In 2016, the GSMA Mobile 360 Series took the conversation to key markets across the globe while facilitating engagement and networking among attendees. This year, the GSMA added two new events to the Mobile 360 Series – one dedicated to issues surrounding Privacy & Security and the other in India, bringing it to a total of seven events worldwide. As we close the Series for this year, we look back at the highlights from our most recent events in the Middle East, India and North America.
Mobile 360 – Middle East
Mobile 360 Series – Middle East was held in Dubai on 17-18 October and examined how the positive investment in operator networks is helping to connect the unconnected and create a platform for the delivery of innovative services across the region.
“Smart” was the buzzword during the event and Smart Dubai captured many of the headlines, with H.E. Dr. Aisha Bin Bishr, DG, Smart Dubai outlining their vision of not only a connected and smart city, but a happy one as well. The opening keynote featured C-level executives from Du, Etisalat and Saudi Telecom Group among others, discussing the state of the industry in the Middle East, and highlighted the need for operators to become partners with new verticals and services, creating greater synergies and more services for their subscribers.
Cities, devices and services are becoming smarter, whilst customers are becoming more demanding. Discussions at Mobile 360 – Middle East emphasised that to meet these increased expectations, operators and the wider industry will need to partner together to drive innovation and adoption. For full coverage of the event and special reports, visit Mobile World Live.
Mobile 360 – India
India is one of the world’s fastest-growing mobile markets and an estimated 94 per cent of the country’s population now has access to mobile. With the country undergoing a massive digital transformation, it seemed fitting to bring the ecosystem together to discuss how to realise the Digital India vision in a way that is beneficial for citizens, government and businesses. The event was a phenomenal success, bringing together 500 attendees to connect and network with the brightest industry leaders in the region.
Mobile 360 Series – India highlighted that digital literacy and local content are key issues facing the country in terms of adoption and the Government plans to offer all e-services in the 22 recognised languages within 18 months which will be a huge step forward for the rural population.
Spectrum was widely discussed at the event, with Bharti Enterprises Founder and Chairman Sunil Bharti Mittal commenting that, “Spectrum sharing, spectrum trading and a large amount of spectrum was finally put up for auction, taking India from being a very spectrum constrained industry to being a spectrum surplus environment.” Read special coverage of the first Mobile 360 India event here.
GSMA Mobility Live! North America
Formerly Mobile 360 – North America and Mobility LIVE!, these two events merged as one in 2016 to create GSMA Mobility Live! This new event partnership between the GSMA and the Metro Atlanta Chamber attracted 1,000+ attendees across two days with over 50% senior level participation.
The conference sessions focused on innovation, rich content and the outlook towards the future with keynotes from leaders at AT&T, Samsung, FCC and more. Mobile and video were highlighted as the key to the future, with video driving the entire ecosystem. Glenn Lurie of AT&T opened up about the drivers behind his company’s $85 billion proposed acquisition of Time Warner. He added that, “being a single-play player in the future anywhere in the world is not a way to go.”
FCC Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel spoke about the importance of spectrum and the best use cases for the Internet of Things. She added that ‘Making streets safer, cutting commuter times and making health care personal’ should be the focus of IoT use cases.
Packed with dynamic speakers and thought-provoking discussions, the conference included sessions on AR, Connected Cars, enhancing the consumer and fan experience, and more. For the full coverage, check out Mobile World Live’s exclusive coverage of the event here.
The GSMA Mobile 360 Series this year saw over 4,000 executives, mobile influencers and enterprise leaders in attendance across the seven events with nearly 60% being senior level attendees. The GSMA will be announcing the dates and locations for next year’s Mobile 360 Series events soon with the first being the Mobile 360 – Privacy & Security event scheduled for May 2017. For the latest news about the Mobile 360 Series, subscribe here. You can follow the conversation on social media by following us on @GSMA on Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn.