TOKYO -- This is the year that next generation mobile networks start moving into the mainstream as 5G technology is launched around the world. The possibilities opened up by 5G's significantly faster data transfer -- enabling tech revolutions in everything from autonomous vehicles to gaming -- will be the theme of this year's Mobile World Congress, the smartphone industry's biggest annual event which opens on Monday in Barcelona.
China's Huawei Technologies and Oppo, South Korea's Samsung Electronics, and Japan's Sony are all developing 5G devices, some of which will be on display in Barcelona.