Spanish MNO Telefonica is planning to go big on the very much in-vogue metaverse concept at the Mobile World Congress trade show in Barcelona next week.

The firm will apparently host a virtual version of its stand at the show in the metaverse, which will include additional metaverse-only areas dedicated to ‘predictive maintenance with 5G drones’ and ‘cybersecure in the smart cities’.

The release states: “The ‘demos’ of the stand and the Agora will be replicated and expanded upon by the representation of the exhibitor in the metaverse, the innovative proposal with which Telefónica will carry out this year its virtual presence at the MWC. After the positive experience obtained in the last edition, in which the company offered a digital twin of the exhibitor to remotely follow its participation in the Mobile, this edition goes a step further that fits with its avant-garde and groundbreaking vocation.”

The operator will be making a big thing of the other main tech industry talking points as well within its 952 square meter stand, showcasing various use cases around 5G enabled artificial intelligence, IoT, edge computing, big data, blockchain and cloud.

These include a showcase of how 5G is enabling industry 4.0, a look at what a smart building might be able to do, a holographic phone call with Olympian Carolina Marin, and a ‘5G bartender’ which promises to ‘highlight the use of 5G and edge computing to provide real-time control of scalable and efficient catering services with which to meet increases in demand at specific times.’

In the absence of any actual pre-show announcements, Telefonica is clearly signalling the idea that 5G, the piece of the puzzle that it and other operators bring to the tech party, are central to the larger headline grabbing concepts like the metaverse, and we’ll wager they’ll be a fair amount more of that from many firms at MWC next week.