What is the single most important network technology development for mobile network operators in 2013? That's the question we put to seven major vendors at this year's Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, giving each of them just 10 minutes to outline their choice and explain why it's so important. We visited Ericsson AB first – it focused on mobile small cells. (See MWC 2013 Hot Network Techs: Ericsson Next up was NEC Corp. We have included NEC in our annual MWC booth tours for a few years and the company, given its technology heritage, has often focused more on Service Provider Information Technology (SPIT) developments than the other equipment vendors. Now, with IP-centric 4G networks up and running, the boundaries between traditional telecom infrastructure and IT are becoming very blurred: Would that bring NEC more in line with the pitches from the more telecom-centric global vendors? Continue to page 2 of this article to check out NEC's pitch.
NEC had built its own enclave in Hall 3, with the 'Connected City' nestling just behind.