The Mobile World Congress (MWC) once again demonstrated its powerful appeal. In its 20th edition, now an event that generates millions for the city (the organizers say over 580 million), it managed to attract some 105,000 attendees, despite the outbreak of war in the Middle East on the opening weekend, which hampered the arrival of some. Some of the leading companies at this congress, such as Huawei, LG, Samsung, and SK Telekom, are Asian.

A general blackout—which we saw was possible in 2025—increasingly frequent floods that knock out telecommunications, or a high-mountain rescue in knee-deep snow with no cell service. These are some of the situations the Mossos d'Esquadra (Catalan police) must face, and they often pose a challenge to their telecommunications, a key element in responding to any emergency. Now, the Catalan police are testing a drone that could revolutionize this type of device. The Mossos presented it at this year's Mobile World Congress; it's a drone mounted on a patrol car. When needed, it takes off connected by a cable and can fly up to 60 meters. And it can do so continuously, without a battery to run out. "The cable powers it constantly," explains Inspector Tomàs Copete, head of the Systems and Telecommunications Division of the Mossos' General Commissariat of Information and Communication Technologies. Once airborne, this drone transforms into an antenna that creates a 5G communications bubble. In other words, it provides coverage for 500 square meters. "It radiates downwards indefinitely and can greatly facilitate communications in the midst of an emergency," Copete adds. But that's not all, as this drone also carries a thermal camera to detect survivors, day and night. "It's very versatile," the inspector emphasizes. Currently, the Mossos d'Esquadra (Catalan police) are in the testing phase. They are trying it out to see if all its functionalities work before incorporating it into operational tasks. The new room

In a Mossos d'Esquadra operation, there is an ever-increasing amount of information. Drones take off to provide an aerial perspective, officers wear body cameras to see everything they see, not to mention traffic cameras, business security cameras, and all the recordings posted on social media during a demonstration, riot, or high-security event. That's why, the inspector explains, it's crucial to be able to "consolidate" all this information at the command center. This is a room where the police commanders meet and who guide and direct the steps to be taken during an operation.

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The Mobile World Congress (MWC), as an international event, is always exposed in global turbulenceThis year's edition has been impacted by the war against Iran, resulting in 4,000 fewer delegates compared to previous years. with last yearAttendance reached nearly 105,000 attendees "despite the disruptions to travel worldwide," as explained by the GSMA, the organizer of MWC, in its summary of this year's event. Following the US and Israeli attacks the previous weekend, just days before the Mobile World Congress began, some attendees faced difficulties reaching Barcelona due to the cancellation of numerous flights caused by the closure of Middle Eastern airspace. This affected not only travelers from the Near and Middle East, but also those with layovers, as is the case with many flights originating in Asia. It's worth noting that some of the main companies at this congress (Xiaomi, Huawei, LG, Samsung, and SK Telekom) are Asian. They will likely face similar difficulties returning home. The impact was especially noticeable in the first few hours of the first day, Monday, but it diminished as attendees filled the stands and pavilions of Fira Gran Via. "That's 105,000, a slightly lower figure than last year; therefore, we must assume that there were obviously some visitors who came from certain regions or who were affected by the airspace closure and ultimately couldn't attend," said the CEO of Fira de Barcelona, ​​Constantí Serral. However, Serrallonga assured that they are very "happy" with the results, since anything that involves exceeding 100,000 visitors is a "spectacular figure." Thus concludes the twentieth edition of MWC in Barcelona, ​​which has consolidated itself year after year as the most important trade show held in the Catalan capital. “Twenty years in Barcelona and MWC continues to surprise and exceed expectations. From the beginning, the GSMA and the host city's organizations have shared a common vision: to build something that matters to the world,” reaffirmed GSMA CEO John Hoffman, who praised the infrastructure, ecosystem, and commitment. With 2,900 exhibitors and more than 1,700 speakers, Mobile World Congress revolved around the ethics of artificial intelligence (AI), quantum technology, the future of the space economy, and the 6G horizon. This is yet another example of how the event has evolved from the Mecca of mobile phones to become the global showcase for advances in connectivity and new technologies, with 58% of attendees coming from sectors other than mobile.

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Water connected

On the first day of MWC, at the southern entrance of Fira Gran Via, all attendees could pick up a bottle sponsored by Agbar, which they could refill at the 30 tap water fountains scattered throughout the venue. The aim is to facilitate hydration, promote local consumption, and reduce waste—although some booths insist on offering bottled water. The water company also distributed a few more sophisticated reusable bottles with an NFC chip inside the cap. When you hold your phone near the chip, it displays a map of the nearest water fountains. It would be even better if it counted how many times you refilled it, saving you the tedious task of recording it in your usual health app. Regardless of the bottle model, what many visitors don't know is that these fountains are interconnected and record water consumption, a less visible example of the so-called Internet of Things. In fact, Vodafone took advantage of MWC to boast about the 16 million devices it has active in Spain. Apart from many V16 beacons, more than 1.8 million of these connected objects are precisely water meters.

