MWC 2027 Predictions - 10 hot topics for Barcelona

Even though it’s only just October the MWC preparation machine is whirring into gear. The speaker submissions are already open, details on the Global Mobile Awards are live and we’re already working with clients in various parts of the mobile ecosystem to bring their plans to life. With this in mind, we have stared into our collective Temono Crystal Ball and come up with some of the areas that we predict will be hot topics in Barcelona next year. Without further ado.

1.     ISAC - For those who don’t know this stands for the Integrated Sensing and Communication and basically means turning the mobile network into sort of radar for detecting objects in the physical world. The most common currently promoted use case is around drone detection using the macro network, but the technology can also be used to “see” the physical world and opens up a load of physical AI capabilities for everything from autonomous cars to robots. As an aside, I can’t believe that no one working in ISAC marketing has yet thought to call their product Asimov (we are available for branding work at a very reasonable rate). 

2.     AI - Last year AI was everywhere, at least the words were. When you actually delved a little deeper it was still quite early and much of the talk was quite superficial. This year expect to see a much more evolved story, with actual proof of how the technology is being used both in the network and on handsets. Also, we’re likely to see lots of talk around Tokens, but whether these end up being promoted to end users like Gigabytes of data were, or if the industry has learnt to focus on what it actually means for users rather than an esoteric unit they don’t understand remains to be seen. There’s also likely to be more chat around Physical AI. 

3.     Robots - Though not as prevalent as AI last year, bipedal robots were on plenty of stands. Quite why though wasn’t clear. I joined a crowd to watch a robot boxing match and have no idea who the company involved was or what they were selling. Though robots aren’t yet on a smartphone like growth curve, there will definitely be more of them this year as the technology and the various components involved have matured. 

4.     Foldables - Although Apple were no means first in foldable, their recent launch will mean two things. That you will find plenty of people ostentatiously using their new iPhone Folds in Barcelona and that there will be a million copycat devices. Whether this leads to this being a breakout new segment or a niche remains to be seen. But, like last year’s HONOR Robot phone, it’s nice to see innovation coming back into the handset market. 

5.     AR/VR Glasses - The technology which must succeed through sheer force of money. Billions upon billions have been hosed at it from Meta, Apple and others. The products keep getting incrementally better, but do people actually want them? VR in particular is a really impressive technology. It has the wow factor when you first use it. But it’s quite telling that everyone I know who has a headset had that initial reaction and it’s now gathering dust in a draw. Meanwhile the glasses are increasingly impressive and no doubt will be plenty on show both from major players and OEMs, but privacy and those demand questions remain. 

6.     NTN - Non-Terrestrial Networks or satellite are likely to be the major topic at the show. All of the operators recognise the need and are making deals and launching services. there is a healthy ecosystem of SatCos and start-ups involved and the 3GPP standards are ticking along. Also, anything involving Mr Musk is box office. They don’t work indoors, but they do solve the wider coverage problem even if with narrowband connections, and as someone who regularly can’t send a WhatsApp in London this is very welcome.

7.     Voice - Back to the future. We have seen a fair amount of interest around evolving voice services using AI and proving there’s life in the old dog yet. Stuff like real-time translation of calls and improving/boosting quality as well as real-time transcription are all neat sounding, solve a real problem and have genuine markets. It’s also nice to see innovation happening in an area that many ignore as a commodity. 

8.     Private Networks - There’s nothing new about the idea of private networks. But it does seem they are finally coming of age. A combination of technology advancements making them both simple to deploy and manage as well as affordable for the enterprise customers that want and need them. Expect this year to see actual proven deployments and case studies of how they are helping in a range of industries. 

9.     Quantum - Does anyone understand Quantum? I went to a conference where a PhD researcher stood on stage, said it was basically magic and then we all went down a rabbit hole about a Quantum Internet. Every time I thought I’d wrapped my head around it something else came up and made me question my assumptions. Either way, like last year there will probably be a few booths showing off zillion dollar gold futuristic looking machines with minders, velvet ropes and ‘do not touch’ signs. The actually interesting stuff will be chat around post-Quantum encryption and preparing for Q-day when or if it eventually arrives. 

10.  Energy - Given the current geopolitical situation, spiralling energy costs and how much of the MNOs OPEX these comprise this is set, as always, to be a hot topic. And this is even before you factor in power-ravenous AI. The industry is like to approach this from both ends - more efficiency of usage and greener/alternatives for generation. So, plenty of wind turbines, solar and perhaps even some Fusion talk, although whether breakthroughs there will come before or after Q-Day is up for discussion. 

There will no doubt be other areas that I’ve missed, feel free to let me know what you’re thinking about, and if you’d like to talk about what Temono can do for you there you can reach me at ed.howson@temono.com.