Cisco has unveiled several new connectivity products at this year’s Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, as well as a number of new partnerships with companies including Mercedes-Benz, Qualcomm, Intel and T-Mobile. 

The wireless cloud and IoT products include Cisco’s Mobility Services platform for advanced mobile IoT use cases, Cisco Meraki MG51 and MG51E 5G Gateways for business internet, and Wi-Fi6E-ready products. 

The Mobility Services platform is designed to improve ease-of-use for communication service providers building mobile services on a global scale, with use cases including connected cars and connected distributed utilities, while the Meraki MG51 5G Gateway marks Cisco Meraki’s first 5G gateway for high-bandwidth cloud management. 

“To succeed in the digital era, businesses must rely on new software platforms, 5G, and new Wi-Fi connectivity solutions,” said Jonathan Davidson, Cisco’s EVP. “With Cisco Private 5G and new 5G Meraki routers offering cloud-managed 5G WAN connectivity, we’re giving service providers what they need to pursue new business models and accelerate digital transformation across industries.”

Under its partnership with Mercedes-Benz, Cisco will add its Webex conferencing tools to the vehicle’s dashboard, creating a “mobile office” that will equip the next generation of Mercedes-Benz E Class vehicles with Wi-Fi and cellular data connection. As a safety measure, users will only be able to use the audio feature while driving, though when the car is parked they will have access to video meetings, automatic transcription and content-sharing features.

Among the additional partnerships announced include the launch of Cisco’s Meraki 5G gateways alongside T-Mobile to deliver scalable connectivity for businesses, offering the MG51 and MG51E gateways to enterprises.

Cisco has also expanded several projects to accelerate 5G adoption and accessibility for businesses across sectors. The company is collaborating with Intel to build Global 5G Innovation Centers to test 5G applications and use cases, as well as expanding its partnership with NTT to bring private 5G to enterprise customers, with particular use cases in the automotive, logistics, health care, retail and government sectors. 

Cisco is also joining forces with Qualcomm to “simplify the automation, management, and orchestration of multi-vendor RAN systems.”