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The theme of MWC 2017 was “Mobile: The Next Element,” meaning mobile communication is the next important element that will change people’s lives. The organizer GSMA held 11 keynote speeches and more than 30 seminars covering 5G, Internet of Things (IoTs), Artificial Intelligence (AI), machine learning, AR/VR, automobiles, network virtualization, and mobile video, with the focus being on 5G mobile communication, intelligent mobile terminals and connected car. 

Based on the topics of the keynote speeches, GSMA and telecom operators, including Softbank, KT, Telefonica, and Bharti all said that AI, robots, and 5G will all play an important role in the mobile communications industry and will be the key factors of change in industry 4.0. Softbank also pointed out that the number of IoT connections will reach one trillion within 30 years, and the number of robots will exceed the human population. As innovative terminals, such as IoTs and robots, proliferate and are combined with the latest AI development, super smart chips which are smarter than human brain will be embedded in internet devices. This will drive the semiconductor industry and push the mobile communication industry forward to the next generation. 

In the application service, the data traffic generated by videos still accounts for the largest proportion. Reed Hastings, the founder of Netflix, predicted in his keynote speech that all videos will be available on the Internet in the next 10 to 20 years, and the video service will be applied to the mobile communication network more extensively. Based on this prediction, he proposed his vision for the telecommunication and terminal industries.

Moreover, Reed Hastings announced that Netflix will provide HDR streaming videos to mobile devices. Netflix users will be able to watch HDR videos on smartphones and tablets. In terms of hardware, LG G6, Samsung Galaxy Tab 3 & 12-inch Galaxy Book, and Sony Xperia XZ Premium already support HDR video signals.

Another focus is the connected car Roborace announced the world’s first unmanned racing car with five Lidars, two Radars, six AI Cameras, and 18 ultrasonic sensors. With NVIDIA’s Drive PX2 supercomputer, it can complete 24 trillion AI computations per second. Roborace has been negotiating deals with Audi, Renault and Mahindra.

The future connected car service will integrate automobiles more closely with other automobiles, the internet, infrastructure and pedestrians. mmWave, Network Slicing, Mobile edge computing and other technologies will allow more flexible and wider bandwidth network in cars. Drones will also assist in the services offered by connected car. Through detection of images around them, drones can return the traffic information to other nearby drivers immediately, and drivers will be able to conduct UHD meetings and enjoy video streaming in their cars.

This year, MWC covered three major themes, and the focus of 5G was on vertical industry application services. Instead of a solo emphasis on technological advancement, the focus of 5G tactical planning will be on how to provide a complete solution and service mode for the demands of vertical industries.

In the future, in response to service demand, 5G network architecture and technologies will focus on NFV, SDN, LTE-U/LAA, Massive MIMO, and mmWave. Application services will emphasize the timely provision of application service and experience, such as is required for drones, connected car and remote control applications. Currently, telecom operators in Japan, Korea and the United States have conducted network testing, and Huawei, Ericsson and other big manufacturers have begun to provide complete services.

5G will also provide customized services for the vertical industry. Many telecom operators have revealed their services for connected car, and hope to enter the logistics industry, racing teams and auto insurance industry by providing network services in professional fields in order to create innovative service revenue. In addition, the low latency of the 5G network and high reliability make it suitable for use in robotic arms which can be controlled remotely in real time for dangerous and complex work and can provide solutions for the vertical fields such as mining, construction sites and medical services.

5G services will be more extensively used in various vertical industries and will be closely combined with AI, drones and deep learning.

In addition, the micro-innovation of mobile terminals has changed the business model of simple hardware sale. The innovation of mobile terminal hardware on the terminal vehicles has faded, and now is mostly gradual changes based on existing technologies, such as double lenses. However, innovation in application services has started to rise with AI, VR or experimental business models, and so the terminal industry has started to change its business model from that of simple hardware sale.

In the past, the digital voice assistant was regarded as the demonstration of AI technology. Nevertheless, mobile AI has advanced to become a behavior analysis system capable of deep learning, from speech recognition to natural language processing to deep learning. For example, Clova, released by LINE, is a cloud-based AI platform for online voice communication. It incorporates LINE’s chat technology, NAVER’s search technology and various services and content of LINE and NAVER as well as the huge amount of data accumulated from LINE and NAVER’s users, which when combined with data analysis, enables Clova to provide instant user feedback.