The 2012 edition of the Mobile World Congress organised each year in Barcelona had 67,000 participants

Barcelona (ACN).- The Mobile World Congress, the main trade fair and conference in the world on cell phone services and related technology, closed its doors on Thursday. The event is organised every year in Barcelona and it will continue that way at least until 2018. Barcelona was declared the Mobile World Capital last summer. The 2012 edition brought together 67,000 participants, which sets a new record for the event, representing an 11% increase on 2011, according to the Mobile World Congress’ organisers, GSMA. GSMA CEO, John Hoffman, expressed his satisfaction with this year’s edition, which “has been a success in all aspects”, he affirmed. “This year’s assistance record shows how mobile is at the centre of people’s lives throughout the world”, he stated. Hoffman also emphasised the variety of companies participating in the 2012 Mobile World Congress (MWC), coming from a broad variety of sectors such as healthcare, automation, and finances, among others. In fact, more than 1,500 companies have displayed their products. 70,500 square metres of Fira de Barcelona’s Montjuïc venue have been occupied to host the exhibitor stands and business facilities, such as meeting and conference rooms. 3,300 journalists have covered the event, from printed, online and audiovisual media. This year’s edition of the MWC, which ran from Monday February 27^th to Thursday March 1^st, brought more than €300 million to the Catalan economy, €25 million more than in 2010, as a consequence of the increase in participation.

“The Mobile World Congress is a significant contribution to Barcelona’s economy and it is a fundamental pillar of Barcelona as the Mobile World Capital; it is a positive factor bringing new opportunities for local companies and citizens”, emphasised Hoffman. In fact it is expected the Mobile World Congress and its related events will bring a total of €3.5 billion to the Catalan economy until 2018.

Some of the 1,500 companies present for this year’s MWC edition were AlcatelLucent, ARM, AT&T, Best Buy, Bharti Airtel, China Mobile, Cisco Systems, Telekom, eBay, Facebook, Foursquare, Google, Huawei, HTC, Nokia, Telefónica, Visa, and Vodafone, among many others.

Among many activities, the Mobile World Congress held conferences, where new applications and devices were presented. There were also debates on many issues including ‘cloud computing’, integral mobility, new generation technologies, business strategies, market development, new devices, Internet capacity and social networks.

Barcelona to host a world hub for the mobile industry

Furthermore, the organisers of the Mobile World Capital have unveiled more details about the main pillars of this initiative, which aims to place Barcelona at the centre of the world’s cell phone industry and related services and technology. Over the year, and each year until at least 2018, Barcelona will be hosting the Mobile World Festival, which will organise activities related to mobile technology along the year. It will also host the Mobile World Centre, which will be very likely set in a Telefónica building in Plaça Catalunya and will present new products, services and technologies related to the mobile industry. Furthermore, Barcelona will host the Mobile World Hub, in the Catalan capital’s technological district 22@, which will provide advice to companies, assist start-ups, and organise activities worldwide.

MWC edition in 2013 will move from Fira de Barcelona’s Montjuïc venue, to the Gran Via venue, which is larger. Exhibition space will be increased by 50%, in relation to the growth the trade fair and conference has been experiencing in the last few years. The 2013 Mobile World Congress will take place between February 25^th and February 28^th.