Barcelona, Feb 24, 2023 (AFP) -Telecom companies will aim to put a positive spin on their current slump in fortunes when they gather in the Spanish city of Barcelona on Monday for the annual Mobile World Congress (MWC), the biggest event in the industry's calendar.
Demand for products including smartphones has fallen with the onset of a global economic slowdown and rising inflation, bringing tough times to companies all along the supply chain.
But industry body GSMA, which organises the MWC, said this year's event would be buoyed by the return of Chinese delegates after Beijing finally lifted Covid-era travel restrictions.
Roughly 80,000 people are expected in Barcelona to see the latest innovations and ideas from giants of the sector like Samsung, Huawei, Nokia and Ericsson.
The bosses of network operators like Vodafone, Orange, China Mobile and Deutsche Telekom will also give high-profile speeches.
The GSMA is attempting to push a forward-looking agenda filled with much-hyped concepts like artificial intelligence, 6G and Internet of Things. But many of the companies at the show will be focused on the bread-and-butter issue of how to make money in tricky financial times.
The wider tech sector has been routed recently and giants like Meta and Google have shed thousands of jobs. Although telecom companies have not faced the same pain, Ericsson announced last week that 1,400 staff would lose their jobs.
