The 2018 edition of Mobile World Congress (MWC) Americas is all set to take place next month in Los Angeles. This year’s event shifts the focus to the intersection of mobile with content, entertainment, and media. It 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 2018 MWC Americas will bring together decision-makers from across these industries to explore the opportunities and challenges in this new converged world.
New Keynote Speakers
The GSMA announced several new speakers for the MWC 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, MWC 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 9th 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
Click here to see the MWC Americas Conferences list.
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 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
Additional Exhibitors, Sponsors and Partners
The GSMA has also announced new participating companies at MWC 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. Click here to see the exhibitor list in detail.
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 MWC Americas, alongside Fortune. Click here to see a list of the sponsors.
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 partners include Boston Consulting Group Digital Ventures, Expert Dojo, Grid110, Qualcomm Ventures, Tech in Motion and Verify Investor. Click here to know more about 4YFN experiences at MWC Americas.
Women4Tech Program in Los Angeles
The Women4Tech program at MWC 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 MWC 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.
New Partner Programs Added to Agenda
The GSMA has also announced a number of new Partner Programs at the event, 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. Click here to learn more about Partner Programs, including Power Hour sessions. Click here know more about partner programs.
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. Click here to know more.
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. Click here for more information and to register.
To know more about MWC Americas and follow the full upcoming coverage of the event, keep a tab on everythingRF’s MWC Americas 2018 event page here.
