The main representatives of the telecommunications sector are gathered in Barcelona these days on the occasion of a Mobile World Congress (MWC) which was to talk about 5G, metaverses and ever smarter telephony. The war in Ukraine and all its collateral effects are forcing a reshuffling of the agenda. In any case, they make some realize the increasingly strategic role of the mobile network industry in international geopolitics.
“We stand in solidarity with the countries and companies that have condemned Russia’s recent actions in Ukraine,” the Homework the CEO of the Global Telecommunications Operators Association (GSMA) which represents the global wireless industry and which organizes the MWC each year. However, John Hoffman is keen to point out that there are limits to what his industry can do. “Our technologies play an increasingly central role in society and that comes with certain responsibilities, but we leave it to the authorities to determine what passes or not. [sur ces technologies]. »
The global telecom industry took advantage of the showcase provided by the MWC to condemn Russia’s attempted invasion of Ukraine. “With the war in Ukraine as a backdrop, a conference like ours should remind us of the importance of the responsibility we have as industry and the international community to ensure the positive impact we have on the society”, declared on stage during his opening speech of the MWC the CEO of the European wireless giant Vodafone, Nick Read.
Alongside him, other representatives of the telecom industry from all over the world officially condemned the Russian military actions taking place in Ukraine. The MWC has also sent home the representatives of Russia who hoped to represent their country on the floor of the MWC this year.
The CEO of the Spanish giant Telefónica José María Álvarez-Pallete went a little further by drawing a link between the material progress experienced quite a bit everywhere on the planet in recent years and the increased ethical responsibility that this should entail. At a time when all of humanity seems to be in a global village, an invasion of a country by its neighbor is almost absurd, he said.
“It is disconcerting that in the middle of the 21st century events such as what is happening in Ukraine can still take place,” said Mr. Álvarez-Pallete. In any case, it makes us understand that technology may lack a bit of empathy at the present time. »
Digital War
At a time when players in the global financial system are trying to isolate the Russian banking system and its main leaders in response to the military offensive they are leading in Ukraine, the telecom sector has no concrete plan to cut its own ties with Russia. It is not the justifications that would be lacking: the governments of many Western countries, including Canada, have warned their citizens and businesses in recent days of the importance of properly strengthening their defense tools against cyberattacks, among others.
The Communications Security Establishment of Canada sent a missive to each of the country’s provinces late last week indicating that it suspected attacks that may be sponsored by the Russian government were taking place against networks with and without Canadian yarn.
Disinformation also passes through these same networks, whether through Russian media like Russia Today that cable service providers want to stop distributing, or outright on social networks, where the most viral images are not always the most authentic.
It seems hard to imagine, if not downright unthinkable, for an industry that for more than 40 years has been trying to constantly connect the whole planet a little more to disconnect part of its network as a result of military actions, however reprehensible they may be. .
This was in no way invoked by the telecom professionals present in Barcelona within the framework of a conference which generally dictates the tone for the years to come for this sector. Yet this is where social responsibility, ethics, values and technology meet, yet declared its main leaders on one and the same stage.
Virtual or alternative reality?
It must be said that on the trend side, the 2022 edition of the MWC seems to want to somehow flee the geopolitical reality of the moment. The strong themes this year relate in many cases to virtual and augmented realities like the famous metaverse of the CEO of Meta Mark Zuckerberg. These range from completely wireless virtual reality headsets powered by a 5G connection that allow movement through entirely fictional digital environments, to augmented reality glasses that add a digital dimension to what is actually in front of our eyes.
Whereas in the past, these technologies looked more like toys or gadgets, this year we are touting their virtues for increasing business productivity, improving distance education and bringing remote communities even closer together.
Companies from all walks of life, ranging from the American giant Microsoft to the Taiwanese company HTC, have rightly taken advantage of the MWC to praise the corporate merits of their respective ecosystem of virtual and augmented reality devices.
The emergence of the next generations of 5G technology should push the power of these devices even further as it should accelerate access to data stored on the network, and even provide artificial intelligence power to devices. next-generation mobiles.
These new technologies are sure to bring humanity even closer together over the next few years. War or not, the village therefore pursues its globalization.