GSMA Announces New Keynote Speakers, Event Updates For 2019 “MWC Los Angeles, in Partnership With CTIA”

The GSMA provided further updates for the upcoming MWC19 Los Angeles, including recently confirmed high-profile keynote speakers, new programs and events, and additional exhbitors and partners. MWC19 will take place October 22-24 at the Los Angeles Convention Center. Event registration is now open.

“This year’s MWC Los Angeles event is bringing together the greatest minds and companies to showcase the transformation the mobile industry is undergoing,” said John Hoffman, CEO, GSMA Ltd. “In the era of Intelligent Connectivity, 5G is powering Artificial Intelligence, IoT and data to reach new heights in never-before imagined ways. By 2025, there will be 5.8 billion unique mobile subscribers and over 25 billion IoT connections. MWC19 will examine the possibilities in this new frontier– you won’t want to miss it.”

“Technology can serve as the great equalizer of opportunity for people everywhere -- a vehicle to enhance education, deepen ties of commerce and culture, and improve the quality of life for young people and families around the world,” said Mayor Eric Garcetti. “Los Angeles decided to become a smart city, lead the way in 5G adoption, and host MWC19 for a clear reason: we know the power of innovation to level the playing field for our workers and forge solutions to our most pressing social, political and economic challenges.”

New Keynote Speakers Announced

The GSMA announced several new keynote speakers, with executives representing a wide range of organizations across the technology and telecommunications industries, including:

• Ajit Pai, Chairman, United States Federal Communications Commission (FCC)
• Asha Keddy, Corporate Vice President and General Manager, Next Generation and Standards, 5G, Intel Corporation
• Ricky Corker, President of Customer Operations, Americas, Nokia
• Joseph Essas, Chief Technology Officer, OpenTable
• Stéphane Richard, Chairman and CEO, Orange Group and Chairman, GSMA
• Amy Emmerich, President North America and Chief Content Officer, Refinery29

These executives join previously announced keynote speakers from leading companies including CTIA, Ericsson, GSMA, U.S. Cellular, Verizon and Viacom.

CTIA, GSMA’s MWC19 Los Angeles event partner, will again offer the “Everything Policy” track, a two-day program of panel discussions with leading policymakers and industry experts focused on key wireless issues. Among the topics in the policy track are spectrum, privacy, cybersecurity, 5G, unmanned aerial services and more. Speakers recently added to the agenda include:

• Brendan Carr, Commissioner, U.S. FCC
• Michael O’ Rielly, Commissioner, U.S. FCC
• Geoffrey Starks, Commissioner, U.S. FCC

In addition to the keynotes, the conference program will offer the Connected Vehicle and the Latin America Intelligent Connectivity Summits, which will take place on Tuesday, October 22, and the 5G Security and the Women4Tech Summits, which will take place on Wednesday, October 23.

New Exhibitors and Sponsors Sign On for MWC19 Los Angeles

ServiceNow is the headline sponsor of the MWC19 Los Angeles Disruptive Innovation theme. Other conference theme sponsors include Cisco (5G) and Ericsson and KORE (IoT). For more information on MWC Los Angeles sponsors, visit www.mwclosangeles.com/about/sponsors-partners/.

The GSMA announced new exhibitors including CommScope, Fasetto, Indiegogo, Juniper Networks, Kaloom, LivePerson, NVIDIA and Vodafone. These organizations join previously announced exhibiting and participating companies including Amazon, AMD, ARM, Cisco, Corning Optical Communications, Ericsson, Gemalto, Hewlett Packard Enterprises, KORE Wireless, Mastercard, Nokia, Qualcomm, Samsung, Sprint, T-Mobile and Verizon among others. For more information on the MWC19 Los Angeles exhibition, visit: www.mwclosangeles.com/exhibition.

4YFN Startup Program Details Unveiled

The 4YFN (Four Years from Now) startup program will attract more than 200 investors and 150 startups to MWC19 Los Angeles. Two pitching competitions will run on the 4YFN Discovery Stage in the LACC, organized by 4YFN sponsor Indiegogo and 4YFN partner TrepCamp.

SPROCKIT, a global startup community, has signed up as the first 4YFN theme sponsor and will curate media and entertainment content onstage illustrating the impact of mobile on the entertainment industry. For more information on 4YFN, visit: https://www.4yfn.com/los-angeles/.

DARPA Spectrum Competition Details Announced

On Wednesday, October 23, the U.S. Defense Advanced Research Project Agency (DARPA) will host the live championship finals event of the Spectrum Collaboration Challenge (SC2) on the Keynote Stage. Organizing this first-of-its-kind competition required developing a custom-built virtual RF testbed – one capable of simulating, in real-time, over 65,000 channel interactions among 256 wireless devices. DARPA’s answer was the massive Colosseum – the world’s most powerful RF channel emulator at a scale never before realized at 20 times more total RF bandwidth than currently available in commercial systems. The Colosseum is capable of replicating the complex RF environments required to put the competitors’ radio designs through their paces.

