MWC Las Vegas will feature a melting pot of CIOs, CTOs, CISOs, developers and mobile operator executives gathering to drill down on key insights and trends across the enterprise 5G ecosystem.

Erich Hermanns, head of events, Americas for GSMA, told Mobile World Live (MWL) this year’s edition of the event “is dedicated to showcasing the power and potential of 5G, bringing together the entire 5G ecosystem, vendors, carriers, system integrators and IT peers, in one place”.

He noted GSMA Intelligence figures show more than 70 per cent of operators’ revenue currently comes from consumers, “so there is a big potential to increase the enterprise share” as a factor for choosing 5G for enterprise IT as the primary theme.  

“Over the course of the event, you’ll hear how the technology is transforming the way enterprises operate and compete, unlocking entirely new use cases and business models across vertical sectors,” he said.

In partnership with CTIA, the three-day event takes place at the Las Vegas Convention Centre, West Hall, from 8 October until 10 October.

It will include more than 250 exhibitors, sponsors and partners such as Boingo Wireless, Boldyn Networks, Cisco, Intel, Microsoft, Nokia, Qualcomm, T-Mobile for Business and Verizon Business.

Hermanns said he is looking forward to hearing how CIOs are using next generation technologies such as AI and 5G to transform their businesses.

CIOs from the US Department of the Air Force, the city of Las Vegas, the Nevada System of Higher Education, the Metropolitan Airports Commission, Ontario International Airport, the Port of Oakland and Southwest Airlines will be on hand to provide their takeaways.

GSMA Intelligence head Peter Jarich noted that while US operators such as T-Mobile US, Verizon and AT&T are pushing into the 5G enterprise space, business CIOs need to understand where the value and ROI are for offering the services.

“Enterprise is an important topic for the industry,” Jarich said. “It’s definitely going to be a good event.”

Speaker line-up
The event kicks-off Tuesday with the first keynote seeing GSMA CMO Lara Dewar joined on stage by CTIA president and CEO Meredith Attwell Baker; Ulf Ewaldsson, president of technology at T-Mobile US; Carolina West Wireless CEO Slayton Stewart; and US Cellular president and CEO Laurent Theriviel.

Dewar and her guests will talk about how 5G is powering enterprises of the future while unlocking new AI and robotics applications, according to Hermanns.

Additional keynote speakers on the first day include Arm CMO Ami Badani; Ronnie Vasishta, SVP of telecom at Nvidia; and Verizon Global Services president Shankar Arumugavelu.

Also on Tuesday, Jarich will discuss the results from a GSMA Intelligence survey of 4,200 enterprises across 21 countries to help operators and enterprises understand the B2B market.

On Wednesday keynote speakers will include professional soccer player Asisat Oshoala, who is a striker for National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) club Bay FC and the Nigeria women’s national football team.

Additional speakers include Elena Fersman, VP and head of global AI accelerator at Ericsson; Qualcomm SVP and GM, technology planing and edge solutions Durga Malladi; and Salesforce chief ethical and humane use officer Paula Goldman.

The fourth keynote is dedicated to the growing use of emerging technologies across government and defence sectors. Speakers include Department of the Air Force CIO Venice Goodwine; US Department of Defence CIO, 5G Cross Functional Team, Juan Ramirez; and US Department of Defence’s Principal Director, FutureG Dr. Tom Rondeau.

Also on the second day, New York Times best-selling author Malcolm Gladwell is slated to have a fireside chat with T-Mobile for Business chief marketing officer Mo Katibeh.

“I would suggest people get there early because that will probably be a full room,” Jarich said.

Top topics
Operator executives, technology innovators and industry experts will also take to the stage to share their insights around sub-themes such as Enterprise Transformation, AI Networks and 5G EdgeCloud.

Hermanns said Enterprise Transformation highlights industry services, such as private networks and IoT, “that allow enterprises of all sizes to remain innovative and agile to keep up with the ever-evolving digital era”.

“AI Networks will explore how artificial intelligence, with its ability to learn, understand and interact in ways that mimic human intelligence, is giving businesses new levels of competitive advantage, transforming their business DNA and building the foundation for a new era of compute,” he said. “Finally, 5G EdgeCloud showcases how cloud-powered 5G edge computing is unlocking new possibilities, helping industries like logistics, robotics, manufacturing and mobility reach unprecedented heights through advanced connectivity.”

Jarich also called attention to the Open Gateway and DevCon Summit, Telco AI Summit and Non-Terrestrial Networks Summit as additional topics of interest for attendees.

“We added in the Telco AI Summit because it is important to recognise the role that the operators play in AI,” he said. “It will be about how operators are leveraging AI in their networks and then using it to support B2B services.”