GSMA Also Announces Call for Entries for the 4th Annual Asia Mobile Awards

The GSMA today announced that the CEOs of some of the world’s largest and most influential mobile operators, including Bharti Airtel, China Mobile, China Unicom, CSL, NTT DOCOMO, SoftBank Mobile, Telenor and Zain will deliver keynotes at the 2009 Mobile Asia Congress to be held 18-19 November 2009 at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre. The GSMA also announced that it is now accepting nominations for the 2009 Asia Mobile Awards, which will be presented at the Mobile Asia Congress.

“The Mobile Asia Congress will bring together the leadership of mobile operators and key players in the broader Asian mobile ecosystem in an exclusive forum for sharing the visions and strategies that will shape the mobile future,” said Michael O’Hara, chief marketing officer for the GSMA. “We’re delighted that these executives are able to participate in our conference programme – all Mobile Asia Congress attendees will benefit from the perspectives and keen insights that our keynote speakers will offer.”

Keynote speakers confirmed for Mobile Asia Congress to date include:

• Manoj Kohli, President and CEO, Bharti Airtel
• Wang Jianzhou, Chairman and CEO, China Mobile
• Chang Xiaobing, Chairman and CEO, China Unicom
• Tarek Robbiati, CEO, CSL Limited
• Ryuji Yamada, President and CEO, NTT DOCOMO
• Masayoshi Son, Chairman and CEO, SoftBank Mobile
• Jon Fredrik Baksaas, President and CEO, Telenor Group
• Dr. Saad Al Barrak, CEO, Zain Group

Over a two-day period, approximately 1,000 senior mobile industry executives from across the world will attend this exclusive leadership event, which will explore high-growth industry areas, emerging topics and a mainstay of strategic and technological issues, with an emphasis on developments in the Asian market. In addition to a product showcase featuring key mobile technologies and solutions, the 6th annual Mobile Asia Congress will afford attendees important networking and business development opportunities. For more information on Mobile Asia Congress, please visithttp://www.mobileasiacongress.com/.

Asia Mobile Awards Honour Excellence and Innovation
The Asia Mobile Awards are designed to highlight and reward the latest change-driving products, services and initiatives from across the Asia mobile ecosystem.
Awards will be presented in the following categories:

• Best Mobile Game
• Best Mobile Music Service
• Best Mobile TV or Video Service
• Best Mobile Advertising or Marketing
• Best Mobile Enterprise Application, Product or Service
• Best Mobile Internet Service
• Best Mobile Money Service
• Mobile Money for the Unbanked
• Best Mobile Broadband Handset or Device
• Green Mobile

The Asia Mobile Awards are judged by an independent panel comprising leading journalists, analysts and academics from across the region. They are open to organisations from across the industry value chain that provide mobile products and services that are commercially available today in at least one Asian market. Among the winners in 2008 were Bharti Airtel, Gameloft, KT, Nokia, SK Telecom, Telstra and Total Access Communications.

The deadline for submitting nominations for the 2009 Asia Mobile Awards is Tuesday 15th September 2009. Winners will be recognised at an awards ceremony on Wednesday 18th November at the Mobile Asia Congress. Additionally, and for the first time, winners of the Asia Mobile Awards will be automatically shortlisted for the GSMA’s prestigious Global Mobile Awards, which will be presented at the world’s leading mobile industry event, the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, in February 2010. Full category information and online entry forms can be found at: www.asiamobileawards.com

Mobile Innovation Grand Prix
The Asia Tournament of the GSMA’s 2010 Mobile Innovation Grand Prix competition – a category of the GSMA’s Global Mobile Awards 2010 – will also take place at the Mobile Asia Congress in Hong Kong in November. The Mobile Innovation ‘Grand Prix’ was created with the primary goal of showcasing promising entrepreneurs from small and medium-sized companies who are introducing innovative products and services. During the Asia event, companies from the region will compete in various categories reviewed by a judging panel comprised of senior executives from mobile operators and venture capital firms. Two overall winners from the Asia leg will win a trip to compete for the Mobile Innovation Grand Prix title at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona.

About the GSMA
The GSMA represents the interests of the worldwide mobile communications industry. Spanning 219 countries and territories, the GSMA unites nearly 800 of the world’s mobile operators, as well as more than 200 companies in the broader mobile ecosystem, including handset makers, software companies, equipment providers, Internet companies, and media and entertainment organisations. The GSMA is focused on innovating, incubating and creating new opportunities for its membership, all with the end goal of driving the growth of the mobile communications industry. For more information, please visithttp://www.gsmworld.com

Press contacts:

GSMA
Dorothy Fung: +852 9184 6713
Daniel Lowther: +44 7747 636 687
Richard Fogg: +44 7887 845 236
[email protected]

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