Sessions at Mobile World Congress 2012 on Thursday 1st March in Fira Montjuic

As mobile operators across the globe upgrade their networks to LTE, the full promise of fast and ubiquitous mobile broadband is becoming a reality. However, as demand for data services continues to grow, it will become increasingly important for operators to deploy technologies which will not only make their networks more intelligent, but also make the best use of their spectrum allocations.Network architectures will need to evolve to reflect both the density of these new networks as well as the increased capacity they will carry. The drive to scale up the deployment of LTE-enabled devices will be just as important, while at the same time LTE Advanced looms large on the horizon with a whole new set of questions and challenges. Which factors will determine the technology investments operators make in the coming years? Can the industry do more to work collaboratively and build greater efficiencies into the R&D and manufacturing process? How will regulation impact the growth of the mobile ecosystem?Join some of the industry’s technology pioneers as they discuss the future of the networks which underpin all that is mobile.

Wireless Industry Partnership (WIP) is an international company that builds mobile developer communities and amplifies the developer’s voice in the ecosystem. Our WIPJams are popular around the world as fun, interactive unconferences! Other events include: networking receptions, code fests, the Muther! of all Hackathons!, Droidcon UK and XcarrierCon.

Our Developer Resource Portal includes a Marketplace; AppStore and API Catalogs; beta App Showcase and THE Mobile Community Calendar.

Come and learn about the latest developments in tracking, profiling, behavioural targeting and giving users control of their dataA key challenge for the mobile ecosystem is how to give users simple, device and context appropriate ways to manage their privacy. This seminar will highlight the work being done by different sectors on addressing the challenges of mobile and privacy, including the GSMA’s Privacy Initiative.Help find answers to questions like:• How can we ensure that mobile users’ privacy is treated consistently irrespective of the technologies, business models and data flows involved?• How can industry help mobile users make informed decisions about their personal information and privacy?• How can we ensure that user privacy is respected and protected by those designing and building new applications and services of tomorrow? How can you do this in practice?This session is suitable for app developers and people delivering apps and services.ModeratorNancy Hill, President and CEO, American Association of Advertising Agencies (4A’s)SpeakersDan Appelquist, BlueViaAlex Fowler, MozillaJohn Montgomery, 4A’s Privacy CommitteeJules Polonetsky, Future of Privacy ForumPat Walshe, GSMAIlana Westerman, Create with Context

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Meet The Experts, Ask Your Questions, Get Your Answers.

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The automotive and utilities sectors, amongst others, represent strong market opportunities for mobile network operators and other service providers. Embedding telematics into vehicles which use mobile connectivity to deliver safety and security services, and infotainment services such as internet access, live traffic updates and weather reports are becoming increasingly commonplace. Meanwhile, mobile connectivity is enabling utilities suppliers to more effectively manage the supply and demand of consumers’ energy and water.

The market opportunity for embedded mobile in the automotive and utilities sectors will be evaluated in this session. It will also explore the types of services that can be expected in the future and the role of the various players in the value chain in bringing these solutions to market, whilst addressing critical successful factors.

A wide range of mobile payment products and services have been rolled-out globally to date, largely focused on the purchase of digital goods and services. The mobile payments market is expected to reach $670 billion by 2015, according to Juniper Research, and the scope of mobile payments is broadening outside of digital goods and services. In light of the expected growth in mobile payments, service providers continue to look for new ways to innovate and utilise technology to execute payment transactions and deliver an improved user experience.

Virtual cards enabling online payments, virtual currencies and credit card readers are just some examples of technology innovations in mobile payments. However, delivering innovative mobile payment services is not just about the underlying technology; a streamlined value chain and a customer-focused go-to-market strategy are also critical factors in delivering successful mobile payment services and gaining competitive advantage.

This session will explore the latest innovations in mobile payments. It will also address the challenges for the ecosystem as well as the critical success factors in delivering innovative services in the highly-competitive mobile payments space.

Mobile is at the heart of a $1.2trillion industry and if your business is mobile related, the one thing you need is reliable mobile networks. Spectrum is the oxygen that sustains this ecosystem and with data demands rising, you need to support ‘the ask’ for future spectrum. This seminar will explain  amongst other topics, why it’s important to complement the ask for future spectrum and how to advocate for additional spectrum to your respective governments.

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Even in the near future, operators will need to deliver higher capacities, new services and higher Quality of Service to the customer, while improving efficiency and lowering cost internally. For most operators, this revolution must be achieved by an evolution in their radio, aggregation and core networks.

Mobile operators have already started to deploy heterogeneous network structures combining different generations of wireless technologies, often embedded in an environment of macro-, micro- and even femto-cells. Furthermore, LTE-Advanced features, new centralised RAN and smart network architectures are currently being developed and evaluated.

As a result, many of the elements needed to deliver a flexible, intelligent network already exist or will appear in the near future. The main challenge is to do it right - to bring the pieces of the puzzle together in a way that supports an operator’s financial, technical and business needs throughout the evolutionary process. This session highlights how industry leaders are working towards this and what steps should be taken.

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Join us for UnPanels, StoryTelling, and Presentations.

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As the demand for consumer electronics such as tablets and e-readers goes from strength to strength, mobile network operators must contend with a huge increase in multimedia traffic on their networks. What types of consumer electronics are expected to place the most demands on mobile networks? What are the different use cases? How can mobile network operators best meet the growing demand for mobile connectivity while maintaining the same Quality of Service that consumers have come to expect from their electronic devices?

This session will explore the landscape of embedded consumer electronics and the business case for embedding mobile connectivity into consumer electronics devices, and will consider the possible alternatives.

Several emerging markets represent strong growth opportunities for mobile money due to the high numbers of unbanked and under-banked customers. Money transfers, bill payments, cash withdrawals and forms of micro financing, often through simple but secure SMS messaging, are just some examples of mobile money services which are proving valuable to consumers in emerging markets, where mobile phone usage is high but where access to traditional banking services is limited.

This session will explore where opportunities exist for mobile money services in emerging markets. It will discuss the role of mobile network operators, financial institutions and payment providers and the challenges in bringing mobile money services to emerging markets.

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Technology developments and business pressures are destroying many old barriers – between networks and IT, voice and data, fixed and mobile, telecoms and internet. This change offers operators the chance to manage their networks and services in new ways, lowering costs and opening up fresh business opportunities.

However, for operators to take full advantage of these opportunities requires some radical changes throughout their business, networks and IT systems. There are considerable challenges to overcome, not least the management of converged networks, of different wireless technology generations and of an increasingly complex multi-vendor environment.

Based upon practical experience, this session focuses on how to evolve mobile network operations effectively. It offers delegates the chance to understand the path towards a new style of network operations, how to take advantage of its benefits and how to avoid the dangers on the way.

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