At the 2018 Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, the show floor is abuzz with news and demonstrations of 5G, and the latest developments in 4G and the Internet of Things. Here’s what we saw.
It’s been all 5G, Internet of Things, new handsets then daylight to everything else at Mobile World Congress this year: robots, autonomous cars, connected shoes, eager startups huddled in 4sqm booths. Here’s a taste @telstra #MWC18 pic.twitter.com/2ErkdRzi1a
— Telstra News (@Telstra_news) February 28, 2018
Like CES 2018 in January, MWC has been dominated by talk of 5G – the next generation of mobile technology that looks set to provide a massive boost in capacity and speed, as well as the ability for a variety of low-power Internet of Things devices to be connected simultaneously. The same use cases for connected cars and wearables are on show, demonstrating the huge potential for every part of our lives to be touched by technology.
Inspecting new chip sets with @Telstra CTO Hakan Eriksson at #MWC18 – as with previous Gs Telstra will lead in 5G pic.twitter.com/QWYhVmI0wN
— Andrew Penn (@andy_penn) February 28, 2018
We are investing heavily in our planning for 5G, continuing our stated goal of building the Networks for the Future for our customers. At our 5G Innovation Centre on the Gold Coast, we will be completing a number of trials in 2018 to demonstrate the potential of 5G and establish the ways in which this new technology will transform the way we live and work.
It's official! The Samsung Galaxy S9 will land March 16. We got a sneak peek of the device at the Samsung Unpacked event in Barcelona. https://t.co/cnrc0qkHfw pic.twitter.com/Pvd8UCvs9y
— Telstra (@Telstra) February 26, 2018
The centrepiece of MWC has undoubtedly been the launch of our partner Samsung’s new Galaxy S9 and S9+ smartphones, innovative dual-aperture cameras that switch between various lighting conditions with ease and take smartphone photography to the next level. You can pre-order the new Galaxy S9 right now before its release on March 16.
In 2018 #Alcatel will take you on a journey to explore a new dimension! 18:9 pic.twitter.com/pLYq3xdIuy
— alcatel mobile AU (@alcatelmobileAU) February 28, 2018
Plenty of other smartphones from other companies like Nokia and Alcatel were introduced, too. One interesting trend is that many smartphones are moving to a 18:9 screen ratio – a longer display that allows more information to be shown without expanding the width of the handset itself. What’s old is also new again, with Nokia also announcing the return of the iconic ‘Matrix phone’ at the show.
Make massive #IoT a reality – NOW. Check out one of our #MWC18 use case demos! https://t.co/HqZovtgAhA pic.twitter.com/Y2haYEaDYx
— Ericsson (@ericsson) February 28, 2018
One major potential benefit of using 5G and our always-improving 4G service is for the Internet of Things – a new class of wireless devices with low-power and high-efficiency connection ability. Telstra’s technology partner Ericsson demonstrated an IoT use case for agriculture at its MWC booth, with a connected irrigation device reporting a wealth of data on sensor status and alerts; these high-tech applications will help farmers and our other customers better understand their businesses in the years to come.
At the @Qualcomm stand at #MWC18 which has demo of 2Gbps second generation nighthawk with @Telstra @ericsson – fastest devices on Australia’s fastest network @Telstra pic.twitter.com/YEgVSuGWPu
— Andrew Penn (@andy_penn) February 26, 2018
We demonstrated record breaking 4G download speeds of 2Gbps at MWC together with our technology partners Ericsson and Qualcomm Technologies. We also announced our plan to add this new speed capability to our mobile network in selected areas in the coming months.
The future of telco tech: @telstra talks 5G, 2Gbps tests, LTE-B advances with Ericsson, Qualcomm media briefing to start #MWC18 in Barcelona pic.twitter.com/4fahqUOCOj
— Telstra News (@Telstra_news) February 25, 2018
While at MWC, we have also taken the opportunity to meet with media and our partners to discuss our advancement in LTE-Broadcast technology, which we will be introducing with the AFL Live Official app in time for round one, for our Samsung Galaxy S8 and S9 customers. The new technology allows for streaming of AFL games in the highest possible video and audio quality, no matter how many fans are watching at the same time and in the same location – enabling a seamless streaming experience.