MWC Wrap: 5G, 5G, and Huawei

The dust is starting to settle after MWC Barcelona, but some of the conversations that were held during the event will continue to shape the 5G landscape in the year ahead. The event was dominated by 5G – which was only to be expected given the recent momentum behind network launches that began in late 2018. However, the depth in which 5G infiltrated almost every aspect of the show took some by surprise. Cisco CEO Chuck Robbins noted this depth during his keynote address. “Three or four years ago, what were we talking about? 5G. The year after that we were talking about, 5G. The year after that we were talking about 5G. And last year, something seemed to change. Last year, we seemed to talk about it a little differently. We talked about 5G!,” he said. “And here we are this year … and we begin to think about what’s possible not only from a business perspective, but from a human perspective.”Yet aside from all the posturing and positive messaging, there are some big concerns. 5G is certainly not for the fainthearted, and vendors, operators, and enterprises are already wringing their hands over the cost of building 5G networks and how long it will take to recoup their investments.