Light Reading heads home from MWC23 in Barcelona, leaving behind a show that, as networks converge, has seen its audience reach industries well outside mobile and telco tech.

Phil Harvey, Editor-in-Chief

March 3, 2023

5 Min Read
Adios, MWC23: Photos from telecom's big bash in Barcelona

Mobile World Congress used to be the telco industry's big event.

Now even the organizers of MWC Barcelona have signaled that their annual gathering is becoming CES Europe, a general tech event with ever-increasing size and scale.

Glass half full: Even though it's huge, MWC23 did include and does reflect the converging nature of the communications industry and all it touches.

Glass half empty: It's a show about everything, which makes it a show about nothing.

"No theme is the theme," tweeted Tantra Analyst's Prakash Sangam, as he attempted to summarize a busy week in a single post.

"There were more than 88,500 attendees, of whom 56% came from sectors adjacent to the mobile ecosystem," the GSMA boasted in its press release wrapping up the show.

That said, a crowded show about everything is visually interesting. The MWC organizers noted that they had more than 2,400 exhibitors, sponsors and partners participating. Here's a very small look at a very big show, in just 16 photos shared by our Light Reading editors and the Alamy editorial team.

Air taxis and emotional robots

Figure 1: Attendees at Mobile World Congress 2023 in Barcelona. (Source: Meng Dingbo/Xinhua/Alamy Live News) Attendees at Mobile World Congress 2023 in Barcelona.
(Source: Meng Dingbo/Xinhua/Alamy Live News)

MWC is a study of contrasts. Inside, well-dressed delegates were networking and coming to grips with when and how to use robots in our daily lives. Outside, protestors aimed to remind the world that every massively-profitable industry is built on some level of human suffering.

Figure 2: 'Buddy - the emotional robot' greets people on the trade show floor. (Source: Matthias Oesterle/Alamy Live News) 'Buddy - the emotional robot' greets people on the trade show floor.
(Source: Matthias Oesterle/Alamy Live News)

Figure 3: SK Telecom's presence at the show. (Source: Matthias Oesterle/Alamy Live News) SK Telecom's presence at the show.
(Source: Matthias Oesterle/Alamy Live News)

Figure 15: The AWS lounge. (Source: Kelsey Ziser/Light Reading) The AWS lounge.
(Source: Kelsey Ziser/Light Reading)

Figure 4: Half a hundred workers gathered in front of the Fira de Barcelona to protest the death of a colleague. (Source: Marc Asensio Clupes/ZUMA Press Wire) Half a hundred workers gathered in front of the Fira de Barcelona to protest the death of a colleague.
(Source: Marc Asensio Clupes/ZUMA Press Wire)

Figure 11: Befriending robot dogs. (Source: Kelsey Ziser/Light Reading) Befriending robot dogs.
(Source: Kelsey Ziser/Light Reading)

Openness and fancy new fonts

More contrasts abound as telcos talk about openness in every part of their networks, while networking suppliers guard their stands and, in some cases, might be following their visitors a little too closely.

Figure 5: A visitor walks past Amdocs' advertising. (Source: Matthias Oesterle/Alamy Live News) A visitor walks past Amdocs' advertising.
(Source: Matthias Oesterle/Alamy Live News)

Figure 13: Chema Alonso, Telefonica's Chief Digital Officer. (Source: Telefonica) Chema Alonso, Telefónica's Chief Digital Officer.
(Source: Telefonica)

Figure 6: Nokia's exhibition stand. (Source: Matthias Oesterle/Alamy Live News) Nokia's exhibition stand.
(Source: Matthias Oesterle/Alamy Live News)

Figure 7: Hostesses guard the entry at the Huawei stand. (Source: Matthias Oesterle/Alamy Live News) Hostesses guard the entry at the Huawei stand.
(Source: Matthias Oesterle/Alamy Live News)

Figure 12: Luis Maestro of Nokia shares updates on Nokia's LTE connected moon rover. (Source: Kelsey Ziser/Light Reading) Luis Maestro of Nokia shares updates on Nokia's LTE connected moon rover.
(Source: Kelsey Ziser/Light Reading)

Figure 8: Trying out some electric karting. (Source: Meng Dingbo/Xinhua/Alamy Live News) Trying out some electric karting.
(Source: Meng Dingbo/Xinhua/Alamy Live News)

Figure 14: Sadayuki Abeta, VP, head of open RAN for NTT Docomo, delivers open RAN keynote. (Source: Kelsey Ziser/Light Reading) Sadayuki Abeta, VP, head of open RAN for NTT Docomo, delivers open RAN keynote.
(Source: Kelsey Ziser/Light Reading)

Figure 9: The Ericsson stand. (Source: Matthias Oesterle/Alamy Live News) The Ericsson stand.
(Source: Matthias Oesterle/Alamy Live News)

Who wore it better?

The industry has upped its game in terms of specialty coffee. And, if you put your logo on it, that's savvy, delicious targeted advertising.

Figure 16: Branded coffees were all the rage. (Source: Kelsey Ziser/Light Reading) Branded coffees were all the rage.
(Source: Kelsey Ziser/Light Reading)

As our team rides off into the sunset, please check our show recap to learn about the things our editors saw and heard while on the ground at MWC Barcelona.

Figure 10: Watching the sun set over Barcelona. (Source: Marc Asensio Clupes/ZUMA Press Wire) Watching the sun set over Barcelona.
(Source: Marc Asensio Clupes/ZUMA Press Wire)

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Phil Harvey, Editor-in-Chief, Light Reading

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About the Author(s)

Phil Harvey

Editor-in-Chief, Light Reading

Phil Harvey has been a Light Reading writer and editor for more than 18 years combined. He began his second tour as the site's chief editor in April 2020.

His interest in speed and scale means he often covers optical networking and the foundational technologies powering the modern Internet.

Harvey covered networking, Internet infrastructure and dot-com mania in the late 90s for Silicon Valley magazines like UPSIDE and Red Herring before joining Light Reading (for the first time) in late 2000.

After moving to the Republic of Texas, Harvey spent eight years as a contributing tech writer for D CEO magazine, producing columns about tech advances in everything from supercomputing to cellphone recycling.

Harvey is an avid photographer and camera collector – if you accept that compulsive shopping and "collecting" are the same.

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