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For years, the Mobile World Congress (MWC) has tirelessly reiterated that it's about more than just mobile phones. This is evidenced by the fact that 60% of attendees come from other industries and that phones have been losing ground at the exhibitors visiting the Gran Vía Fairgrounds these days, in favor of the growing prominence of futuristic robots and even animated plush toys. To this end, the technology congress has decided to take things a step further this year, focusing on an industry where connectivity is key: aviation.

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The booth of rare screens

Beyond the plague of humanoid robots and Xiaomi electric cars, if there's one photogenic stand at MWC, it's Lenovo and Motorola's. Nowhere else will you find so many computers in unusual formats, especially laptops: ones that automatically extend upwards to display a full page, or to both sides to provide more space for video games. These extendable screens, by the way, are manufactured by Samsung Display. Lenovo is also exhibiting at MWC a laptop with two internal screens, one with a 3D effect, and a doubly modular model: it has a detachable external screen that functions as a tablet, combined with a removable keyboard, and interchangeable connection ports for when a USB-C isn't needed, but an HDMI port is. Motorola, Lenovo's mobile brand, has announced in Barcelona a smartphone...googled which uses the alternative operating system GrapheneOS. There's a slight touch of revenge involved, because Motorola Mobility was owned by Google between 2012 and 2014, which ruthlessly divested itself of the company to replace it with its own Nexus brand (now Pixel).

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Honor is in agreement with Apple.

The Chinese gadget brand entertained us with the inevitable humanoid robot performing acrobatics on stage alongside human dancers. Much more interesting was the presentation of thesmartphone The foldable Magic V9 is a true showcase of technology, which the brand contextualized by comparing it to rivals of all kinds, but especially to Apple devices, claiming that, when unfolded, it has more battery life than an iPad and that its energy density surpasses that of an electric car. Despite the competition, Honor boasts that the Magic V9 can exchange files with iPhones as easily as AirDrop, and that the MagicPad 4 tablet can become a second screen for a MacBook. In terms of imaging, Honor wants to go beyond the alliances of other Chinese brands with German optics manufacturers like Hasselblad, Leica, and Zeiss, and has announced an agreement with the American film camera company Arri.

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The traditional pre-Mobile dinner, with King Felipe VI and the country's main political and business personalities, was held this Sunday evening at the National Art Museum of Catalonia (MNAC) to kick off the most important technology and connectivity congress, the Mobile World Congress (MWC). This year, the congress celebrates its twentieth edition in Barcelona, from this Monday until Thursday, March 5th. Long gone are the meetings where the news was the (non-)greeting between the Catalan government and the monarchy; now the talk is of international geopolitics.

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The Mobile World Congress (MWC) is coming of age in Barcelona. This year's edition, which begins tomorrow, Monday, March 2nd, and runs until midday on Thursday, will be the twentieth edition of the Mobile World Congress in the Catalan capital; two decades of a congress that began as the mecca of mobile phones and has ended up becoming the global showcase for advances in connectivity and new technologies. Under the theme "The IQ era," the event will revolve around the ethics of artificial intelligence (AI), quantum technology, the future of the space economy, and the horizon of 6G, among many other topics related to the so-called deep techDeep technologies.

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Francesc Fajula is the CEO of Mobile World Capital Barcelona, ​​the foundation dedicated to driving technological transformation in the city and closely linked to the Mobile World Congress (MWC), the technology and connectivity event held in Barcelona from Monday, March 2nd to Thursday, March 6th. In a conversation on the ARA radio show, Fajula explains the legacy of Mobile World Capital Barcelona's 20 years in the city and emphasizes that the city is where the future of European technology will be decided. Far from accepting that Europe has missed the boat in terms of technological sovereignty, he argues that the Catalan ecosystem "has everything" because it is a driving force.

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Two days before the kickoff of the twentieth edition of the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, ​​which will take place from Monday, March 2nd to Thursday, March 5th at the Fira de Barcelona, ​​John Hoffman, director of GSMA Ltd. – the trade association for telecoms and organizer of the world's most important technology congress – speaks with ARA about the evolution of the event and technology, its legacy, and its close ties to Barcelona.

