Stepping away from the abyss

MWC Review: The changing face of the mobile industry

Industry sentiment varies every year; 2015 felt flat, but 2016 was buzzing.

2016 Stats: 101,000 delegates from 204 countries/2200 Exhibitors/3 days of strikes/2 trillion Jamón baguettes & 8 florets of broccoli (table decoration in the Boqueria networking garden)

The one thing that is clear is mobile has moved from a vertical axis to a horizontal one.

And over the same timeframe, talent has been equally transient across the sector. For a long time operators suffered a brain drain to start-ups and OTT players. Recent consolidation across the vendor community, as the balance of power moved back to the larger OEMs, has seen many execs leave the space. Sales leaders who spent a career courting MNOs have left for broader enterprise leadership positions. And they have not looked back.

Operators are now fighting back.

There are some telcos calling for the regulation of OTT services (these are the same services that their own customers have adopted at an unprecedented rate and have reached a scale never seen before). But others are partnering with them.

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Empowering technology’s biggest brands, investors & startups with the talent they need to make their vision a reality. Follow us for tech news and insights.