Dedicated Summit to feature Speakers Including AT&T, China Mobile, Comcast, Facebook, GSMA, Jasper Wireless, Korea Telecom & Orange

Singapore – January 23, 2014 – The Wireless Broadband Alliance (WBA), the industry association focused on driving the next generation Wi-Fi experience, today announced the final agenda and named the key sponsors of its inaugural Carrier Wi-Fi Summit that will take place in Hall 8.0 on the 24-27th February during Mobile World Congress 2014. The dedicated four-day summit, with industry partners the GSMA and Wi-Fi Alliance® and WiMax Forum, will bring together over 500 key influencers from across the wireless ecosystem to discuss the future of Carrier Wi-Fi. Ruckus Wireless has been named as the Principal Sponsor and Devicescape is the Premier Sponsor for this event. Other sponsors include BT, BSG and iPass as Roamfest Sponsors, Boingo as Networking Reception Sponsor and AT&T, Arqiva, Boingo, Cisco, Korea Telecom and NTT DOCOMO are Conference Sponsors.

Confirmed keynote speakers include:

  • Alex Sinclair – CTO, GSMA
  • Bill Huang – General Manager, China Mobile Research Institute
  • Dr. Reza Jafari – Chairman & CEO, e-Development International US
  • Diego Molano Vega – Colombian Minister of Information Technology and Communications (Previous General Vice-chairman of Telefonica’s Corporate Relations)
  • Kris Rinne – Senior VP, Architecture and Planning, AT&T
  • Dr. Seong-Mok Oh – President of Network Group, Korea Telecom
  • Erick Tseng – Head of Mobile Products, Facebook
  • Alex Jinsung Choi – Executive VP and Head of ICT R&D, SK Telecom
  • Arnaud Vamparys – Senior VP Seamless Wireless Access Strategy, Orange
  • Selina Lo – CEO, Ruckus Wireless
  • Edgar Figueroa – President and CEO, Wi-Fi Alliance
  • Jahangir Mohammed – Founder & CEO, Jasper Wireless
  • Brooke Partridge – President and CEO, Vital Wave Consulting
  • Chris Locke – Director, GSMA Mobile Development
  • Bill Hague – Senior VP for International Alliances and Integration, AT&T
  • Kelly Ahuja – Senior VP Mobility Business Group, Cisco
  • Ash ElDifrawi – Executive VP and CCO, GoGo Inflight
  • David Fraser – CEO, Devicescape
  • Tom Nagel – Senior VP and General Manager for Wireless Services, Comcast
  • Evan Kaplan – CEO, iPass
  • Derek Peterson – Senior VP of Engineering, Boingo Wireless
  • Chris Bruce – WBA Co-Chair and Director, International Sales & Consulting, BT Global Telecom Markets
  • Gordon Mansfield – AVP of Small Cell Solutions for AT&T, Chairman of Small Cell Forum
  • JR Wilson – VP Partnerships and Alliances for AT&T, Chairman of WBA
  • Shrikant Shenwai – CEO, WBA

The Summit will consist of a full four-day program that will include a two-day workshop, a Roamfest, Networking Lounge, Exhibition and Live NGH experience for the attendees. It will provide an essential platform for operators, vendors and policy makers to examine critical success factors for the further development and deployment of this technology. To see the full agenda, visit: https://wballiance.com/carrier-wi-fi-summit/conference-program

“Following significant steps in bringing the user experience of Wi-Fi closer to that of cellular networks, the technology has experienced a surge in support from across the industry. We are delighted to announce the final agenda which will feature a number of major players from the ecosystem such as AT&T, China Mobile, Facebook and the GSMA,” said Shrikant Shenwai, CEO of the WBA. “We would also like to thank the summit sponsors for their support in making this event possible. We hope that it will stimulate the industry to explore the huge potential of this new breed of Wi-Fi that meets expectations of carriers that demand highly reliable, predictable and manageable systems.”

“We’re pleased that the WBA will be hosting its inaugural Carrier Wi-Fi Summit at Mobile World Congress,” said Alex Sinclair, Chief Technology Officer, GSMA. “The proliferation of smartphones and tablets around the world, as well as consumers’ ever-increasing appetite for data means innovative solutions need to be explored to make using the Internet as convenient and as accessible as possible. This event will provide an important forum for players across the mobile communications ecosystem to discuss the opportunities and challenges in bringing this to fruition.”