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The Mobile World Congress, which this year celebrates its twentieth anniversary in Barcelona, is one of the major annual events held in Catalonia and will now also be the setting for a new Prime Video series that can also be seen in Catalan on 3Cat. Day one, which will premiere on Prime Video on March 13 and later on 3Cat under the title of Dia u, follows Ulises Albet, a computer prodigy who left Barcelona and the technological world after his sister's death. Ten years later, he receives a call from a former partner and friend, Samuel Barrera, who warns him that the world is in danger and makes him return to the Mobile World Congress. Ulises will have to confront his past, technological advancements, and the fundamental question of how far one can go without losing humanity.

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Fira de Barcelona is looking towards a near future where it will be able to compete at the highest level of European and international exhibition centers. The organization is beginning to consider the new possibilities that will open up when it acquires the 60,000 square meters of the new Hall 0 at its Gran Via facilities in Hospitalet de Llobregat, and with the expansion in Montjuïc, coinciding with the centenary of the 1929 Barcelona International Equestrian Exposition. The institution is also working on attracting trade shows related to the world of medicine and biomedicine, following the success of the congresses it has hosted in recent years at the Barcelona International Convention Centre (CCIB).

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I read that Israel has called this Friday to "boycott" the next edition of the Mobile World Congress, which will be held in March 2026 in Barcelona. This is the response (I won't say Sharia because I don't want to be accused of cultural appropriation) to "the attitude" of Pedro Sánchez, whom Benjamin Netanyahu accuses of being "anti-Semitic" and of having launched a "genocidal threat" against the Jewish state. Apparently, and to the relief of us all, the boycott consists of not going. For now, he won't fire any missiles. In short, if Benjamin Netanyahu doesn't want to be accused of genocide, like those who starved his ancestors, what he should do is what so many voices of Jews around the world are urging him to do: not starve the people who spend their days, as best they can, in the Gaza Strip. Let him allow humanitarian aid through so that no child dies of hunger (yes, of hunger) next to his house, and everyone will applaud him. And, in the meantime, he should carefully consider what he's boycotting. Does that mean the Mobile is the most appropriate event? If he really wants to boycott, let him boycott Eurovision, man. It will be noticed here. I see the fact that they're not at a telephone conference that's being held in Barcelona as relevant as my Aunt Pura not being there.

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Israel escalates diplomatic conflict with Spain. After Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accused Pedro Sánchez of being "anti-Semitic" andhaving launched a "genocidal threat" against the Jewish stateTel Aviv called this Friday for a "boycott" of the next edition of the Mobile World Congress, to be held in March 2026 in Barcelona. Communications Minister Shlomo Karhi ordered the cancellation of all preparations for Israel's participation in the fair. All of this, according to the newspaper Haaretz, in response to the Spanish government's "anti-Israeli" actions, its alleged "systematic support for Hamas" and "false accusations of genocide."

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New step to retain the Mobile World Congress (MWC) in Barcelona. The fund has been reduced to €8 million annually until 2030, as previously promised. from the MWC until 2030 and with the intention of permanence. Until now, the financial contribution from each of the sponsoring entities was €5 million per year, a figure set in 2012. It was agreed to increase this figure to €8 million per year starting in 2025. The MWC, held in Barcelona since 2006, is very important for the economy and job creation in Barcelona and Catalonia, "in addition to placing the city and the country at the forefront of advanced digital technologies," according to the executive.

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The arrival of thousands of congress attendees each year for Mobile World Congress (MWC) is noticeable in the city with the appearance of accreditation booths at hotels and restaurants, but also with queues of black vans and taxis transporting them from one place to another. Despite their obvious presence for four days at the beginning of the year, the expenditure generated by this event is more difficult to account for, and the calculations are not made public until months later.

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Imagine that you are a businessman and you have to make a financial decision. Instead of starting to gather all your experts, calling the managers and finding out about the situation of the markets, the competition and the geopolitical risks, you put on virtual reality glasses and, in front of you, the agents you need appear in the form of avatars: one summarizes the current news related to your problem, the other describes the situation.

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The Mobile World Congress (MWC), the world's largest technology congress, held this week in Barcelona, ​​​​has closed the 2025 edition by equaling the record of attendees achieved in 2019, with a total of 109,000 visitors from 205 countries and territories, according to data from the GSMA, the entity. During the four days of the event, the corridors of the Hospitalet venue of Fira de Barcelona have witnessed large crowds of professionals from the connectivity and telephony sector.

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A stand inspired by the classical agoras and porticoed squares in Hall 6 of the Fira is the gateway to Living in tech, The Mobile World Capital Barcelona (MWCapital) proposal at the MWC is to show in an immersive way how "technologies are transforming people's daily lives and shaping new urban environments." The MWCapital stand becomes a large digital agora where visitors can interact with innovations that drive social well-being, sustainability and economic growth.

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