Will Launch Dedicated Carrier Wi-Fi Summit Focusing on the Future of the Technology with the Support of GSMA & Wi-Fi Alliance®, and speakers including CEO of China Mobile and key executives from AT&T, Cisco, KT & Qualcomm

Singapore – November 12th, 2013 – The Wireless Broadband Alliance (WBA), the industry association focused on driving the next generation Wi-Fi experience, today announced the launch of its inaugural Carrier Wi-Fi Summit to take place on the 24-27th February during the GSMA Mobile World Congress 2014. The dedicated 4-day summit, with support from the GSMA and Wi-Fi Alliance®, will bring together over 500 key influencers from across the wireless ecosystem to discuss the future of Carrier Wi-Fi and to review strategies that are being developed within the Wi-Fi industry.

The Carrier Wi-Fi Summit will provide the perfect environment for participants to gain an understanding of the technology and how the industry can best benefit from it. It will consist of a full 4-day program that will include a 2-day workshop, a 4-day Roamfest, and the successful WBA Wi-Fi Zone making a return appearance in Hall 1.

Several elements of a carrier grade Wi-Fi ecosystem are in place today, such as the WBA Next Generation Hotspot (NGH) and Wi-Fi CERTIFIED Passpoint™. This event 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.

Confirmed keynote speakers include:

  • Alex Sinclair – Chief Technology Officer, GSMA
  • Kris Rinne – Senior Vice President, Architecture and Planning, AT&T
  • Seong-Mok Oh – President of Network Group, KT
  • Tiger Lin – CEO, China Mobile International
  • Kelly Ahuja – Senior VP Mobility Business, Cisco
  • Clint McClellan – Senior Director of Strategic Marketing, Qualcomm Life & Chairman Continua Health Alliance

“Following significant steps in bringing the experience of Wi-Fi and cellular networks closer together, Wi-Fi has experienced a surge in support from across the industry. We are delighted to announce the launch of our first Carrier Wi-Fi Summit at MWC 2014 which will feature a number of major players from the ecosystem such as China Mobile, Cisco, AT&T and the GSMA,” said Shrikant Shenwai, CEO of the WBA. “We hope that this will stimulate the industry to explore the huge potential of this new breed of Wi-Fi that will meet the expectations of carriers that are used to 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.”

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/