Mobile World Congress showcases the future of mobile technology

Global Business

Mobile World Congress showcases the future of mobile technology

When Apple released the first iPhone ten years ago, tech titans like Microsoft predicted smartphones would flop.

Instead, they were a hit and transformed the way we live. A mobile tech conference underway in San Francisco promises a glimpse of the next ten years.

CGTN’s Mark Niu reports.

At Mobile World Congress Americas, startup Bagel Labs shows off the digital tape measure. It measures up to 30 meters by tape or laser.

“Whenever you take a measurement this device knows which direction you are measuring so this can create floor plan of your house automatically,” Soo Park, founder & CEO, Bagel Labs said. “Also you can see all the measurements in 3D view as well.”

From mobile carrier AT&T-a vision for connected cars and connected cities. It features a light post that can do a lot more than light up a street.

They can monitor things like traffic and temperature and send that all the way back to a centralized data base so they can make smarter decisions.

But as connectivity demands increase, so does the strain on Wi-Fi networks. So the focus here is on 5G-fifth generation mobile tech.

5G is the next standard for mobile wireless solutions. Faster and lower latency means web pages that normally take ten seconds to load could take only a second.

And it could open the floodgates for machine-to- machine communication. So, instead of hundreds of millions of devices connected to each other, there’d be billions.

According to a leading trade association, 5G is on the horizon-though its development will likely continue through 2020. Its release could put artificial intelligence at your fingertips.

While the U.S. is one of the leaders in shaping 5G standards, China is a major player, too.

“China is basically living on mobile right now. I can be in China with my mobile phone, no wallet, no ID. I’ll survive. And with that, I think the Chinese government sees bigger opportunity in improving mobile connectivity further so that everything can find a way to get connected and to stay connected for a much lower cost,” M.K. Li, Managing Partner at UpHonest Capital said.

Chinese companies here are heavily promoting 5G.

Market analysts expect China to become one of the first countries to launch a 5G mobile network-along with Japan and South Korea.


Jeff Yee talks about the future of mobile technology

CGTN’s Mark Niu spoke to Jeff Yee, vice president of Marketing and Strategy for ZTE. They discussed the future of mobile technology and 5G.