Sue Monahan, CEO, Small Cell Forum
MWC 2015 is rapidly approaching. This year’s event is set to be the biggest in the shows 28-year history with over 86,000 people expected to attend.
We can’t wait to get to Barcelona to hear the news from the big players and see all the latest products.
At MWC we will be launching some exciting news ourselves – Release Five, the fifth part of the Release Program which now provides a full and clear technical and business case for small cells everywhere – but here is what else we can’t wait to see this year:
The 5G-hype curve
5G is sure to be one of the words on everybody’s lips even if some of the analysts are getting a little bit sick of it already. Ensuring small cell capability and enablers are integrated and effectively standardized in future evolutions such as 5G is one of the Forum Board’s priorities this year. We’ll be following the conversation at the show and are interested to see Nokia’s rumoured demonstration of future ‘yet to be standardised’ 5G technologies.
Virtualization
Another topic that has been a large focus of MWC for the last couple of years is the idea of Network Function Virtualization (NFV) – an industry initiative that moves functions from specialised hardware to standard data centre infrastructure. Having kicked off our network virtualization work stream last year we’ll be monitoring developments at the show as part of our work to evaluate virtualization options to understand the optimal approach to apply to the small cell layer. You can find out more on our proposed work around NFV with Mark Grayson’s presentation here.
Internet of Things (IoT)
This years MWC theme is the “edge of innovation” and in keeping with the ever-growing popularity of the ‘connected lifestyle’, brands will be showcasing many intriguing products including an in-depth look at the futuristic ‘smarthome’. Verticals such as the IoT and M2M present new opportunities for the expansion of small cell industry engagement. As another of the Forum board’s priorities for this year, it’s an area we’ll be keeping a close eye on.
Mobile World Congress always can be relied upon to highlight the newest innovations in the cellular space, and we are thoroughly looking forward to being part of buzz in Barcelona. Come and visit us on stand F61 in Hall 7 to find out more about Small Cell Forum’s Release Program and Release Five – we’d love to see you.