The GSMA’s Mobile Asia Congress drew more than 7,500 visitors to Macau last week, making it Asia’s largest annual mobile communications event, said the GSM Association today. With more than 200 journalists covering the event, the Congress sparked media headlines throughout the world.
Keynotes from the cream of the mobile industry’s leadership included: Wang Jianzhou, Chairman and CEO of China Mobile, Masao Nakamura, President and CEO of NTT DoCoMo Inc., Masayoshi Son, CEO of Softbank, Sol Trujillo, CEO of Telstra, Naguib Sawiris, Chairman & CEO of Orascom Telecom, Zouhair Khaliq, President & CEO of Mobilink, Arve Johansen, Deputy CEO of Telenor, Sigve Brekke, CEO of DTAC, Karim Khoja, CEO of Roshan, Dr. Yeon-Hak Kim, Chief Strategy Officer, KTF and Carl-Henric Svanberg, CEO of Ericsson in addition to senior executives from the media and entertainment industries such as Edgar Bronfman Jr., CEO of Warner Music Group.
“In its first year in Macau, the Mobile Asia Congress has hosted speeches and discussions that have ramifications for the entire global mobile industry,” said Craig Ehrlich, Chairman of the GSMA. “Like its sister event in Barcelona, the Mobile Asia Congress has become an agenda-setting forum for both the mobile ecosystem and related industries, such as computing, entertainment and financial services.”
The opening keynote session saw Wang Jianzhou, Masao Nakamura and Manoj Kohli of India’s Bharti-Airtel agree that the overriding message for the broader industry is that it needs to ‘innovate’. Mr. Jianzhou also highlighted the importance of the ongoing development and delivery of new content designed specifically for the mobile phone.
“We are delighted that the first Mobile Asia Congress has been such a resounding success,” said Rob Conway, CEO of the GSMA. “We have received overwhelming support for the move to Macau, reflected in the calibre and quality of senior decision makers present. As a result the Congress has quickly become the region’s key mobile industry attraction, with the right formula and level of visitors to make it the place for industry executives to meet, discuss key trends and initiate business deals.”
The exhibition included showcase stands from some of the biggest operators and vendors in the industry, including China Mobile, China Unicom, KTF, Orange, Ericsson, Huawei, NEC, LG and ZTE.
The Mobile Asia Congress will again be held in Macau from November 17-20, 2008.
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About the GSMA:
The GSMA (The GSM Association) is the global trade association representing more than 700 GSM mobile phone operators across 218 countries and territories of the world. In addition, more than 200 manufacturers and suppliers support the Association’s initiatives as key partners.
For further information contact:
Mark Smith / David Pringle
GSM Association
Email: [email protected]