GSMA and CTIA to be equal partners in 2017 Mobile World Congress Americas event, which is to replace CTIA Super Mobility on the trade show calendar
Wireless industry trade association CTIA is set to tie its annual trade show to fellow trade association GSMA beginning in 2017.
The two associations said the event, which is scheduled for Sept. 12-14, 2017, in San Francisco, will run under the “GSMA Mobile World Congress Americas, in partnership with CTIA” banner. Both organizations said they will be equal partners in the event, though GSMA is set to lead the event’s production and management.
The move looks to solidify CTIA’s annual trade show with backing from GSMA, which runs the annual Mobile World Congress event. In addition, GSMA looks to gain a stronger foothold in the North American telecom market.
“The GSMA has worked with CTIA as the U.S. wireless trade association for several years, with many members in common, and we are pleased to have this opportunity to broaden our partnership to deliver this new event,” said GSMA director general Mats Granryd, in a statement. “The combination of the GSMA’s world-class event organization and management capabilities and CTIA’s excellent member relations and U.S. public policy and regulatory expertise position us to build an even stronger event for the Americas region in Mobile World Congress Americas.”
While still more than 1 year away, the combined event is said to include a conference program featuring “C-level speakers and leading industry experts; an exhibition showing the latest mobile technologies, products and services; a regulatory and public policy program; partner events; free seminars and many other activities.” GSMA and CTIA said they expect the event to attract 30,000 attendees and 1,000 exhibitors.
CTIA is set to host its Super Mobility event in Las Vegas Sept. 7-9, with the new joint venture to replace the event next year. The GSMA will host its Mobility Live event in Atlanta later this year.
Prior to 2014, CTIA had been running a pair of industry trade shows each year before deciding to combine the events. That move combined the previous “CTIA Show” and “MobileCon” events into one show under the “Super Mobility” name. The MobileCon event itself also had seen various name changes through the years.
The initial Super Mobility event was not without some controversy as CTIA scheduled the show for the same week and in the same city as a previously scheduled trade show being put on by fellow U.S.-based trade association the Competitive Carriers Association.
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