Day One at 3GSM World Congress

Stood on my company standing demonstrating the new products that were announced today. My hands now appear in the backdrop of a number of PR photos of these luscious items. One thing I love about 3GSM world congress (called 3GSM for short) is the mindboggling mix of people who attend from all over the world and who are levelled by technology. The creation and proliferation of it is a meritocracy. India is now the world´s largest mobile market and where most of the growth will be for at least the next two years. The way these little devices change people´s lives is also amazing. Thirty years ago, huge land areas with little available resource were totally unconnectable. Laying out fixed lines was uneconomic and a mammoth task. Now with mobile base stations and cheap handsets the world is a totally different place.

On a different and totally unexpected note, logica hired out four women to walk around one of the main halls dressed in nothing but spray paint. A bit unexpected for this show, unless you happen upon the Hall That Shall Remain Nameless, especially the bit at the back behind the cordon where only the brave or those who see the seedy but economic potential for THOSE kind of activities. It feels a bit sad and depressing for humanity that this is the kind of thing that drives technological innovation. But mostly it´s either this or war that are the key catalysts. Is development ever for the sheer achievement and good of the world? Answers on a postcard please.