MWC19 Los Angeles attendees will have an opportunity to see the Colosseum up-close in the South Hall at DARPA’s booth #1046. Throughout the show, the emulator will run the final competitive matches of the competition from the exhibit floor. For more information on SC2, visit: www.SpectrumCollaborationChallenge.com/.

GSMA Innovation City to Showcase Intelligent Connectivity

The GSMA Innovation City will return to MWC19 Los Angeles inviting visitors to experience how intelligent connectivity, the fusion of 5G, AI, IoT and data, is positively impacting society and helping to create a better future for businesses and citizens alike. This year, joining lead partners LivePerson and Mastercard, there will be over 25 interactive demonstrations across various categories including entertainment, industry, transportation, public services and the environment. Innovation City will be in booth #1750 in the South Hall. For more information on Innovation City, visit: https://www.mwclosangeles.com/exhibitor/gsma-innovation-city/.

Additional Partner Programs Confirmed

The GSMA announced new MWC19 Los Angeles partner programs including Northland Capital Markets, Vodafone and Silicon Valley VR. Fasetto will present two Power Hour sessions and a total of 15 IoT and 5G Talks are slated for MWC19. For more information and the full schedule of MWC19 Los Angeles partner programs, visit https://www.mwclosangeles.com/conference-programs/partner-programs/.

Topic Tours Announced

MWC19 Los Angeles will again offer attendees focused Topic Tours, led by industry experts, of the exhibition at LACC. Topic Tours offered include: 5G & NFV, led by Award Solutions Inc.; Internet of Things, led by ModMedia Inc.; Transformative AI, and What’s Hot at MWC, both led by Stratacache Inc. The GSMA also offers unique Custom Programs to address attendees’ specific business objectives and requirements. To sign up for a tour and for more information, visit: www.mwclosangeles.com/experiences/topic-tours/.

Women4Tech Speakers Announced

Beyond to the Women4Tech Summit, the GSMA Women4Tech Program will feature a range of activities including a speed coaching and networking session on Tuesday, October 22. The GSMA announced several additional Women4Tech program speakers, including:

• Shelli Strand, Chief Marketing Officer, Blue Cedar
• Audrey Wu, Vice-President, Strategic Partnerships, Haptik
• Lindsey Saletta, Chief Operating Officer, Misha Nonoo
• Monica Johnson, CFO and Partner, NGP Capital
• Mitra Best, Lead Principal, Strategic Innovation and Technology, PWC
• Kali Weissman, Managing Director, Digital Product Strategy and Development, The Recording Academy
• Chiara Tilesi, Founder and Producer, We Do It Together

Women4Tech partners include DiversityComm, The Female Quotient and mBolden, while Blue Cedar, Cognizant and HCL have signed on as Women4Tech sponsors. For more information on the Women4Tech program at MWC19 Los Angeles, visit www.mwclosangeles.com/events/women4tech/ .

YoMo Los Angeles Promotes Diversity in STEAM

The Youth Mobile Festival (YoMo) Los Angeles will take place in the LACC’s Kentia Hall, spanning the three-day show and will draw over 15,000 students and 2,500 educators for one of the largest educational showcases of science and technology.

In support of the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals, YoMo will focus on bridging the skills and gender gaps through two specific programs: “Choose your crew,” where students will learn about rewarding jobs and career paths in STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts and design and math) and “Girls4Tech” activities for girls to develop their STEAM abilities.

YoMo Los Angeles Presenting Partners include the California Department of Education, City of Los Angeles - Mayor Garcetti, City of STEM Festival, County Office of Education, Los Angeles Convention Center, Los Angeles Unified School District, Think Together and a Wise Way. YoMo Los Angeles Commercial Partners include Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (Metro), Metropolitan Water Board and Universal Studios. For additional information on YoMo Los Angeles, visit: www.mwcyomo.com/us/.

Get Involved at MWC19 Los Angeles

The third installment of the popular MWC Los Angeles Sunrise 5K will take place on Wednesday, October 23 at 6 a.m. For more information, including the running route, visit: https://www.mwclosangeles.com/networking/sunrise-5k-run/

Event registration is currently open. More information on MWC19 Los Angeles, including how to attend, exhibit or sponsor, is available at www.mwclosangeles.com. Follow developments and updates on MWC on Twitter @GSMA using #MWC19, on our LinkedIn MWC page https://www.linkedin.com/showcase/mwclosangeles/ and on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/MWCLosAngeles/.

-ENDS-

About the GSMA

The GSMA represents the interests of mobile operators worldwide, uniting more than 750 operators and nearly 400 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 the industry-leading MWC events held annually in Barcelona, Los Angeles and Shanghai, as well as the Mobile 360 Series of regional 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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Contact information

Media Contacts:
GSMA Press Office
pressoffice@gsma.com

For the GSMA:
Alicia Bardaro
ABardaro@webershandwick.com
617.520.7015