Record-Breaking Year for GSMA Mobile World Congre as 08,000 Attend Industry s Premier Event

Mobile World Congress 2017 Sees 7 Per Cent Increase in Visitors

Barcelona: The 2017 edition of Mobile World Congress attracted a record 108,000 visitors*, an increase of 7 per cent over the previous year, the GSMA reported today as the show came to a close. Visitors from 208 countries and territories worldwide attended this year's event, held at the Fira Gran Via and Fira Montju c venues in Barcelona.

The exhibition hosted more than 2,300 exhibiting companies from both the mobile ecosystem and adjacent industries such as automotive, finance and healthcare, while the four-day conference programme comprised 11 keynote sessions and many more track sessions dedicated to specific industry topics. There were also a record number of government delegations to the Ministerial Programme, plus several new events staged for the first time this year across the two venues.

Mobile World Congress enjoyed another record-breaking year in 2017, underlining its position as the world's premier mobile ecosystem event, said John Hoffman, CEO of GSMA Ltd. The theme for this year's show was Mobile: The Next Element, reflecting the elemental role of mobile in the lives of billions of people around the world. We once again saw a world-class speaker line-up and the unveiling of a range of major new initiatives and cutting-edge product launches, which will define the direction of the mobile ecosystem over the coming years.

Over 55 per cent of this year's Mobile World Congress attendees held senior-level positions, including more than 6,100 CEOs. Approximately 3,500 international media and industry analysts attended the event to report on the many significant industry announcements made at Congress. Approximately 23 per cent of attendees were female, with the number of female attendees up 14 per cent year-on-year, growing at twice the rate of the overall attendee base. Preliminary independent economic analysis indicates that the 2017 Mobile World Congress will have contributed more than 465 million and over 13,200 part-time jobs.

The keynote sessions featured senior representatives from a range of major companies and organisations, including Ansible, AT&T, Atos, Bharti Enterprises, Boxever, the Business and Sustainable Development Commission, CGAP, Discovery Networks, Econet, the European Commission, FC Barcelona, Formula E Holdings, Girl Effect, Gray Ghost Ventures, Huawei, Kaspersky Lab, Kik Interactive, KT, L1 Technology, Liberty Global, LINE, NEC, Netflix, Niantic, Nokia, Open Garden, Opportunity Network, Orange, Otto, Prisma Labs, PwC, Roborace, Smart Dubai, SoftBank, Tele2, Telef nica, Turner, Twilio, the US Federal Communications Commission, Vayyar Imaging, Veniam, VICE Media, Vivendi and VMware.

The main exhibition at Fira Gran Via covered 115,000 square metres. The 4 Years From Now (4YFN) and Youth Mobile Festival (YoMo) events occupied 50,000 square metres of space at the Fira Montju c venue.

The main exhibition featured some of the most high-profile names in the mobile industry and beyond, including AOL, BMW, Cisco Systems, Deutsche Telekom, DJI, Ericsson, Ford, Google, Hewlett Packard Enterprise, HTC, Huawei, IBM, Intel, Lenovo, LG, Mercedes-Benz, Microsoft, NEC, Nokia Solutions and Networks, Oracle, Orange, Peugeot, Philips Lighting, Qualcomm Incorporated, Samsung Electronics, SAP, SEAT, Sony Mobile, Telef nica, Verizon, Vodafone and ZTE.

New for 2017 was the NEXTech exhibition, located in Hall 8, which showcased a range of forward-thinking companies and disruptive technologies, from virtual reality/augmented reality and robotics, to cognitive computing, artificial intelligence and more. The hall featured several pavilions and zones including the Drone Zone, Graphene Experience Zone, IoT Pavilion and the NEXTech Pavilion, incorporating VR/AR, robotics and AI.

Ministerial Programme Showcases Socio-Economic Impact of Mobile

It was another year of record attendance at the GSMA's Ministerial Programme, which brought together governments, regulators and industry leaders to encourage dialogue on a range of regulatory and policy issues. This year's event saw an increasing number of delegates from adjacent industries such as finance and healthcare, reflecting mobile's broadening global reach and impact. There were delegations from 167 countries and international organisations in attendance at the Ministerial Programme, including 60 ministers and 78 regulatory authority heads. The total number of attendees increased 14 per cent from last year to almost 1,700. The Programme focused on maximising the positive socio-economic impact of mobile worldwide, and creating a policy environment that encourages investment and innovation.

Mobile Tech on Show at the Innovation City

Relocated to a prominent new home in Hall 4 for 2017, the GSMA Innovation City highlighted a range of cutting-edge products and services. Attendees visited the City to interact with demonstrations of 5G, the Internet of Things (IoT), security and identity solutions - and even a connected seal to tell the story of the Internet of the Seas. Participants included AT&T, Cisco Jasper, Huawei, KT Corporation, Sierra Wireless and UNLIMIT powered by Reliance.

The Innovation City also featured the Mobile for Development Rural Village to showcase mobile technologies that are transforming the lives of farmers and rural communities. Attendees were able to interact with a range of innovative solutions to everyday challenges, from weather forecasting, smart irrigation and solar energy, to cooking gas, mobile health and mobile money.

Start-Up Community Connects with Industry at 4YFN

Located at the Fira Montju c venue, the 4 Years From Now (4YFN) event was held alongside Mobile World Congress for the fourth year running. The event is a forum for the tech start-up community to connect with expert mentors, large co

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