M6 Modula...

11/09/2026

IBC 2026: Grass Valley Launches AVORA All-in-One Live Production Platform

Grass Valley has announced AVORA, a standalone all-in-one live production solution launching at IBC2026 (Booth 9.A01 and IBC Future Tech Zone, Stand 14.C49, Sep...

11/09/2026

IBC 2026: CAMB.AI Launches Streaming SDK and Dashboard for Multilingual Live Broadcasting

CAMB.AI is introducing its Streaming SDK and Streaming Dashboard at IBC2026, wit...

11/09/2026

IBC 2026: EVS Launches XT-S Software-Defined Multi-Application Server

EVS has announced XT-S, a software-defined server platform that runs multiple live production applications on a common hardware foundation. The platform debuts ...

11/09/2026

IBC 2026: EKT Showcases Linux-Based ATSC 3.0 Converter Box

EKT is demonstrating a new Linux-based ATSC 3.0 set-top box at IBC2026. The second-generation product moves away from Android to reduce memory costs, with Linux...

11/09/2026

IBC 2026: Sennheiser Group to Showcase Wireless, Monitoring, and Broadcast Workflow

The Sennheiser Group will exhibit at IBC2026 (Hall 8, Booth D50, September 11-14...

11/09/2026

Ludacris Joins Chris Stapleton and Cindy Blackman Santana for Monday Night Footballs In the Air Tonight Open

ESPN's Monday Night Football will open its 2026-27 season with a new renditi...

11/09/2026

Dalet Integrates NVIDIA Synthetic Content Detection into Dalet Flex

Dalet has announced an integration of NVIDIA's Synthetic Video Detector AI model into Dalet Flex, enabling media organizations to identify potentially AI-ge...