On the First Day of MWC Opening... "Hyperconnected Society Requires Faster '5G High Frequency'"

Mats Granryd GSMA Secretary-General Keynote Speech
Prerequisite for 5G Industry Growth Is Understanding by Policy Authorities
"Frequencies Must Be Allocated Timely and at Reasonable Prices"

Mats Granryd, Secretary General of the Global System for Mobile Communications Association (GSMA), is delivering a keynote speech at the 'Mobile World Congress (MWC) 2022' event held in Barcelona, Spain, on the 28th (local time). Photo by MWC 2022 official website capture

[Asia Economy Reporter Minyoung Cha] "Hello, welcome back to Barcelona."

Mats Granryd, Secretary General of the Global System for Mobile Communications Association (GSMA), which organizes the world's largest mobile exhibition 'Mobile World Congress (MWC) 2022,' opened the event with a keynote speech on the 28th (local time). The event held in Barcelona, Spain, was also broadcast live online.

In his keynote speech themed "New Tech Order," Secretary General Granryd said, "I am very pleased to see vitality return to Barcelona this year," adding, "This MWC will provide opportunities to show how the digital ecosystem is transforming lives and supporting global recovery through the power of mobile technology."

He also emphasized the government's responsibility for the growth of the 5G industry. Granryd stated, "For sustainable and rapid growth of the 5G industry, it is necessary for governments and policymakers to understand the industry," and added, "I would like to take this opportunity to request governments to timely release and allocate frequencies at reasonable prices."

He explained, "So far, about 80% of the work has been done in the mid-band, which was essential to cover entire cities," and emphasized, "However, now, in ultra-dense areas such as campuses, industrial complexes, and multipurpose stadiums, the highest data speeds will be provided by the high-frequency (millimeter wave) band." He urged increasing the utilization of the high-frequency band to improve 5G service quality.

He also reaffirmed the sanctions policy against Russia. When Granryd stated during his speech, "GSMA strongly condemns Russia's invasion of Ukraine," the audience responded with applause. Earlier, GSMA announced the removal of the Russian pavilion, restricted participation of individual Russian companies, and declared its support for European countries' sanctions against Russia.

GSMA also released the "Annual Global Mobile Economy Report" that day. According to the new report, the number of 5G device connections worldwide is expected to reach 1 billion by the end of 2022. As mobile broadband network coverage expands, the gap in mobile network usage worldwide has narrowed from 43.78% in 2010 to 6.0% in 2020.

The report stated, "Mobile technology will play a crucial role in accelerating progress toward the United Nations (UN) Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030," and pointed out that "to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic, investments in technology education, use of public funds for connectivity, and digital transformation of public services are necessary."

Meanwhile, MWC, held over four days until the 3rd of this month (local time), returned to an offline stage for the first time in three years due to the COVID-19 situation since 2019. The event has attracted attention as it expands the metaverse world, a hot topic in recent years, to mobile, and Korea's three major telecom companies introduced 5G+ technology, the next-generation technology of 5G.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.