Key Takeaways from Mobile World Congress 2016
I spent 4 really amazing days of exhibition at Mobile World Congress 2016 in Barcelona. We got a lot of visitors and had very interesting and productive discussions with mobile and fixed operators, partners, technology vendors and our loyal customers.
Mobile World Congress is the world’s largest gathering for the mobile industry, and slogan “Mobile is Everything” explains it all. However, Mobile World Congress became a major event not only for the mobile, but also for the Telcos and OTT operators. This trend was seen already in the past years, but this year we had even more fixed and OTT operators from Middle East, Europe, Africa and Latin America, on our stand.
“Mobile is Everything”
Event that attracts over 100,000 visitors from 204 countries, more than 2,200 exhibitors and is covered by more than 3,600 members of the international press and media is something you can’t skip, if you have a competitive solution for the mobile industry or you are looking for one. We are proud to be part of it.
Beside 5G, NFV and virtual reality, IoT was also a strong buzzword at the show. There were several companies showing benefits of IoT in different industry verticals and many mobile operators promoting connectivity for all IoT devices in the home or outdoor, helping them monetize 4G network, and of course improving people’s lives. We noticed a lot of interest in bringing IoT applications on the TV as well. We had very interesting discussions how UniqCast turnkey IPTV/OTT solution is integrated in the IoT space and how it can help operators to increase ARPU.
UniqCast stand and our demo of turnkey IPTV OTT solution was very well visited. It was really interesting to met mobile and fixed operators looking for Interactive TV solution and being able to help them, discuss different approaches and provide consultancy on technical and business side of the project. Beside mobile and fixed operators, there were many MVNOs and also some reseller companies from the mobile industry that feel they can upsell video services to their existing subscribers. With support for multilanguage, virtual operators, Live TV, Video on Demand, Catch Up TV, Restart TV, multiscreen and other interactive TV services, UniqCast turnkey IPTV / OTT solution presents perfect fit for such opportunities.
Increased interest in the mobile video services does not come as surprise, due to the fact that year 2015 was declared at the conference as year of mobile video explosion. In 2015, usage of mobile video was increased by 100%. At the beginning of 2015, 20% of all video views were happening on mobile devices, while in 2016 it will be increased to 50%. It is expected that almost 70% of all mobile data traffic will be from video by 2021, growing 55% annually during this period.
The major drivers for such growth are the continuing increase in smartphone and tablet penetration as well as improvements in network services, 4K screens, HD smartphone cameras and the way users consume video through applications. Changed user habits for consuming the video and their engagement in the home made video production presents a new age for mobile video.
Increased mobile video usage has strong impact on the advertisers as well. Not only the way how people consume video is changing, but also the way how and on which devices, advertisers try to engage viewers is changing. Participating on the conference, we got confirmation that our solution is aligned with the industry trends, but most importantly we have the solution to solve most important and common problems for the fixed and mobile operators providing video services.
Are you interested to find out more about how UniqCast can help you?
For more info on IPTV/OTT/DVB visit our BLOG and subscribe to our newsletter.
