Top US mobile executives are set to join more than 200 speakers at MWC Las Vegas from September 28 to September 30, as the GSMA prepares its next event under the theme of Connectivity Unleashed.
The event will be held in the West Hall of the Las Vegas Convention Center, which opens in 2021 and offers 600,000 square-feet of exhibition space, the largest in North America.
GSMA CMO Lara Dewar said Mobile World Live (MWL) entrance to the venue “is light-filled and features a 10,000-square-foot digital screen developed by Samsung”.
“The city is a great partner, and we hope that this new venue and location will inspire our members, attendees, exhibitors and sponsors”.
GSMA Intelligence head Peter Jarich said Las Vegas is one of the leading digital cities in the US, with hotels and casinos pushing the envelope on indoor connectivity by building and deploying their own base stations .
Because of its topology, mobile operators including Dish Wireless and Metro PCS have used Las Vegas as a proving ground for new services.
“You also have autonomous driving companies in Las Vegas,” Jarich said. “There’s all kinds of cool stuff going on there, which makes it a great place to connect if you’re trying to do networking”.
Dewar (pictured, left) expects more than 300 companies to exhibit at the event, with up to 10,000 delegates accessing more than 50 hours of curated content.
For a tour of the center, Dewar said the West Hall is connected by the Las Vegas Convention Center Loop, an underground transportation system designed by Elon Musk’s The Boring Company.
“The system transports convention attendees across the 200-acre campus within two minutes in Tesla vehicles, free of charge.”
Meeting
Speakers from inside and outside the mobile industry were to deliver keynotes at MWC Las Vegas (with more than half of the session keynoters being women).
These include T-Mobile US Business Group president Callie Field; Verizon head of consumer content and partnerships Erin McPherson and its consumer group COO Krista Bourne; and CTIA president and CEO Meredith Attwell Baker.
Other keynote speakers include GSMA director general Mats Granryd; Qualcomm SVP and GM for mobile, compute and XR Alex Katouzian; and Carolyn Goodman, mayor of Las Vegas.
Themes
With Verizon as an event partner, MWC Las Vegas will feature four themes: 5G Connect, sponsored by T-Mobile for Business; Tech Horizon, sponsored by ServiceNow; CloudNet sponsored by AWS; and Internet of Everything.
The GSMA runs programs and roundtables covering eSIM, mmWave 5G and open RAN.
“We’re seeing a lot of innovation from North America with mmWave, so I think that’s going to be a big one,” Jarich said, adding that there’s also likely to be talk about satellite communications, a sector that ” became very important very quickly.”.
Jarich said recent research by GSMA Intelligence found that network maintenance and security initiatives are top of mind for North American operators: “I think we’re going to see those get a lot of focus.”
Beyond Dish Network, “open RAN hasn’t seen a big commitment from US operators, but there’s a big push in general”.
More
In its All Policy track, CTIA will host discussions with politicians and wireless industry stakeholders focusing on trends and developments in government and public policy.
Following its introduction at MWC Barcelona earlier this year, the NTT-sponsored Industry City on the showfloor will highlight how vertical industries are shaping the connected and digital future.
In addition to the metaverse and Web 3.0, Dewar said Industry City will also look at the manufacturing, smart mobility and fintech sectors in collaboration with headline sponsors Cisco and Microsoft Azure.
The GSMA Pavilion, next to Industry City, will feature live demonstrations including IoT, VR shopping and connected smart mobility.
Dewar also highlighted the HUB, “the start-up and innovation zone” for “investors and companies to learn, connect and launch new business ventures”.
The HUB was developed in collaboration with the non-profit StartUp Vegas and will feature fireside chats and an exhibition consisting of 16 start-ups selected by Mobile World Capital Barcelona.
“I hope MWC inspires conversations that challenge the present, champion the future and create positive impact for the world,” said Dewar.
MWL will provide in-depth coverage of the entire event, with keynotes streamed live , regular news reports and daily video rounds.
The editorial views expressed in this article are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of GSMA, its Members or Associate Members.
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