IP Communications and future networks: the GSMA at Futurecom 2014

Futurecom is the most important discussion forum of the ICT industry in Latin America. The 2014 edition had a record of more than 14.000 participants. The GSMA could not miss this show, held from the 13th to the 16th of October in Sao Paulo.

Fotos Futurecom 2014Therefore, the GSMA brought its Network 2020 program experts to the event in Brazil and they discussed with other experts on the mobile industry about the future of networking and mobile communications. Valter Wolf, GSMA Strategic Engagement Director, participated in the panel on “Mobile Video on LTE Networks” where he said: “there is a high latent demand for advanced voice and messaging services that only mobile operators can provide, combining quality and trust with the richness and variety offered by IP-based technologies”. The panel discussion included experts from Telefonica, Oi, Ericsson and Qualcomm, among others.

Meanwhile, Javier Arenzana, GSMA’s IP Communications Director, spoke about the latest developments in Voice over LTE (VoLTE) and the “Green Button Promise”, a native implementation of VoLTE combined with video calls.

Fotos Futurecom 2014The “Green Button Promise” was tested at GSMA’s stand at Futurecom. It was a demonstration of native IP communications (VoLTE calls and video calls via RCS with LTE networks) through an experience held by D2 Technologies and NewNet. “The name refers to an extension of the experience the user had with mobile voice calls, which in the past were initiated pressing the green button on the mobile device. But now this actors expands to cover the entire user experience based on different types of IP communications such as messaging, Rich Communication Services, video calls and VoLTE”, said Arenzana.

In turn, Futurecom 2014 was attended by José Antonio Aranda, Technology Director, GSMA Latin America, who participated in a panel on communications Machine-to-Machine (M2M), presenting GSMA’s Connected Living program. The panel included representatives from companies such as Telefonica, TIM and BMW, among others.

The GSMA Pavilion was a great networking epicenter within Futurecom and GSMA’s staff had dozens of bilateral meetings with executives of mobile operators, industry suppliers and other actors of the mobile ecosystem.