The Mobile World Hub is to open its doors in June in Barcelona’s technological district 22@

Barcelona (ACN).- The platform, which is working towards making Barcelona one of the world’s main hubs for companies working within the mobile and cell phone-related industry, will start its activities in June. On Wednesday, five days before the start of the 2013 GSMA Mobile World Congress in Barcelona for the 8^th consecutive year, the Mayor and the Catalan Minister for Business and Employment announced the news. The Mobile World Hub aims “to transform Barcelona and Catalonia into the best mobile framework” to enhance entrepreneurship, develop business projects, attract talent, create knowledge and become one of the main world centres of the mobile industry, as the project website states. In addition, it will also work towards making Barcelona an international lighthouse hosting the regulation and standardization bodies for the mobile industry, a strategic objective towards becoming the true world capital of this economic sector. “We do not aim to become a Silicon Valley […] but we want to be the country where mobile solutions are developed” and mobile business initiatives “start-up and consolidate themselves”, stated the Catalan Minister, Felip Puig. The Mobile World Hub will be located into the MediaTIC Building, a high-tech and innovative venue in the Catalan capital’s 22@ technological district in the Poblenou neighbourhood. Besides, they also announced that in next week’s Mobile World Congress there will be 84 Spanish companies, 57 of which are Catalan companies. In addition, 48 of them will be hosted on Catalonia’s macro stand.

The Mobile World Hub is one of the four main pillars of Barcelona’s Mobile World Capital project. The most obvious pillar is the GSMA Mobile World Congress, which is the world’s annual main event for the cell-phone-related technology and industry. It has been organised in the Catalan capital since 2006 and it will remain in Barcelona until at least 2018. This year’s event will break all records, with more than 70,000 attendees, half of which are high-level executives from the industry from 200 different countries. In addition, more than 1,500 companies will be present in the trade fair that kicks off on Monday the 25^th and ends on Thursday the 28^th of February. The congress will generate 6,000 direct jobs in Catalonia and have an economic impact of at least €300 million. As proof of this impact, Xavier Trias reminded the press that during the congress there are no longer any free hotel rooms in Barcelona, neither in the neighbouring cities.

A second pillar of the project is the Mobile World Festival, programming cultural, social and technological activities throughout the entire year in Barcelona and setting synergies with existing shows. The Mobile World Festival will officially begin in September 2013, but it has already participated in other events such as Sitges’ International Film Festival and will be in the electronic music festival Sónar in June. A third pillar of the Mobile World Capital is the Mobile World Centre, unveiled last week in Catalunya Square, at the heart of Barcelona. It is a permanent platform for citizens and companies to discover the latest technology developments and mobile solutions for themselves. It will also act as a networking platform, a space in which to discover new solutions, projects and initiatives.

Transform Barcelona and Catalonia into one of the best “ecosystems” for the mobile industry

The Mobile World Hub is to be added to this project, being the main force behind the idea of transforming Barcelona – and Catalonia as an extension – into one of the main flagships of the mobile industry at a world level, going beyond the organisation of an annual congress. The MWHub is to become the main drive to make Barcelona into a capital of this industry in its own right. To achieve this ambitious and strategic objective the MWHub will be a platform working with the public and the private sector, with companies, academia and institutions. It will develop a programme to transform Barcelona and Catalonia into one of the best “ecosystems” for the mobile industry, developing a business-friendly institutional framework, attracting talent, generating new knowledge, spreading information, fostering entrepreneurship, enhancing business projects and building one of the main centres of mobile technology and industries at a world level. It will also make Barcelona the home of the world’s main regulatory and harmonisation groups dealing with cell-phone and mobile solutions.

The Information and Technology sector employs almost 80,000 people in Catalonia

Acknowledging the challenge, the Mayor of Barcelona compared the launching of the Mobile World Capital project with the “Barcelona Olympics of 1992”, which opened the city to the world and positioned it as a vibrant and attractive spot. The Director General of Fira de Barcelona, Agustí Cordón, who is one of the people behind the new MWHub, stated that things are “on the rails” towards switching on the activities of this key institution for Barcelona’s future in June. Felip Puig reminded the press that, currently, the Information and Technology sector in Catalonia employs almost 80,000 people and has a turnover of between €17 and €18 billion. The Catalan Minister emphasised that “our people have a great opportunity” with the development of Barcelona’s Mobile World Capital project, as many new jobs should be created in this sector.