This year, the WBA has secured a great spot in Hall 8.1 for its very first dedicated Wi-Fi Zone and WBA Lounge. We have some excellent presentations from our members in the pipeline so if you haven’t quite filled your MWC calendar yet, be sure to come along and pay us a visit. The Zone will be a meeting place for industry leaders from all parts of the ecosystem to discuss current hot topics including Next Generation Hotpot, seamless Wi-Fi roaming and data offload for operators. A summary of the agenda featuring a number of presentations from operators, vendors and partners, is as follows:
Monday 25 – The Wi-Fi Zone will kick off with a seminar focusing on the work the WBA is doing to overcome Wi-Fi Offload challenges, detailing the benefits and challenges. As part of this session, the WBA’s Cedric Gonin from Orange and John Smith from Cisco will present individual case studies. Opening up proceedings in the afternoon will be a ‘Meet-the-Analysts’ style panel where you will have the opportunity to quiz leading industry experts on their views, opinions and forecasts on all things Wi-Fi. The analysts involved are Ken Rehbehn (Yankee Group), Peter Jarich (Current Analysis) and Thomas Wehmeier (Informa Telecoms & Media). Also in the afternoon, there will be a Wi-Fi Roaming seminar focusing on the development of Wi-Fi roaming services including details on the Interoperability Compliancy Program (ICP) and its benefits. During this session, WBA Co-Chair Chris Bruce from BT will present a Wi-Fi Roaming case study. To round off the day, there will be a seminar on the Next Generation Hotspot (NGH) Program, detailing how it is setting the scene for a secure, seamless and interoperable NGH experience leading to a Carrier Grade Wi-Fi ecosystem.
Tuesday 26 – will open again with the Wi-Fi Offload seminar where a number of leading operators and vendors will present case studies of Wi-Fi Offload strategies deployed all around the world. In the afternoon, attend the ‘Meet-the-Partners’ session to understand how the WBA is working with key industry bodies such as the GSMA and the Small Cell Forum. As part of this session, Caroline Gabriel from Maravedis Rethink will discuss her views on integrating carrier Wi-Fi into the HetNet focusing on integrated base stations, small cells and shared core issues. The afternoon will again feature the Wi-Fi Roaming Seminar where when Cedric Gonin from Orange will be presenting. This will be followed by the NGH and Carrier Wi-Fi session.
Wednesday 27 – Today’s Wi-Fi Offload seminar will feature a case study presentation from Hui Deng from China Mobile followed by John Smith from Cisco. They will both also present case studies during the NGH and Carrier Wi-Fi session later on in the day. As part of this session, Joe Madden from Mobile Experts will deliver his new Carrier Wi-Fi forecast that will give a comprehensive view of how Carrier Wi-Fi will function alongside Small Cells and Macrocells.
For more details on the Wi-Fi Zone and WBA Lounge, including the presentation agenda, please visit: https://wballiance.com/events/mwc-2013
