With 2016 now in full swing , it provides a great opportunity for us to reflect on 2015, and what was another fantastic year for the Wireless Broadband Alliance (WBA) and its members. 2015 saw the WBA continue to grow in both size and stature, with over 40 new members bringing the total membership to 135, consolidating the Alliance’s position as the world’s foremost authority on Next Generation Wi-Fi and its use by operators, service providers, cities and venues to create a more seamlessly connected world.
Our member operators now collectively serve more than 2 billion subscribers and manage over 25 million Wi-Fi hotspots in markets around the world. The WBA is trying to position itself with Wi-Fi and unlicensed technology, which goes beyond just Wi-Fi but uses it as a solid foundation.
Vision 2020
2015 marked the successful launch of our Vision 2020, detailing how widespread carrier-grade Wi-Fi and unlicensed wireless will drive greater convergence and innovation. This ground-breaking initiative will further solidify the ways in which the WBA is held in high regard by the ecosystem
The plan lays out the framework for a more interconnected future built upon accelerating development of relevant technologies. It is aimed to keep pace with the rapidly changing landscape of the ecosystem, while diversifying and increasing investment to maintain the push toward wireless ubiquity. Vision 2020 demonstrates the WBA’s clear commitment to:
- Accelerate Next Gen Wi-Fi adoption within carrier and the wider public Wi-Fi ecosystem
- Diversify around the role of Wi-Fi and other unlicensed wireless services within new market opportunities such as IoT, Big Data, Converged Services, Smart Cities, 5G, etc.
- Increase the organizational significance and capacity of WBA to drive our strategic vision.
Wi-Fi and unlicensed wireless has now become a significant aspect of the telecommunications field. Wi-Fi is poised to play an important role in the development of 5G on-going convergence developments between licensed and unlicensed wireless, as well as between different unlicensed wireless technologies which will have a significant impact on the future of wireless communications. The key activities of the WBA will address the ever-changing market requirements and opportunities through the following 5 programmes and objectives:
- Next Generation Wi-Fi Program – Accelerate and expand adoption of Next Generation Wi-Fi via our existing Next Generation Hotspot (NGH)& Carrier Wi-Fi developments, Interoperability Compliance and Roaming projects, but also including advances in Wi-Fi Calling, LBS IoT & Big Data
- Unlicensed Meets Licensed Program – Champion discussions on the convergence and co-existence of Licensed and Unlicensed Wireless technologies (5G), and lead the development of guidelines on Converged Services
- Wireless Innovation Program – Drive innovation and diversification in Wi-Fi and unlicensed ecosystem through the WBA Accelerator programme.
- Public Advocacy Program – Advocate WBA’s members agendas globally & influence spectrum, security, privacy& regulatory policies and enlarge engagement with wireless eco-system partners through the establishment of the WBA Vision Forum
- Connected City Program – Drive engagement and developments of Public Wi-Fi with Connected and Smart Cities, Regions etc. through best practices, creation of public-private ecosystems and collaboration mechanisms for resource contribution. The main focal point of the programme is the newly-formed Connected City Advisory Board (CCAB). CCAB is building on engagement and thought-leadership. We launched candid dialogues and roundtable discussions with city CIOs and officials from cities such as New York, San Francisco, Barcelona, San Jose, Dublin, Delhi, Mexico City, Calgary and Singapore, and from Governments such as Delhi and the Philippines, at our inaugural meeting in San Jose this past October.
Wireless Global Congress
2015 saw the WBA’s events continue to grow, with over 1,300 attendees and top-level speakers joining us from around the world at our events in London and San Jose. With each of our Wireless Global Congress events (previously known as the Wi-Fi Global Congress), our attendance and influence continues to rise – to the benefit of the industry. This year’s conference program again focused on a number of timely and important themes, an approach summed up in a strong set of keynote presentations. These included: The Wi-Fi Ecosystem 2020; What’s Next for the Connected City?; Unlicensed and Roadmap to 5G; Vision 2020 for the WBA; and Connecting the Unconnected.
This begs the question – why have we changed the event to Wireless Global Congress? It’s simple: the WBA’s Vision 2020 initiative has widened the scope of our programs and endeavours, and our Congress event will be illustrative of this continued growth.
For the first time ever at a Wi-Fi event, the Wi-Fi Global Congress hosted two dedicated conference sessions to allow start-up and scale-up companies to pitch their business ideas and propositions. The WBA Accelerator provided an opportunity for start-up companies to pitch to a panel of highly respected judges and an audience of investors and ecosystem partners.
During the Congress, WBA published its annual industry report, From 2016 to 5G, in cooperation with Maravedis-Rethink, a thought leader in emerging wireless technologies.
In addition, the WBA Vision Forum united a unique global gathering of thought leaders from major wireless and broadband operators, technology innovators, government and cities, high-density venues and IoT players. Initially a part of our Congress events in London and San Jose, the Vision Forum has become a truly regional standalone event after taking place in New Delhi in August 2015. Attendees took part in a thought-provoking and candid dialogue on the opportunities and challenges ahead in three areas, which were summarized under the following headings: Connected Cities, Powering the Vision for Smart Cities; Unlicensed Meets Licensed, Opportunities & Challenges Ahead; and Innovation Imperative in the World of Connected Everything.
Next Generation Hotspot(NGH)
NGH Live took centre stage at several events around the world in 2015. From Mobile World Congress in Barcelona to our own Congress events in London and San Jose, WBA lined up operators, technology players and device manufactures around the world to demonstrate the full range of cutting edge Wi-Fi services and roaming with seamless and secure access of Passpoint capabilities. Location based services and Wi-Fi calling demos over the WBA Next Gen Wi-Fi network with key operators showcased the benefits of a citywide integrated carrier Wi-Fi network, and for the first time, attendees were given the opportunity to access the network not just in the event venue, but in the city’s surrounding areas, including the airport!
2016 and Beyond
As the WBA looks ahead to 2020, we cannot lose sight of the present, and with 2016 now upon us, the organization has many initiatives already underway. In fact, in January, we returned to New Delhi for our second Vision Forum in India, and once again the event was nothing short of a rousing success, receiving unprecedented coverage by the Indian media and welcoming representatives from some of the top companies in the ecosystem.
In addition to Vision 2020, the Connected City Advisory Board, and our Wireless Global Congress events, here’s a glimpse of what you can expect from us in 2016:
- World Wi-Fi Day: Monday, 20 June will see the launch of the inaugural World Wi-Fi Day: a global platform to recognize and celebrate the significant role Wi-Fi is playing in getting cities and communities around the world connected. It will champion exciting and innovative solutions to help bridge the digital divide, with Connected City initiatives and new service launches at its core.
- Mobile World Congress: The WBA will be in attendance at MWC in Barcelona, taking place on 22-25 February. Our CEO, Shrikant Shenwai, will be taking part in a panel discussion and sharing his thoughts on the sustainability of Smart Cities.
Have a voice in the future of Wireless Broadband – JOIN US
As an organisation, we would like to take this opportunity to extend our warmest thanks to our members, partners, and all who have supported and participated in WBA activities, projects and events throughout 2015. We are excited to share a new year of innovation and hard work with you in 2016. We look forward to seeing you all at the next WBA event!
If you want to join the Alliance and start to engage with the converged wireless broadband ecosystem, send an e-mail to our Membership services and join WBA now: membership@wballiance.com
For more information on the WBA and all of our activities, please visit: https://wballiance.com
