August 27, 2012
As Mobile World Capital, Barcelona will become the leading global mobile communications reference and an urban lab of new applications that will transform companies and people’s daily lives through the development of an industrial and technological fabric based on the potential of mobile technology, linked to diverse spheres of daily life, such as health, transport, retail and leisure.
The initial outline that defines the Mobile World Capital strategy has been announced today, during the inauguration of the Mobile World Congress, in a conference presided over by HRH Felipe de Borbón, Prince of Asturias, and attended by the President of the Generalitat, Artur Más, the Minister of Industry, Energy and Tourism, José Manuel Soria, the Mayor of Barcelona, Xavier Trias, the CEO of GSMA Ltd., John Hoffman, and the President of Fira de Barcelona, Josep Luís Bonet, among others; as well as representatives from the academic, social and business, communities.
Last July, Barcelona was chosen by GSMA, the association that represents the interests of mobile operators worldwide, as Mobile World Capital from 2012 to 2018, an appointment sought by important European cities. Over the last few months, the organisers have been outlining the project, which is based on four elements: Mobile World Congress, Mobile World Centre, Mobile World Festival, and Mobile World Hub.
The Mobile World Congress, which has been held in Barcelona since 2006 and provides the setting for over 60,000 professionals and 1,400 companies, will not only continue to be the sector’s leading event but also the best industrial platform to showcase the solutions and projects developed within the Capital framework.
The Mobile World Centre, a building situated in the heart of Barcelona, will be the public’s gateway to the world of mobile technologies with exhibition and experimentation spaces where visitors will be able to discover the past, present and future of these technologies in an interactive way.
The public will be able to witness mobile technology innovations through the Mobile World Festival, a cultural agenda designed to enhance the city’s leisure and entertainment proposals throughout the year, via new applications and the experience of users themselves. This programme will reach its highest point during the Mobile Summer Week, which will feature musical and technological events, as well as contests and festivals aimed at making mobile technologies an underlying component of leisure and culture.
Industrial and developmental projects will be concentrated in the Mobile World Hub, the nerve centre of the Capital, which will have its own headquarters in the city’s technological district and will be concerned with turning mobile technologies into elements that transform daily life and company processes. Over the next few years, the Hub will channel various value-added industrial, research, and standardisation initiatives, which will generate skilled jobs.
The roadmap
These projects will be structured around the M-Program, a road map that will integrate multi-sector programmes to develop solutions and will involve private companies, technological centres and institutions. Fully aligned with the latest telecommunications innovations, they will focus initially on five major areas: M-Wallet, M-Smart City, M-Health, M-Travel and M-Content.
The aim of the M-Wallet is to transform the mobile phone into a virtual wallet providing personal identification, making payments in shops, buying tickets and making transfers between individuals. M-Smart City will develop new mechanisms to provide more interaction between people and cities, with the aim of making them more user-friendly and efficient.
M-Health will involve projects aimed at using mobile technologies to improve health services. M-Travel will be concerned with the development of mechanisms that will allow users to follow up and obtain information, in real-time, on the transport of people and cargo, while M-Content will be geared towards enhancing the experience of users, through their handsets, in leisure and entertainment activities via access to real-time information and more participation, among other functions.
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