LIVE FROM GSMA MOBILE WORLD CONGRESS AMERICAS 2017: The road to 5G, content and media, network technology and mobile innovation will be the key themes at this year’s inaugural Mobile World Congress Americas, as the show opens its doors to an expected 30,000 delegates in San Francisco this week.

The event, representing the third leg of the GSMA’s Mobile World Congress following the flagship MWC in Barcelona and the fast-growing MWC Shanghai, runs in partnership with industry group CTIA, following an agreement between the two companies struck in June 2016.

Michael O’Hara, chief marketing officer at the GSMA, told Mobile World Live that the company has worked with the CTIA for a long time and “shares common goals”, with discussions between the two eventually leading to the creation of the new event.

“During our discussions, we felt that a partnership to create a new show, one that leverages our relative strengths, made sense, and here we are.”

Along with the underlying themes mentioned above, O’Hara expects artificial intelligence, virtual reality and augmented reality to emerge as key talking points this week, as well as an opening keynote featuring the chairman of US regulator Federal Communications Commission, Ajit Pai.

“I think the policy discussion with FCC chairman Pai will be a big draw, given the variance between his position and the typical internet company position on net neutrality.”

The Apple effect
Notably, the start of MWC Americas is not the only major technology event happening  in the greater San Francisco area.

Apple will also hold its annual event Tuesday, with the company widely expected to launch a number of products, including a new iPhone.

O’Hara believes Apple’s launch will only have a “small impact” on MWC Americas, with some journalists and analysts attending the Apple event that morning.

“We go into MWCA with absolute confidence that this will be a great event, and something we can build into the future. And of course, we know the technology world’s attention will be focused on mobile this week.”

With the organisers on track to hit the 30,000 attendee milestone at this year’s inaugural show, the GSMA and the CTIA are already “looking to grow this as we move forward”, O’Hara said.

Next year, the show will move from San Francisco to Los Angeles, and O’Hara anticipates an increased focus on media and entertainment in 2018.