GSMA Announces Latest Event Updates for 2018 “Mobile World Congress Americas, in Partnership With CTIA”

The GSMA today announced several additions to the Mobile World Congress Americas event line-up, including new speakers in the conference program, additional participating companies and exhibition experiences, and new programs and events. The show will take place in the Los Angeles Convention Center from September 12 -14, 2018.

“With its new location in Los Angeles, this year’s event – our second in North America – shifts the focus to the intersection of mobile with content, entertainment and media,” said Michael O’Hara, Chief Marketing Officer, GSMA. “This is an exciting and transformative time for the industry, as evidenced by recent merger and acquisition activities to create truly integrated communications providers. Mobile is becoming the preferred way of consuming entertainment content, and the 2018 Mobile World Congress Americas will convene decision makers from across these industries to explore the opportunities and challenges in this new converged world.”

New Keynote Speakers Announced

The GSMA announced several new speakers for the Mobile World Congress Americas keynote program, with executives representing mobile, sports and entertainment organizations, including:

• Dan Beckerman, President and CEO, AEG
• David Christopher, President, AT&T Mobility & Entertainment
• David Hagan, Chairman and CEO, Boingo Wireless
• Michael Sievert, President and COO, T-Mobile
• Ronan Dunne, Group President, Verizon Wireless
• Rick Fox, Entrepreneur, Actor and Former LA Laker

These executives join previously announced keynote speakers:

• Sunil Bharti Mittal, Founder and Chairman, Bharti Enterprises and Chairman, GSMA
• Meredith Attwell Baker, President and CEO, CTIA
• Mats Granryd, Director General, GSMA
• Richard Plepler, Chairman and CEO, HBO
• Seleta Reynolds, General Manager, Los Angeles Dept. of Transportation
• Rajeev Suri, President and CEO, Nokia
• Tim Baxter, President and CEO, Samsung Electronics North America
• Marcelo Claure, Executive Chairman, Sprint and Chairman, CTIA

In addition to the keynote program, the Mobile World Congress Americas conference will address an array of topics including 5G and next-generation networks; artificial intelligence (AI); sports, entertainment and media; immersive content; connected vehicles; the digital consumer; the Fourth Industrial Revolution; regulation and policy; privacy and security; sustainable development and smart cities, among others. Recently confirmed conference speakers include:

• Sameep Tandon, CEO and Co-Founder, Drive.ai
• Lesley Young, Global Director, Growth at Workplace, Facebook
• Ronalee Zarate-Bayani, CMO, Los Angeles Rams
• Soma Velayutham, Head of Global Industry Development, AI and Deep Learning, NVIDIA
• Kevin Crull, Chief Strategy and Business Development Officer, Sprint
• Maryanne Morrow, CEO, SurgeXLR and 9^th Gear Technologies
• Angela Shen-Hsieh, Director, Predicting Human Behavior, Telefónica
• Dr. Rosanna Chan, Founder, Therefore
• Molly Battin, EVP, Global CCO and CMO, Turner
• Nicola Palmer, Chief Network Officer, Verizon Wireless

For more information on the conference program, including the agenda and keynote speakers, visit https://www.mwcamericas.com/conference-programs/.

Latin America Media and Convergent Services Summit Confirmed

Inspired by recent consolidation activity in the industry, the Latin America Media and Convergent Services Summit will focus on the future of mobile and content distribution across the region, addressing key issues facing operators and the wider ecosystem, including innovation and investment, business cases and partnership opportunities for convergent services, and regulatory considerations, among others. Featuring keynotes, presentations and panel sessions, the Latin America Media and Convergent Services Summit will take place on Thursday, September 13. The first speakers confirmed for the Summit include:

• Tomas Genenari, Executive Vice President, Business Bureau
• Martin Gallone, Global Digital Director, Millicom
• Rosario Ballesteros-Casas, Founder and CEO, VR Americas
• Michele Edelman, Executive Vice President, Marketing and Content Strategy, Vubiquity

For more information, visit: www.mwcamericas.com/conference-programs/agenda/latin-american-media-convergent-services-summit.

Additional Exhibitors, Sponsors and Partners Confirmed for 2018

The GSMA announced new participating companies at Mobile World Congress Americas including AT&T, NBC Universal and Spirent. These brands join previously announced companies including Accenture, American Express OPEN, ARM, Cisco, Dell, Ericsson, G+D Mobile Security, Gemalto, Google, Hewlett Packard Enterprise, IBM, Infosys, JMA Wireless, Mastercard, Mavenir, McAfee, Nokia Solutions, Samsung Networks, Sprint, Synchronoss, Syniverse, TELUS, Verizon Wireless and VMware and more at this year’s Mobile World Congress Americas.

On the show floor, country and regional pavilions will feature companies, products and services from around the world, including Canada, China, Finland, France, India, Ireland, South Korea, Turkey and the United Kingdom. Attendees visiting the pavilions will be able to explore and experience the latest cutting-edge technologies and innovations from the regions.

Another major exhibit floor attraction area is the IoT Zone, with interactive demonstrations and connected products from KORE, Microsoft, the Open Network Foundation, Pycom, Sitch Ai, U-blox and many other exhibiting companies. The IoT Zone will showcase the role 5G plays in the IoT, enabling connectivity across diverse, real-world applications for consumers and enterprises, including health and wellness, fleet management, autonomous vehicle experiences and more.

Also on the show floor, the NEXTech Zone will feature new and established companies that are disrupting today’s ecosystem including Asocs, Mimosa Networks, Sunitor, Syncleo and others. NEXTech will demonstrate the use of next-generation technology, such as AI, augmented reality, virtual reality and robotics, in everyday scenarios including in hospitals, homes and schools, to name a few. For more information on the Mobile World Congress Americas exhibition, visit: www.mwcamericas.com/exhibition/.

