After a period of economic uncertainty, Analysys Mason expects this year's Mobile World Congress to focus once again on growth: Steve Hilton looks at why M2M will be one of the key drivers of this growth; based on their work for the GSMA, Lee Sanders argues these devices should be fitted with 3G rather than 2G technology; and Tom Rebbeck examines where MiFi and personal hotspots will be able to provide the connectivity for these devices. The report also looks at the roles of customer service, customer reach, and policy management - and their impact on growth.

Another theme generating much debate is the continued growth of mobile data. In his article, Terry Norman looks at how mobile offload can create an opportunity for fixed operators, while Martin Scott explains why selling mobile broadband as a fixed-line replacement is a mistake. Taking a longer-term view, Stephen Sale outlines why VoIP makes a better fit on mobile than it did on fixed, and how operators can benefit from this match.

To counter some of the inevitable hype around new products and services at this year's event, much of this research and analysis is supported by data from the Connected Consumer survey - where Analysys Mason asked 6,000 end users in six countries (France, Germany, Poland, Spain, the UK, and the USA) about their communications requirements to find out what is truly important to them.