I just returned from Mobile World Congress Barcelona (MWC Barcelona), and, as usual, the people, the energy and the innovation have left me more energized and optimistic than ever about what’s happening with today’s digital transformation.

This year, we joined more than 109,000 attendees and over 4,200 companies at the show, which had the theme of “Intelligent Connectivity” and how we’ve arrived at a new era of highly contextualized and personalized experiences, delivered when and where we want them.

This theme couldn’t be a more perfect for Syniverse. Our new tagline is “the world’s most connected company,” and last week we demonstrated this with a bunch of big partnership announcements, product releases and demos. Let’s look at these highlights and all the ways we’re powering connectivity around the world.

5G Study
We started off the week with the announcement of a major study on a connectivity technology that will see its first big rollout this year – 5G. To prepare for the revolution that this technology is bringing to mobile, we did a study to look at one of the big unknowns with 5G: How mobile operators will begin to make use of 5G to provide new services for enterprises, and how important a part these services will play in operators’ business models. To find this out, we partnered with Heavy Reading to conduct a global survey of operators and do a deep dive into better understanding their 5G preparations.

The findings were surprising, and I invite you to check them out in our new report, “How the 5G ecosystem will pay for itself,” which you can download here or below. We’re excited about some of the directions that we found emerging for 5G and are looking forward to sharing more on the implications of our findings for operators and enterprises this year.

Download “How the 5G ecosystem will pay for itself”

New Partnerships and Services Offerings
In parallel with our 5G study, we made several other announcements marking some of our latest advancements in driving connectivity:

• Private LTE solutions – We’re joining forces with Ruckus Networks and Federated Wireless to transform the capability for using local wireless networks through the use of private LTE solutions that use the Citizens Broadband Radio Service (CBRS) spectrum.
• Artificial intelligence and robotics solutions – We’re excited about a new partnership with CloudMinds Technology and the new offerings that we’re developing for cloud-based artificial intelligence (AI) and robotic services for use by enterprises.
• 5G signaling service – Our newest 5G service enables mobile operators and brands to take first steps with 5G roaming and accessing next-generation 5G services like the internet of things (IoT) and artificial intelligence (AI).
• Open Connectivity Complete – Our new roaming hub offers operators full 5G operability and instant access to comprehensive worldwide coverage.

Innovation Theater
Another huge highlight of our week was the Syniverse Innovation Theater at our booth. It featured four days of technology seminars, business case presentations, and product demonstrations on some of the latest connectivity innovations we’re involved with, like 5G, Rich Communication Services (RCS), and blockchain.

Just some of the session highlights included “Delivering Exceptional User Experiences with RCS,” “Blockchain for the Expanding Digital Ecosystem” and “Monetizing 5G: Creating New Frontiers for Mobile.” The theater will be a regular feature at our major trade show appearances, so if you missed it at MWC Barcelona, we hope you can catch the Syniverse Innovation Theater at some of our events this year.

Industry 4.0 Event
Last but not least, I had the privilege to take part in a MWC Barcelona panel session, “Can Industry 4.0 and the Industrial Internet Be as Secure and Reliable as Industry 3.0?” Following the first industrial revolution (mechanization through water and steam power), to the second (mass production and assembly lines using electricity), to the third (adoption of computers and automation), the fourth industrial revolution, or Industry 4.0, promises to improve our industrial operations with smart and autonomous systems that use data and machine learning.

My fellow panelists and I specifically looked at the risks of this transformation for businesses and what they will mean. I shared some perspectives gained from the customer work we’ve done with our Syniverse Secure Global Access network, and, along with the other panelists’ insights, we had a lively discussion on this next wave of technology change. A video of the full session will be made available that we’ll be sharing soon.  

What’s Next
We had an unforgettable week at MWC Barcelona and can’t wait for what’s next with our new 5G study and services, and with our new partnerships with Ruckus, Federated Wireless and CloudMinds Technology.

Our next big events are the GSMA WAS (Wholesale Agreements and Solutions Group) #9 conference and the CCA (Competitive Carriers Association) Mobile Carriers Show in April. We hope to see you there, and hope you stay tuned for more updates here on Synergy!