At world trade show, telecoms stake out a digital future

Telecom bosses yesterday toasted the return of Barcelona’s Mobile World Congress with an agenda to put the industry at the center of digital development and inclusion in a global reboot following the COVID-19 pandemic.

Having kept networks humming while people were locked down at home, telecom executives said that the pandemic has shown how vital connectivity is to those with access to the latest technology, and more so for the billions who lack it.

Canceled last year at the last minute when COVID-19 first began to spread around the world, the annual event is being held in a hybrid format with about 30,000 visitors — rather than the 100,000 that typically attend — and others online.