MWC19 to Use Biometrics for Venue Access

“The product of a partnership with Hong Kong-based Comba Telecom, the access control system will use facial recognition to identify MWC attendees.”

Biometric technologies have been enjoying a rising profile at the last several Mobile World Congress events as they have been embraced across a growing number of devices and applications. Now, it looks like this trend is going to go a bit meta, with organizers of the forthcoming Mobile World Congress announcing that guests will be able to sign up for a biometric entry system.

The product of a partnership with Hong Kong-based Comba Telecom, the access control system will use facial recognition to identify MWC attendees. Those who are interested need only to register online by uploading a passport-style photo to their account, and from there they’ll be able to gain access to MWC venues without the need to show their badge or any other identification.

In announcing the system on the MWC blog, organizers enthused that it will be “the simplest and quickest way to access the event!”

It will also reflect a growing trend, with many of the travellers flying into Barcelona for the event likely to be familiar with the kinds of biometric border control systems that are being implemented at a growing number of airports. And of course it will further illustrate the growing enthusiasm over biometric identification among those in the mobile industry.

MWC19 is slated to run from February 25th to 28th at the Fira Gran Via in Barcelona.

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February 4, 2019 – by Alex Perala