OREANDA-NEWS. Notwithstanding the strike by the metro and bus operators that snarled Monday-morning traffic across Barcelona, Mobile World Congress 2016 (MWC16) opened as planned on February 22 with huge excitement about flagship product launches, connected cars, augmented and virtual reality, amazing innovations for the smart home, and significant progress toward the realization of 5G.

“Mobile is Everything” is the theme of MWC in 2016, being held February 22-25 in Barcelona, Spain, at the Fira Gran Via conference center. Billed as the world’s biggest and most influential mobile event, MWC16 is expected to attract more than 100,000 visitors from over 200 countries, with over 2,200 exhibitors participating.

Numbers provide perspective on the sheer scale of the mobile industry: There are now 7.6 billion connections. The mobile economy has an economic value of USD$3.1 trillion. There are 32 million people employed in the mobile industry. An estimated 5.6 billion people will be connected by 2020.

“I think it is fair to say that everything that has the benefit of being connected in the future, will be connected,” said Mats Granyrd, Director General, GSMA, in his opening keynote. He added, however, “It is not only about connectivity, but also about business transformation.”

Granyrd laid out a unifying vision for mobile at the center of an inclusive digitally connected society, one being championed by the GSMA through its #betterfuture initiative. He cited the industry’s commitment to support the 17 U.N. Sustainability Development Goals. “By working together, the mobile industry is truly connecting everyone and everything to a better future. That must be at the forefront in everything we do.”

“But we are challenged,” said Granyrd on a somber note. “It is safe to say, what has brought us to this position will not keep us here. We do need to be more innovative. We need to be more collaborative. And there is no better place than here at the Mobile World Congress to do that.”