Mobile World Congress Americas
"We do see that the Apple iPhone announcement raised the bar in terms of what people were talking about, and there were people that went to see that one day and then back here afterward."
The Apple iPhone X announcement was very conspicuously
absent from MWC Americas. Instead Apple held a separate event at the Steve Jobs Theater which may have also contributed to the decline in expected attendance.
The MulteFire Alliance met with individuals interested in learning more about the MulteFire technology roadmap, and its recent Release 1.0.1 and the upcoming Release 1.1, as well as membership with the Alliance.
"Traffic has actually been quite good. The show seems to be well attended and the audience is really interested in learning about our ability to allow anyone to deploy and operate their own private network in unlicensed or shared spectrum," stated Mazen Chmaytelli, president of MulteFire. "We have had excellent attendance at our pre-arranged meetings, particularly those for potential members. Although this is the first year for MWCA, the attendance was positive and grown from CTIA in previous years. That level of interest in the industry is very nice to see.
With all that said, the growing pains were evident with logistical challenges getting things set up. The separated halls and spaces have also been a bit of a challenge, but we are looking forward to a new venue next year as well as potentially a more prominently located booth. "
Mark Cumming of Pipeline reported, "In terms of aesthetics, it appeared the show was dressed to look bigger than it was, with extra-wide aisles and enormous booths. The Moscone was also under construction, which made it difficult to navigate at times. On the upside, there was an area set up for start-up companies that had a lot of energy. I thought that was a good idea, as some shows stick the smaller companies in a corner.
I did think the press presence ended up being smaller than anticipated, as the Apple announcement probably sucked some oxygen out, along with the hurricanes and travel issues. I also noticed a dearth of press releases and announcement coming out of the show, but perhaps next year, that aspect will grow if companies feel this show proved substantial enough to get the attention needed.
Lastly, I think the move to Los Angeles caught some off guard. Moving it away from Silicon Valley might be a mistake, as the innovation most are talking about is right here. But, maybe [LA] is close enough that it won’t matter."