Cisco has joined as the headline sponsor for the show’s IoT and 5G Industry Theme, while NBCU Code is headline sponsor of the CMO Industry Theme. CBS Interactive, LinkedIn and the Wall Street Journal have signed on as official media partners for Mobile World Congress Americas, alongside Fortune. For more information on sponsors and partners, visit: www.mwcamericas.com/about/sponsors-partners.

New Speakers, Partners for 4YFN Startup Event

Over the three event days, the 4YFN Startup Event will provide an opportunity to connect international startups, investors and large corporations. A highlight of 4YFN is the 4YFN Stage, which will host the startup and innovation program, startup pitching sessions, the exclusive investors networking program, 4YFN Americas 2018 Awards finals, and the 4YFN Talk Series.

The first 4YFN Startup Event speakers include:

• Yossi Vardi, 4YFN Event Chairman
• Edith Yeung, Partner, 500 Startups
• Michelle Klein, Senior Marketing Director, North America and Global, Facebook
• Jonathan Perelman, Head of Digital Ventures, ICM Partners
• Dan Shiebler, Machine Learning Modeling Engineer, Twitter Cortex

Rivetz has been confirmed as the 4YFN Silver Sponsor; additional 4YFN partners include Boston Consulting Group Digital Ventures, Expert Dojo, Grid110, Qualcomm Ventures, Tech in Motion and Verify Investor. For more details on 4YFN, visit: www.mwcamericas.com/experiences/4yfn.

Updates for Women4Tech Program in Los Angeles

The Women4Tech program at Mobile World Congress Americas will feature a range of activities, including a speed coaching and networking session on Wednesday, September 12 and the Women4Tech Summit, which will be held on Thursday, September 13. The GSMA announced several additional speakers who will be participating across the Women4Tech program, including:

• Michelle Morris, Vice President, Global Marketing Solutions, Facebook
• Hilary Gosher, Managing Director, Insight Venture Partners
• Anarghya Vardhana, Principal, Maveron

YoMo to Attract 6,000 Students and Educators

In its first year at Mobile World Congress Americas, the Youth Mobile Festival (YoMo) is set to welcome over 6,000 students and educators from across Los Angeles and Southern California to a major showcase featuring more than 500 hours of unique content designed to encourage studies and careers in science, technology, engineering, art and design and math (STEAM) fields. The GSMA today announced the first official YoMo partners for the Los Angeles event, including arc, Los Angeles Convention Center, Propel LA, Star Education and Think Together. The inaugural YoMo Los Angeles will be held September 12-14 in Kentia Hall at the LACC. For more information on YoMo, visit: www.yomola.com.

New Partner Programs Added to Agenda

The GSMA announced a number of new Partner Programs at Mobile World Congress Americas, including the IDE Drone Summit, the Sports and Entertainment Summit, and the SmartDeviceLink (SDL) Connected Car Developer Conference by FordDev. Additional Partner Programs will be presented by A10 Networks, AirFuel Alliance, ATrack Technology Inc. and VisTracks Inc., Award Solutions, CBRS Alliance, Circle, mGage and Vodafone. Spanning the three-day show, Partner Programs will be held both onsite the LACC in the Theater District in Concourse Hall, Level 2, and at the JW Marriott LIVE! LA hotel. To learn more about Partner Programs, including Power Hour sessions, visit: www.mwcamericas.com/conference-programs/partner-programs.

Get Involved at Mobile World Congress Americas 2018

The official Mobile World Congress Americas Opening Party will take place on Wednesday, September 12 at 4:30 p.m. in the Networking Gardens of the LACC. For more details, visit: www.mwcamericas.com/networking.

Attendees can also participate in the MWC Americas Sunrise 5K Run in the heart of the vibrant L.A. Live entertainment district. The run will start at the LACC South Hall Entrance at 6 a.m. on Thursday, September 13. For more information and to register, visit: www.mwcamericas.com/networking/sunrise-5k-run.

More information on Mobile World Congress Americas 2018, including how to attend, exhibit or sponsor, is available at www.mwcamericas.com. Follow developments and updates on Mobile World Congress Americas on Twitter @GSMA using #MWCA18, on our LinkedIn Mobile World Congress Americas page https://www.linkedin.com/company/gsma-mobile-world-congress-americas or on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/MWCAmericas/. For additional information on GSMA social channels, visit http://www.mwcamericas.com/.

-ENDS-

About the GSMA

The GSMA represents the interests of mobile operators worldwide, uniting nearly 800 operators with more than 300 companies in the broader mobile ecosystem, including handset and device makers, software companies, equipment providers and internet companies, as well as organisations in adjacent industry sectors. The GSMA also produces industry-leading events such as Mobile World Congress, Mobile World Congress Shanghai, Mobile World Congress Americas and the Mobile 360 Series of conferences.

For more information, please visit the GSMA corporate website at www.gsma.com. Follow the GSMA on Twitter: @GSMA.

About CTIA

CTIA® (www.ctia.org) represents the U.S. wireless communications industry and the companies throughout the mobile ecosystem that enable Americans to lead a 21st century connected life. The association’s members include wireless carriers, device manufacturers, suppliers as well as apps and content companies. CTIA vigorously advocates at all levels of government for policies that foster continued wireless innovation and investment. The association also coordinates the industry’s voluntary best practices, hosts educational events that promote the wireless industry and co-produces the industry’s leading wireless tradeshow. CTIA was founded in 1984 and is based in Washington, D.C.

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