San Francisco, CA (BUSINESS WIRE). The GSMA reported that more than 21,000 unique visitors from 110 countries and territories attended the 2017 Mobile World Congress Americas, held September 12-14 in San Francisco. The three-day conference and exhibition attracted executives from the industry’s largest and most influential mobile operators, software companies, device makers, equipment providers, internet companies, and government delegations.
Over 55% of Mobile World Congress Americas attendees held senior-level positions, including more than 2,400 CEOs, and 20% of all attendees were female. Over 300 members of the media and industry analysts attended to report on the event.
“We are very pleased with the success of our first Mobile World Congress Americas event,” said John Hoffman, CEO, GSMA Ltd. “The strong level of engagement at the show, particularly among senior-level attendees, underscores the integral role that mobile plays across the entire Americas region. I would like to thank our partner CTIA and also extend our gratitude to all attendees, exhibitors, sponsors, and partners who were a part of the 2017 Mobile World Congress Americas.”
Three-day conference features industry leaders
With 39 hours of content and more than 200 speakers, the Mobile World Congress Americas conference program highlighted themes including networks, platforms, consumer IoT, the Fourth Industrial Revolution, content and media, public policy, and sustainability. Keynote sessions featured CEOs and senior executives from a range of leading organizations, including 6Sense, América Móvil, AT&T, Bharti Enterprises, CTIA, Essential, FCC, Mighty Networks, Mozilla Foundation, Nokia, Pandorabots, PayPal, Qualcomm, San Francisco 49ers, Sprint, Unity, UPS, and Verizon Wireless.
More than 1,000 exhibitors showcasing the latest in mobile
In the exhibition, more than 1,000 companies showcased the latest in mobile technology, including Amdocs, AT&T, Cisco, Ericsson, IBM, Motorola Mobility, Nokia, PayPal, Qualcomm, Samsung Electronics America, Samsung Electronics Networks, Sprint, TATA Communications Transformation Services, TELUS, TracFone Wireless, Verizon Wireless, VMWare, and ZTE, as well as country pavilions from Brazil, Canada, China, Colombia, Greece, India, Pakistan, South Korea, and the United States. Sponsors for Mobile World Congress Americas included Sprint (Platinum Event Sponsor) and American Express and PayPal (Supporting Sponsors)
A highlight of the exhibition was the GSMA Innovation City, where attendees experienced how mobile-connected products and services are improving the daily lives of citizens and businesses around the world, in diverse areas such as home, automotive, health, utilities, and industrial. Participants included AT&T, Google, KT Corp., and MasterCard, as well as GSMA programs including Future Networks, Identity, Internet of Things, and the GSMA’s work supporting the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
4YFN startup event spotlighted today’s innovators
The 4YFN program made its debut in the Americas after successful runs in Mobile World Congress Barcelona and Mobile World Congress Shanghai, enabling startups, investors, corporations, and public institutions to connect and launch new ventures together. Over 140 startups attended the event from countries such as Colombia, Greece, South Korea, Spain, the United Kingdom, and the United States. 4YFN featured a competition between 15 startup finalists, with Mobipromo winning the first 4YFN Americas Awards 2017.
Women4Tech: driving gender diversity in mobile
Women4Tech, a program designed to address the persistent gender gap in the mobile industry, made its Americas debut. The program, which included the Women4Tech Summit, speed coaching and networking events, and initiatives at 4YFN, offered three days of in-depth analysis of the topics shaping gender diversity in the mobile industry. Women4Tech Summit speakers hailed from companies including 500 Startups, Accenture Digital, AngelHack, Anita Borg Institute, AT&T, Condé Nast, Ericsson, GitHub, Google, LinkedIn, Millicom, Nokia, PayPal, Syniverse, Telefónica, Ubisoft, Verizon, Vivoom, and Wayra.
Mobile tech for a better future
The mobile industry’s support for the SDGs was on display across the event. The Better Future Lounge showcased the recently introduced “Case for Change” and demonstrated how mobile technology initiatives are positively impacting lives and communities across the world in areas such as health, education, climate change, digital inclusion, agriculture, and finance.
In support of the SDGs and as part of the company’s broad carbon neutrality initiatives, the GSMA will pursue certification of Mobile World Congress Americas, calculating the event’s total carbon footprint and offsetting any outstanding emissions.
Mobile World Congress Americas 2018
For 2018, Mobile World Congress Americas will move to Los Angeles and will be held September 11-13 at the Los Angeles Convention Center (LACC).
“With its leadership in entertainment and content, along with flourishing creative and innovation communities, Los Angeles offers an outstanding platform for us to further develop Mobile World Congress Americas. This location will put a major focus on the intersection of the mobile, digital, entertainment, and content worlds and will provide new opportunities for our exhibitors, sponsors, partners and attendees,” concluded Hoffman.