Re: Quality versus quantityThe thousand or so drop in attendance would to me seem to not necessarily be a prediction o the future. It's only about a one percent drop, and who knows what that might be resulting from. But the next few years will probably tell the tale a little more accurately.
Cuts not relevantI don't see the cuts that telcos are making as in any way relevant to the insignificant decline in attendance at the event; the cuts are not at the VP / SVP / CxO level that typically attend this event. I saw more carrier CxOs (even from Asia!) at CES this year than I've seen in years past; you may be right that the increased convergence is driving a split in attendance, sending more people towards CES.
Re: Quality versus quantityGlengarry indeed. For a few years now, exhibitors at MWC have complained about the lack of leads coming out of Barcelona. Some have cut back on their spending. But it's still the single most important show for telecom. And marketing types seem to love Barcelona, even in late winter.
Re: Quality versus quantityMWC is the biggest marketing budget drain for companies in the Telecom space. Those groups live for the week-long party. Leads are doled out after return to the safety of HQ. "These are the new leads. These are the Glengarry leads. And to you they're gold, and you don't get them. Why? Because to give them to you is just throwing them away. They're for closers."
Re: Quality versus quantityRight -- MWC is a marketing-driven event. But most trade shows are. The substantive stuff takes place out of the limelight. Meanwhile, though, hundreds of millions of dollars/euro/whatever get funneled into "the local economy" and GSMA, some of which trickles down to real people. And those who are employed in marketing departments have lots of work, even if the result of that work is negligible.
Re: Quality versus quantityIn addition, a number of attendees who spoke with Light Reading staff at the event questioned how useful and relevant the event's generic conference sessions are in helping to educate and inform attendees. Others said that giving operators the chance to whine about regulatory regimes and pressure was of little value.
The above sums up all. 5G is not ready, so what exactly is MWC achieving? Just announcement of who will be come out with 5G and when and wine and dine? To top it, is Spain (Barcelona) at the forefront of mobile technology? Is Spain playing any role in 5G?
TweetThe fact that you could fit any important news from this year's MWC in a single Twitter post isn't going to help. But we know that most companies -- including ours -- are going to be slow to cut back on MWC until they see others doing it.
Quality versus quantityAny event that can pull in over 100,000 people including senior executives from many of the top companies in the industry is noteworthy.
While the largest of the MWC events, there are also regional MWC themed shows in the calendar and to some extent these have displaced some of the older telecoms themed shows.
I think that there is a debate whether Barcelona longer term is the ideal venue for MWC.
All involved with MWC will no doubt take stock from this years event and will be planning for a high quality MWC2019 a year from now.
The above sums up all. 5G is not ready, so what exactly is MWC achieving? Just announcement of who will be come out with 5G and when and wine and dine? To top it, is Spain (Barcelona) at the forefront of mobile technology? Is Spain playing any role in 5G?
While the largest of the MWC events, there are also regional MWC themed shows in the calendar and to some extent these have displaced some of the older telecoms themed shows.
I think that there is a debate whether Barcelona longer term is the ideal venue for MWC.
All involved with MWC will no doubt take stock from this years event and will be planning for a high quality MWC2019 a year from now.