Mobile World Congress Set to Hit New Attendance Records in Tenth Year in Barcelona

BARCELONA - Thursday, February 12th 2015 [ME NewsWire]

Mobile World Congress 2015

(BUSINESS WIRE) - The GSMA today announced the Mobile World Live Keynote sessions for Mobile World Congress 2015. Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Facebook, will participate in a keynote alongside leaders from Airtel Africa, Millicom and Telenor Group on the evening of Monday, 2 March, while United States Federal Communications Commission Chairman Tom Wheeler will take the stage on the evening of Tuesday, 3 March. In addition to the Mobile World Live keynotes, the GSMA also provided further updates on the conference, as well as programmes and events taking place at Mobile World Congress, which will be held 2-5 March at Fira Gran Via in Barcelona.

“The conference will be one of the most exciting yet with more than 250 speakers over four days, including leaders of mobile operators, infrastructure providers, device makers and internet companies, as well as players from adjacent industry sectors,” said Michael O’Hara, Chief Marketing Officer, GSMA. “This year, attendees have even greater options for exploring the latest mobile technologies and services, for education and learning, and for meeting and interacting with industry colleagues from around the globe.”

Facebook and FCC to Headline in Mobile World Live Keynotes

In the Mobile World Live Keynote taking place on Monday, 2 March from 18:00 to 18:45, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg will be interviewed by Wired Magazine’s Jessi Hempel and will then be joined by Christian De Faria, CEO of Airtel Africa, Mario Zanotti, Senior Vice President of Operations at Millicom and Jon Fredrik Baksaas, President and CEO of Telenor Group to discuss efforts to extend connectivity to more people around the world. On Tuesday, 3 March from 18:00 to 18:45, Tom Wheeler, Chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, will join GSMA Director General Anne Bouverot in a fireside chat to discuss the impact of recent telecommunications regulation in the United States.

The GSMA also announced that Sundar Pichai, Senior Vice President, Android, Chrome & Apps at Google, will be presenting in a special Mobile World Live Extra session, taking place on Monday, 2 March from 13:15 to 14:00. In addition to the live audience in the Conference Village at Fira Gran Via, the Mobile World Live Keynotes and Mobile World Live Extra session will be streamed live across the venue and to hundreds of thousands of viewers globally via the Mobile World Live portal.

Over four days, more than 250 senior business leaders and industry experts will participate in a range of keynotes and focused track sessions in the Mobile World Congress conference, including executives such as:

    John Donovan, Senior EVP, AT&T Architecture, Technology, Operations, AT&T
    Kevin Petersen, President, AT&T Digital Life, AT&T
    Joerg Tewes, CEO, Avegant
    Olaf Swantee, CEO, EE
    will.i.am, Global Music Artist, Entrepreneur and Founder and Chairman of i.am+
    Francois Rancy, Director, Radiocommunications Bureau, ITU
    Eric Migicovsky, CEO and Founder, Pebble
    Evan Sharp, Co-Founder and Head of Creative, Pinterest
    David Hose, CEO, Rhapsody
    Karim Khoja, CEO, Roshan
    Karim Michel Sabbagh, President and CEO, SES
    Rich Riley, CEO, Shazam
    Mats Granryd, President and CEO, Tele2 Group
    Bob Bakish, President and CEO, Viacom International Media
    Philipp Humm, CEO Europe, Vodafone

For more information, visit www.mobileworldcongress.com/learn/conference/conference-overview/.

Partner Programmes at Mobile World Congress

Mobile World Congress will showcase the intersection of mobile and eSports with the addition of a live professional video game competition by ESL, one of the world’s largest eSports companies. ESL’s live competitions draw thousands of fans to stadiums around the world and Mobile World Congress attendees will now have the opportunity to get involved. ESL will host a one-day competition on Wednesday, 4 March in the Theatre District, Hall 8 at Fira Gran Via and will broadcast it live over Twitch, allowing eSports fans around the world to join in.

The GSMA also announced two additional partner events taking place in the Theatre District at Mobile World Congress. Visa will hold a partner event on the afternoon of Wednesday, 4 March, while Axiata, Tone and WSO2 will host the “Mobile Access = Engagement = Revenues” partner event on Thursday, 5 March. For information on these new partner events, as well as the full range of partner programmes at Mobile World Congress, visit www.mobileworldcongress.com/learn/partner-programmes/.

4 Years From Now (4YFN), an event of Mobile World Capital and the GSMA, will bring together startups and entrepreneurs for inspiring talks and interactive workshops, alongside a cutting-edge exhibition and unique networking opportunities. 4YFN has confirmed several additional speakers for its three-day programme including Jimmy Maymann, CEO, The Huffington Post; Tzahi ‘Zack’ Weisfeld, General Manager, Microsoft Ventures; Maelle Gavet, CEO, Ozon Holdings; and Hosi Simon, Global General Manager, VICE. For more information, visit www.mobileworldcongress.com/4yfn/.

New Act Announced for The MMIX Party

The GSMA announced a new addition to The MMIX Party line-up for Mobile World Congress. International DJ and dance star Roger Sanchez will join previously announced headline artist Rudimental DJ at the official Mobile World Congress party, which will kick off at 20:30 on Tuesday 3 March. The number of tickets available is limited; to apply for tickets to The MMIX Party, please visit www.themmix.com.

Get Involved at Mobile World Congress 2015

Follow developments and updates on Mobile World Congress on Twitter @GSMA using #MWC15, on our LinkedIn company page http://gsma.at/GSMALinkedIn or on Facebook at www.facebook.com/gsma.

The Mobile World Congress is the cornerstone of the Mobile World Capital, which will be hosted in Barcelona from 2013 to 2018. The Mobile World Capital encompasses programmes and activities that span the entire year and will benefit not only the citizens of Barcelona, Catalonia and Spain, but also the worldwide mobile industry. For more information on the Mobile World Capital, visit www.mobileworldcapital.com.

-ENDS-

About the GSMA

The GSMA represents the interests of mobile operators worldwide, uniting nearly 800 operators with more than 250 companies in the broader mobile ecosystem, including handset and device makers, software companies, equipment providers and Internet companies, as well as organisations in adjacent industry sectors. The GSMA also produces industry-leading events such as Mobile World Congress, Mobile World Congress Shanghai and the Mobile 360 Series conferences.

For more information, please visit the GSMA corporate website at www.gsma.com. Follow the GSMA on Twitter: @GSMA.     

Contacts

Media:

For the GSMA

Charlie Meredith-Hardy

+44 7917 298428

CMeredith-Hardy@webershandwick.com

or

Núria Picas

+34 93 236 09 00

NPicas@webershandwick.com

or

GSMA Press Office

press@gsma.com

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