GSMA Mobile World Congress, MWC 2012, Preview

- a preview of what will be happening at the Mobile World Congress, 2012, to be held in Barcelona between 27 February and 1st March 2012.

The 2012 GSMA Mobile World Congress, MWC will be held between 27 February and 1st March 2012 in the Fira Montjuic, Barcelona, Spain.

The GSMA Mobile World Congress is held each year and it is a the place for those in the mobile industry to gather, network and conduct business.

Over the years, the GSMA Mobile World Congress has established itself as the major global event in the mobile telecommunications calendar. It provides a world class conference featuring the major figures from the industry; panel discussions proving insights into the thinking behind future trends, and an exhibition with more than 1,400 companies displaying the cutting-edge products and technologies that define the future of mobile. In addition to this, the annual Global Mobile Awards ceremony is held where awards are presented for the most innovative mobile solutions and initiatives from around the globe.

Inside one of the halls at MWC

Mobile World Congress 2011

When considering whether to attend, it is worth looking at the figures from previous events. In 2011, GSMA Mobile World Congress featured the following headline figures:

• 60,000 mobile professionals from 200 countries attended.
• More than 58% of those who attended were C-Level executives.
• 10,000 mobile developers attended as part of App Planet.
• Over 1400 companies exhibited

This year's event is on track to be an equal success.

Keynote addresses at Mobile World Congress

Like other years there is an impressive line-up of keynote speakers. There are many of the leading figures in the cellular industry who are able to provide insight into the current trends and the thinking behind the visions for the future. With the cellular industry providing one of the major development drives behind the whole electronics industry, these keynote addresses are particularly revealing.

This year's line-up includes:

• Franco Bernabe, Chairman & CEO, Telecom Italia Group
• Anne Bouverot, Director General, GSMA
• Ben Verwaayen, CEO, Alcatel Lucent
• Ralph de la Vega, President & CEO, AT&T Mobility & Consumer Markets, AT&T
• Brian Dunn, CEO, Best Buy
• Sunil Mittal, Chairman & MD, Bharti Airtel
• Xi Guohua, Vice Chairman, China Mobile
• Vikram Pandit, CEO, Citigroup
• Rene Obermann, Chairman & CEO, Deutsche Telekom
• John Riccitello, CEO, EA
• John Donahoe, CEO, eBay
• Hans Vestberg, President & CEO, Ericsson
• Eric Schmidt, Executive Chairman, Google
• Peter Chou, CEO, HTC
• Michael Roth, Chairman & CEO, IPG
• Michael Abbott, CEO, ISIS
• Kevin, Johnson, CEO, Juniper Networks
• Stephen Elop, President & CEO, Nokia
• Ryuji Yamada, President & CEO, NTT DoCoMo
• John Frederik Baksaas, President & CEO, Telenor Group
• Jo Lunder, CEO, VimpelCom
• Vittorio Calao, Chief Executive, Vodafone