GSMA Mobile World Congress Americas to Launch in San Francisco in September next year

Barcelona doesn’t need to worry. The GSMA will keep its flagship event, the original Mobile World Congress (MWC), in the Catalan capital at least until 2023, since it committed to that when it renewed the contract last year.

A new edition of the MWC for the Americas will open next year in San Francisco. The GSMA has teamed up with the US wireless trade group CTIA, organizer of the popular Super Mobility show in Las Vegas which takes place in September.

Super Mobility 2016 will be held as scheduled this year, before it evolves into the new joint event — Mobile World Congress Americas — with GSMA in 2017 and beyond.

[Read Barcelona wins five more years of MWC despite new mayor wobble]

GSMA director general Mats Granryd drew on the organisation’s long relationship with CTIA, and said the organisation was “pleased to have this opportunity to broaden our partnership to deliver this new event”.

“The combination of GSMA’s world class event organisation and management capabilities and CTIA’s excellent member relations and US public policy and regulatory expertise position us to build an even stronger event for the Americas region in Mobile World Congress Americas,” he said.

The GSMA will lead production and management of the show, which will debut September 12–14, 2017 in San Francisco. The global wireless organization expects to attract 30,000 attendees and over 1,000 exhibitors.

In their announcement of the new show the GSMA stated that MWC Americas “will emphasise core mobile technologies, consumer and industrial applications in the Internet of Things and the intersection of mobile with entertainment, content and media.”

With this new global conference the GSMA wants to increase its reach. Mobile World Congress Americas, which includes a conference program and an exhibition showcasing the latest mobile technology, will attract many delegates and exhibitors from Latin America, an important region for the wireless industry.

[Read MWC Shows Industry’s Commitment to 5G]

Having a Mobile World Congress in September will provide an opportunity to see the advancement of technologies such as the Internet of Things and the new 5G networks as they unfold every six months.

“The mobile industry will be the big winner as CTIA and GSMA work together to produce the premier mobile event in the Americas,” said Glenn Lurie, Chairman of the Board of CTIA and President and CEO of AT&T Mobility and Consumer Operations. “We expect it to be a showcase for new technology as well as an ideal place to do business.”

Mobile World Congress Coming to America in 2017