“Wi-Fi Alliance is pleased to be part of an event that is advancing the future of mobile connectivity across the entire ecosystem,” said Edgar Figueroa, President and CEO of Wi-Fi Alliance. “The Wi-Fi industry is innovating at a rapid pace, and the Carrier Wi-Fi Summit provides a venue for the industry to closely align on our opportunities and technology strategy.”

“The WiMAX Forum will lead a 2-hour workshop on WiMAX Advanced – A roadmap for convergence to TD-LTE to maximize operator assets,” said Rich Hawkins, Sr. Director of Technology for the Forum. “During this workshop we will provide an overview of WiMAX Advanced along with our progress on this initiative. You will also hear from WiMAX Operators and Vendors on how they are supporting and implementing WiMAX Advanced.”

To find out more about how to get involved in the Carrier Wi-Fi Summit or to register as a participant, please visit – https://wballiance.com/carrier-wi-fi-summit

Press Contact:
Stephanie Ross
Temono for Wireless Broadband Alliance
+44 207 089 8896
wba@temono.com

About the Wireless Broadband Alliance
Founded in 2003, the aim of the Wireless Broadband Alliance (WBA) is to secure an outstanding user experience through the global deployment of next generation Wi-Fi. In order to make this a reality, the WBA is currently championing various initiatives in the Wi-Fi ecosystem including Next Generation Hotspot (NGH) trials, Wi-Fi Roaming and its Interoperability Compliance Program (ICP). Today, membership includes major fixed operators such as BT, Comcast and Time Warner Cable; seven of the top 10 mobile operator groups (by revenue) and leading technology companies such as Cisco, Google and Intel. WBA member operators collectively serve more than 1 billion subscribers and operate more than 5 million hotspots globally. The WBA Board includes Arqiva, AT&T, Boingo Wireless, BT, China Mobile, Cisco Systems, Comcast, iPass, KT Corporation, NTT DOCOMO, Orange and Ruckus Wireless.

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About Wi-Fi Alliance®
Wi-Fi Alliance® is a global non-profit industry association of hundreds of leading companies devoted to seamless connectivity. With technology development, market building, and regulatory programs, Wi-Fi Alliance has enabled widespread adoption of Wi-Fi® worldwide. The Wi-Fi CERTIFIED™ program was launched in March 2000. It provides a widely-recognized designation of interoperability and quality, and it helps to ensure that Wi-Fi-enabled products deliver the best user experience. Wi-Fi Alliance has certified more than 15,000 products, encouraging the expanded use of Wi-Fi products and services in new and established markets.

Wi-Fi®, Wi-Fi Alliance®, WMM®, Wi-Fi Protected Access® (WPA), WiGig®, Wi-Fi Direct®, Miracast®, the Wi-Fi CERTIFIED logo, the Wi-Fi logo, the Wi-Fi ZONE logo and the Wi-Fi Protected Setup logo are registered trademarks of Wi-Fi Alliance. Wi-Fi CERTIFIED™, Wi-Fi Protected Setup™, Wi-Fi Multimedia™, WPA2™, Wi-Fi CERTIFIED Passpoint™, Passpoint™, Wi-Fi CERTIFIED Miracast™, Wi-Fi ZONE™, WiGig CERTIFIED™, the Wi-Fi Alliance logo, and the WiGig CERTIFIED logo are trademarks of Wi-Fi Alliance. www.wi-fi.org

About the WiMAX Forum®
The WiMAX Forum® is an industry-led, not-for-profit organization that certifies and promotes the compatibility and interoperability of broadband wireless products based upon IEEE Standard 802.16. The WiMAX Forum’s primary goal is to accelerate the adoption, deployment and expansion of WiMAX technologies across the globe while facilitating roaming agreements, sharing best practices within our membership and certifying products. WiMAX Forum Certified® products are interoperable and support broadband fixed, nomadic, portable and mobile services. The WiMAX Forum works closely with service providers and regulators to ensure that WiMAX Forum Certified systems meet customer and government requirements. For more information, visit www.wimaxforum.org