World Mobile Congress - Barcelona

"I do think that mobile phones are so much a part of people's lives, it is more resilient compared to other parts of the economy," said Margaret Rice-Jones, CEO of AIRCOM, a network consulting company. "People need to eat, so food stores are doing well. People get sick, so health care is doing well. People need to communicate, so telecoms are doing well."

Where to bet on the future of the industry is very much in the air in Barcelona, where an expected 50,000 industry officials from major cell phone makers, telecom companies and high-technology firms are converging for an annual four-day Mobile World Congress that opened on Monday (February 16, 2009).

The wireless industry is not immune to the downturn. Handset operators from Nokia to Motorola are cutting jobs. So is chipmaker Intel and software giant Microsoft.

Given the fact so many people already have cell phones in their pockets, analysts say handset sales could drop by as much as 20 per cent to 30 per cent this year. And, critically to a technology-driven industry, investment is slipping, according to a survey of the industry's top 100 CEOs by the mobile phone industry's trade association GSMA.

Image: A general view of the exterior of the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona

Text: AP

Images: Copyright AFP/AP. Any unauthorised reproduction is prohibited.

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