The GSMA Mobile 360 Series landed in Latin America for the first time, bringing together industry leaders at a regional and global level to discuss innovation proposals promoted by the GSMA as the result of an evolution within the mobile ecosystem. Among the main issues addressed were: the new opportunities around identity and authentication services (Mobile Connect), mobile money, IP, 4G and M2M communications, digital inclusion, the challenges that new services bring while promoting the “same service, same rules” principle.
With over 350 participants, Mobile 360 Latin America counted with the presence of mobile operators representatives from 26 countries, including several CEOs. The two-day event consisted of meetings and conferences focused on the need to promote investment and to agree on regulatory frameworks to further develop connectivity in Latin America.
Mobile 360 Latin America was inaugurated by Tom Phillips, Chief Regulatory Officer of the GSMA, who suggested that due to the changing nature of services and competition, we must think afresh about telecommunications regulations applying the concept of “same service, same rules”. Phillips highlighted that by 2020 the industry will be investing about 200 billion dollars in the deployment of infrastructure in Latin America only. This figure represents “more than the annual GDP of Ecuador and more than twice the GDP of Panama”. However, he noted that “the predicted investment will only succeed if the playing field is fair to all players and that is a challenge in itself, because the future is uncertain and there’s a lot of change in the industry”.
In turn, Rodrigo Abreu, President & CEO of TIM Brasil, highlighted that “the mobile industry is well positioned to provide the digital inclusion that Latin America needs and to benefit users in their day to day life, but the conditions need to exist to enable this”.
Then the Executive Director of Telefónica Hispanoamerica North, Juan Abellán, emphasized that “regulations should be adapted to reflect the reality of the new digital economy, taking into account that unlike in Europe, in Latin America we are just beginning our dialogue and therefore we have to let the market and the governments know what is happening, so they can learn about the fair rules we are aiming for”.
The presentations were followed by a panel on the same topic, in which José Perdomo, CEO of Tigo Paraguay and Juan Pablo Calvo, CEO of Nuevatel Bolivia participated, together with Abellán. They urged the entire ecosystem to focus on the millions of users that are still without connectivity. In the same panel was Fabio Coelho, President of Google Brazil, who emphasized the role of his company in empowering the generation of apps and services. Coelho indicated that “a democratization of opportunities will generate a more competitive society”.
Another central topic of Mobile 360 Latin America was the development of sustainable business models of 4G LTE technology in the region, with outstanding presentations by Martin Wessel, Head of Technology Evolution at Telecom Argentina; Paul Byrne, Head of 4G Products at Digicel Jamaica and Roberto Guenzburger, Director of Mobile Products at Oi. Executives explained in detail both technical and business sustainability issues required to successfully deploy 4G mobile networks in Latin America.
The high level regional event also featured panels on Digital Identity (with representatives from Gemalto, Terra, Kuack Media and ComScore), mobile financial services (with outstanding panelists such as Gregory Reeve, COO Mobile Financial Services at Millicom and Marcos Etchegoyen, CEO at Zuum) and a final session on the Internet of Things with representatives from Qualcomm, Vodafone Brazil, AT&T and Telefónica Vivo.
Mobile 360 Latin America closed with a full day of sessions of GSMA Latin America’s four Operator Expert Working Groups covering Regulatory (REGU), Billing and Roaming (BARG LA), Technical and Terminals (TECT), and Security and Fraud (SEGF) issues in the region.