The GSMA’s Regional Interest Groups provide forums in which the mobile industry can discuss and address issues that are specific to particular regions or the regional angle on global issues. The GSMA has Regional Interest Groups in Europe, Latin America, Asia, the Arab World, Africa and North America.
GSMA Europe
Headquartered in Brussels, Belgium, GSMA Europe represents and leads mobile network operators in Europe, Russia and Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS). In this region more than 200 mobile network operators provide connections to 697 million unique subscribers. We use our combined expertise to give the mobile communication industry a single and powerful voice.
Among other activities, GSMA Europe office coordinates the efforts of the GSMA and its members to effectively inform on policy and regulatory developments in Europe that impact the mobile industry.
Central to this task are the Operator Expert Groups, which are composed of public policy and technical experts from our member companies. They are responsible for monitoring relevant policy and legislative developments, identifying priorities for the mobile industry, and developing and communicating consensus positions on these priorities.
The Policy Group Europe plays a key role in GSMA’s governance structure as the bridge between the Operator Expert Groups and the Public Policy Committee of the GSMA Board. It consists of the senior public policy representatives of our main member companies in Europe.
GSMA Latin America
In Latin America, the GSMA member companies serve over 630 million connections, accounting for 95% of the total mobile region´s connections. The GSMA Latin American team is based in Santiago, Chile; Buenos Aires, Argentina; and Brasilia, Brazil.
GSMA Latin America (GSMA LA) has four Operator Expert Working Groups covering Billing and Roaming (BARG), Regulatory (REGU), Technical and Terminals (TECT), and Security and Fraud (SEGF) issues in the region. GSMA LA hosts two key plenaries a year, featuring working group sessions plus workshops and seminars on other key GSMA initiatives.
The Chief Regulatory Officers Group for Latin America (CROG Latin America) guides the GSMA’s public policy activities in the region and inputs the interests of the Latin American operators into the agendas of the GSMA Board, the Public Policy Committee (PPC) and the Global Chief Regulatory Officers Group (CROG). It consists of senior public policy representatives from 14 of the largest operator groups in Latin America and the Caribbean.
GSMA North America
The North America Regional Interest Group (RIG) is made up of experts from across the region’s mobile industry and its ecosystem. GSMA North America Regional Interest Group holds meetings 3x/year and serves as a forum for members to meet and resolve regional issues related to the successful establishment and operation of the GSM family of wireless technologies. We evaluate technical problems and solutions related to interoperability and disseminate feedback within GSMA policy makers, industry bodies, and standards organizations.
Specifically, the seven working groups include: GSMA NA Wholesale Agreement and Solutions Group/Interoperability Data Specifications and Settlement Group (WAS/IDS), GSMA NA Networks Group (NG), GSMA NA RCS Task Force, GSMA NA Women4Tech, GSMA NA Fraud and Security, GSMA NA Terminals, GSMA NA Smart Cards.
GSMA Asia Pacific & Greater China
GSMA Asia Pacific and Greater China consists of several regional working groups aligned with the global GSMA working groups. GSMA Asia also runs several successful conferences and events covering roaming and regulatory issues.
GSMA Sub-Saharan Africa
Focused on regulatory, environmental, and roaming issues, GSMA Africa’s secretariat oversees research on taxation, spectrum and other issues of particular relevance to the African mobile industry.
GSMA Middle East & North Africa
Representing more than 20 operators in the Arab region, GSMA Middle East and North Africa (MENA) promotes and facilitates the development of GSM-based services, seeks to enhance investments in network infrastructure and aims to drives innovation, growth and expand consumer choice. GSMA MENA runs a website designed to help consumers compare roaming tariffs in the region.