The GSMA provided further updates for the upcoming Mobile World Congress Americas, including several recently confirmed keynote speakers, new programmes and events, and additional exhibitors and partners. Mobile World Congress Americas will take place September 12-14, 2017 at the Moscone Centre in San Francisco.
'We have just under two months left to go before the mobile world congregates in San Francisco for our inaugural Mobile World Congress Americas,' said Michael O'Hara, Chief Marketing Officer, GSMA. 'We have an amazing event lined up, from the conference headlined by industry luminaries, to the exhibition with cutting-edge technologies, products and experiences, to a vast array of programmes and activities designed to inform, educate and engage. We're looking forward to showcasing the innovation that is the hallmark of the Americas mobile industry.'
NEW KEYNOTE SPEAKERS CONFIRMED The GSMA announced several newly confirmed keynote speakers, with executives representing a wide range of organizations across the mobile ecosystem, including: The latest executives join previously announced keynote speakers: The GSMA also announced several additional speakers participating in the 'Everything Policy' track, a two-day programme of panel discussions with leading policymakers and industry experts focused on key wireless issues. Among the topics that will be addressed in the policy track are spectrum auctions, wireless infrastructure, 5G, Internet of Things (IoT) innovations, public safety, unmanned aerial services and more.
NEW SUMMITS FOCUS ON INNOVATION AND INVESTMENT IN LATIN AMERICA AND CHINA The GSMA introduced two new programmes for Mobile World Congress Americas: the Latin America Investment Summit, which will be held Tuesday, September 12, and the China - US Innovation and Investment Summit, which will be held on Thursday, September 14. The Latin America Investment Summit will take a deep dive into start-ups, innovation and investment opportunities in the Latin America mobile ecosystem. Confirmed speakers include:
The China - US Innovation and Investment Summit will examine a range of topics driving innovation and investment in the Chinese mobile market, including developments in areas such as 5G and IoT, as well as high-growth tech segments such as microprocessors, drones and automotive. The GSMA also provided further details on the Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality in the Enterprise Summit, which is scheduled for Wednesday, September 13. This event will explore the potential of augmented reality and virtual reality for applications beyond gaming and entertainment, in sectors such as manufacturing, medicine, automotive, education, industrial, workplace and beyond.
NEW EXHIBITORS AND SPONSORS SIGN ON FOR MOBILE WORLD CONGRESS AMERICAS The GSMA announced several new exhibitors and sponsors for the Mobile World Congress Americas, including Aricent Technologies, Cisco, IConectiv, IQmetrix, Meta and Rural Wireless Association. Brazil and Greece will also host country pavilions at Mobile World Congress Americas, alongside other pavilions from Canada, China, India and Korea. Additionally, the exhibition will feature showcases focusing on specific technology areas, including the newly confirmed Graphene Pavilion, as well as the VR/AR Zone, both located in NEXTech in the West Hall at the Moscone Centre.
These organizations join previously announced exhibitors including Amdocs, AT&T, Ericsson, Motorola Mobility, Nokia, PayPal, Qualcomm, Samsung Electronics America, Samsung Electronics Networks, Sprint, TATA Communications Transformation Services, TELUS, TracFone Wireless, Verizon Wireless, VMWare and ZTE, among many others. For more information on the Mobile World Congress Americas exhibition, visit: www.mwcamericas.com/exhibition.
A highlight of the exhibition will be the GSMA Innovation City, where attendees to will have the opportunity to experience technology in context and see how mobile-connected products and services can improve the daily lives of citizens and businesses, in areas such as home, automotive, health, utilities, industrial and others. The Innovation City will feature leading-edge demonstrations from companies including AT&T, Google, KT Corporation and MasterCard, as well as from GSMA programmes including Future Networks, Identity, Internet of Things and the GSMA's work supporting the UN Sustainable Development Goals.
American Express has joined as a Supporting Sponsor for Mobile World Congress Americas. Other recently confirmed sponsors include Global Certification Forum for the Latin America Investment Summit, Meta for the Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality in the Enterprise Summit, Syniverse for the Women4Tech Summit, and TomTom for the Connected Vehicles Summit.
WOMEN4TECH SUMMIT: EMPOWERING, ENCOURAGING, TRANSFORMING AND INNOVATION. The Women4Tech Summit, which will be held on Wednesday, September 13, will feature a combination of keynote speakers and panel discussions centering on four key themes: Empowering, Encouraging, Transforming and Innovation. Summit sessions will address issues relating to equality and career development, mentorship and youth education, communication and business verticals, and entrepreneurship and startups.
The GSMA announced further updates for the 4 Years From Now (4YFN) programme, which is making its San Francisco debut after successful runs in Barcelona and Shanghai. Notable 4YFN speakers include Ben Levy, Co-Founder, Bootstrap Labs; Katie Gray, Partner, In-Q-Tel; Azita Arvani, Head of Global Innovation Scouting, CIOO, Nokia; Drew Ianni, Founder and CEO, M2 Events LLC; and Lev Mass, Venture Partner, XSeed Capital.
In addition to the stimulating open-stage forum, 4YFN will feature a competition between 15 startup finalists in the 4YFN Americas Awards 2017 Finale. Innovative tech startups from countries such as Colombia, Greece, Korea, Spain, the U.K. and the U.S. will be among 150 companies in the 4YFN exhibition. 4YFN Event Partners include Soracom Global (Gold Partner), Arrow (Silver Partner) and Radsone (Bronze Partner).
ADDITIONAL PARTNER PROGRAMMES CONFIRMED The GSMA confirmed additional partner programmes to be held across the three-day Mobile World Congress Americas. On Tuesday, September 12, the CDX Mobile Innovation Summit will look at how brands engage consumers and overcome organizational disruptions by leveraging mobile, while on Wednesday, September 13, Cohere Technologies will offer a session examining how IoT connectivity is forcing a new approach to wireless applications.
On Thursday, September 14, the M-Enabling Forum, a joint initiative of Mobile World Congress Americas, the Global Initiative for Inclusive Information and Communication Technologies, and E J Krause & Associates, will host an event focusing on technologies developed for senior citizens and persons with disabilities. Also on Thursday, the Mobile Growth House will host a half-day event on increasing and maintaining app user engagement.