One of Telefónica’s key deals at Mobile World Congress just a year ago was a pact with Meta (Facebook) to launch a lab for the metaverse. The presence of this technology at the fair was very growing. This 2023, after the slowdown struck by the company itself founded by Mark Zuckerberg, the virtual and interactive spaces have given way to a much more theoretical edition, in which the new possibilities that the operators see to exploit the networks that have involved thousands of millions of investments. 5G has already landed, after years of work in the back room. And the applications on this ultra-fast network, such as virtual or augmented reality applied to industry or the internet of things, have filled the exhibitors and demonstrations of large companies.
The words of the director of Telefónica’s Metaverso, Yaiza Rubio, in a meeting held this Wednesday are a reflection of the situation. The directive said that this type of technology would take several years to settle down and gain greater maturity among citizens. He admitted that the learning barrier is “very high.” The operator has reduced the weight of the metaverse both in her speech during these days and in the presence of her speaker. The demos focus on smart agriculture and industry and augmented reality technology applied to holographic presence. And above all, it has one objective: to ‘sell’ the new mantra of the sector, NaaS (network as a service), and the new formulas for extracting value from networks.
The rest of the large companies in the sector present at the fair have also reduced the presence of this technology. This is the case of Deutsche Telekom and SK Telecom, one of the large Korean telecoms. This one has reserved some space on its display and is the one that has abandoned these immersive technologies the most in recent years. Beyond the presence, there were no relevant announcements of new developments. If the Meta herself slows down the metaverse, so do the others.
Despite the attempt to introduce 6G with the study of the first standards for the future, this year’s Mobile has served to further land the most practical use cases of technologies that are based on those ultra-fast 5G networks (and also of fiber). Clear robotics cases applied to logistics or industry; the ‘digital twins’ to work in the factories; internet of things to sensorize ‘traditional’ economic activities… It begins to move from theory (or a very limited practice) to something more tangible
For years, the telcos have not stopped praising the networks and their capabilities at the Mobile World Congress. But this time, a solution has been put on the table to try to find ways to extract more money from them. The announcement of the ‘standardization’ of the technological framework so that developers and big technologies can connect to the data generated in these infrastructures has had a lot of weight. That has been key. And also some operators, such as Telefónica or Deutsche Telekom itself, which have tried to exploit this new alliance with specific use cases on this network of more accessible doors for third parties.
All editions have reserved a time for regulation. But this Mobile has gone a step further and has put on the table by all the actors the cost of the networks and the need to reformulate the financing strategy to try to complete the uses that still lie ahead. That the Internal Market commissioner, Thierry Breton (the new white knight of the sector against the feared commissioner Vestager) opens the edition together with the big firms in the sector says a lot about the intention of all parties to raise the debate.
More public in 4YFN
Faced with the show of force with the networks and the use cases, what has also continued to lose even more strength is the technology linked to mobile devices. The big manufacturers have hardly saved relevant announcements for the fair, with Samsung presenting its flagship mobile just a few days before. What has been reinforced has been Huawei’s strategy, which has once again hit the table with a record exhibitor in terms of extension. It does so while the economic vice president, Nadia Calviño, hinted that she does not have to draw up the list of high-risk network providers in 5G because the ‘de facto’ Spanish own operators have chosen non-Asian companies for their uses.
On the startup side, public attendance has grown significantly at the 4YFN event, specialized in this sector. And the reason is that it has maintained its headquarters within the Fira Barcelona, in Hospitalet de Llobregat, as happened after the pandemic, which has increased the interest of the public not always interested in these issues. Without major company announcements and with the prominent presence of the founding team of the Spanish unicorn Factorial, the sector is licking the wounds of the adjustment in investment experienced in recent months.
