Amid the launch of dozens of smartphones, tablets and laptops, along with thousands of new software applications and services, the real winner at this week's annual Mobile World Congress in Barcelona was a technology standard rather than a device.
It was hard to find a single commercial device on show that could officially be called 5G, the next generation of mobile connectivity technology.
But that didn't stop chipmakers such as Intel and Qualcomm, network infrastructure companies like Huawei and Ericsson, and mobile operators like Korea Telecom and NTT Docomo from going large on 5G.
Korea Telecom - once a suitor for a stake in Telkom - stole the show with a carnival-like stand that showcased many use cases for 5G across major emerging categories of technology.
For example, on virtual reality: "By utilising 5G-based high-speed content transfer technology, it is possible to enjoy high-quality, high-spec VR content."
A live demonstration showed 5G download speeds on a single mobile connection of up to 3.13Gbps, which would have been about a third of South Africa's total international bandwidth a decade ago. It is also more than 30 times faster than the maximum fibre-to-the-home speed offered by most internet service providers today.
Korea Telecom is providing 5G infrastructure for an autonomous driving test site in Korea, where autonomous vehicles and shuttle buses, along with controls built into roads and parking areas, will demonstrate 5G's role in the automotive future.
The company's larger rival, SK Telecom, also pushed the message hard, with a
5G-connected car on show, and interactive experiences. But the two companies face the same challenge. "It's not clear what the business case is, not clear at all," said Korea Telecom's 5G boss, YongGyoo Lee.
He was sharing the stage at a media event hosted by embattled network infrastructure company Ericsson, which sees 5G as a potential lifebelt. It used the congress to push the hopeful slogan "5G open for business".
Part of the problem is that the 5G standard was only ratified in December, and all current pilot projects are using "pre-standard" equipment.
Even the 5G networks used by the two Korean companies at the recent Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang to showcase advanced video streaming and VR technology did not match the official specifications and will have to be replaced. They worked with Ericsson, Samsung, Nokia and Qualcomm on the specs for what is generally seen as a success story.
The next target is the 2020 summer Olympic Games in Tokyo, with a 5G partnership announced by Intel, NTT Docomo and Toyota. They see the event as the ultimate showcase for the next generation of broadcast and connectivity technology. The first commercial 5G networks are expected this year, but will still be far from mainstream by 2020.
The 2018 edition of the Mobile Economy report published this week by the GSMA, organisers of the congress, forecast that 4G will account for 53% of global mobile connections by 2025, significantly up from 29% last year. 5G networks will make up only 14% of connections.
By the end of the next decade, however, 4G will be seen as utterly archaic.
• Goldstuck is the founder of World Wide Worx and editor-in-chief of Gadget.co.za. Follow him on Twitter @art2gee and on YouTube
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