This year's Mobile World Congress is being held in Barcelona, from the 16 -19 February. Attendees include executives of the world's largest and most influential mobile operators, software companies, equipment providers, Internet companies and media and entertainment organizations. CEOs from companies including AT&T, Microsoft Corp., MySpace, Nokia, NTT DOCOMO, Telefónica, Telenor, Verizon Communications and Vodafone will address head-on the challenges presented by the global economic slowdown and will outline strategies for sustaining growth.
"We are living in an era of unprecedented and rapid change. Set against a backdrop of the financial crisis, wildly-fluctuating stock markets and a broad economic slowdown, the 2009 edition is set to be the most compelling Mobile World Congress yet," said Rob Conway, CEO and Member of the Board of the GSMA. "By bringing together the leaders of companies across the broad communications sector, we'll be able to gain further insight into the significant challenges presently facing our industry, but more importantly, we'll focus on how we can leverage mobility to create new opportunities, and drive productivity and prosperity going forward."
Under the theme of "Think Forward", the Mobile World Congress will explore the impact of the economic crisis, as well as focus on issues critical to the development of the communications industry, including the adoption of advanced mobile broadband technologies, such as Long-Term Evolution (LTE), the shift to an open mobile ecosystem, and the proliferation of mobile entertainment and advertising services. Widely recognised as the mobile industry's must-attend event, the Mobile World Congress will showcase mobile products and services from approximately 1,300 companies.
Keynote speakers for the 2009 Mobile World Congress include:
