The leading international congress devoted to Wi-Fi arrives in Barcelona together with the IOTSWC
Wireless Broadband Alliance (WBA) and Fira de Barcelona have established a partnership to hold the 2020 European Wireless Global Congress within the framework of the IOT Solutions World Congress, set to take place from 27th to 29th October at the Gran Via venue. This is the main global event specialising in Wi-Fi that attracts more than 1,000 key decision-making professionals linked to operators, service providers, technology and software companies, and user companies and entities across the world.
Wireless Broadband Alliance –a body focussed on promoting and enabling co-operation between service providers, enterprises, cities and technology providers to improve and advance the customer experience of Wi-Fi – is the organiser of the Wireless Global Congress, which every year holds one event in the USA and another one in Europe. In 2020, Chicago will be the venue for the North American edition of the WGC in June, while the Spanish city will host its European counterpart in October and have the option of extending its partnership for a further four years. Frankfurt and London were the last European cities to host this international congress.
Notably, the Barcelona Wireless Global Congress will take place co-located with the IOT Solutions World Congress, an event organised by Fira de Barcelona and the Industrial Internet Consortium that focuses on demonstrating the real impact of IoT on the digitisation of industries, together with other disruptive technologies such as artificial intelligence, augmented reality, blockchain and digital twin. At the previous edition, the IOTSWC brought together 350 exhibiting companies, more than 300 speakers and 16,000 professionals from over 120 countries.
With this partnership, the two technology events will capitalise on the synergies created when it comes to bringing together companies and professionals from around the world while generating meeting and networking spaces to boost shared knowledge, promote standards, detect challenges and accelerate business opportunities, placing Barcelona at the epicentre of the digital transformation of industries in October 2020.
Key global events
According to WBA CEO Tiago Rodrigues, “This will be a big year for the world of Wi-Fi and this partnership with the IoT Solutions World Congress will be a good platform to highlight the developments in Wi-Fi that can make a major contribution to digital transformation of economies and businesses”. Rodrigues also explained: “During the year I expect to see a growth in roaming federations that will make the use of Wi-Fi easier and smoother for consumers, operators, cities and enterprises, as well as the release of Wi-Fi 6 and 6E making use of 6 GHz bandwidth to improve the speed of connections.”
In keeping with the above, Salvador Tasqué, Fira de Barcelona’s Director of In-House Business, rated the arrival of the Wireless Global Congress (WGC) in the city highly positively: “We are very pleased to be co-organising this key global event in the Wi-Fi ecosystem, which continues to enhance the position of Barcelona and Fira as a leading international venue for technological congresses”. Tasqué also stressed that the connection established between the WGC and IOTSWC “will serve to increase the convening power of the two events specialising in disruptive technologies that are leading the transformation of industry, economy and society”.
In 2020, the WGC Barcelona agenda will cover topics such as the opportunities opening up with the next generation of Wi-Fi services (Wi-Fi 6 and 6 GHz), intelligence gathering and data analysis, the Wi-Fi customer experience, synergies with the IoT ecosystem, the impact of Wi-Fi cybersecurity, identity management, location services and the role of Wi-Fi in the future of the connected vehicle. Its sponsors include Boingo, Cisco, GlobalReach and Intel.
Meanwhile the IOTSWC 2020 will be showcasing the transformational power of digitisation with exponential technologies such as IOT, AI, 5G, quantum computing, robotics, blockchain and digital twin. It will provide real solutions and knowledge to guide the different industrial sectors through the implementation of these advances, ensuring welfare and sustainable growth.
Barcelona, 29th January 2020
About the Wireless Broadband Alliance
Founded in 2003, the vision of the Wireless Broadband Alliance (WBA) is to drive seamless, interoperable service experiences via Wi-Fi within the global wireless ecosystem. WBA’s mission is to enable collaboration between service providers, technology companies and organizations to achieve that vision. WBA undertakes programs and activities to address business and technical issues, as well as opportunities, for member companies.
WBA work areas include advocacy, industry guidelines, trials and certification. Its key programs include NextGen Wi-Fi, 5G, IoT, Testing & Interoperability and Roaming, with member-led Work Groups dedicated to resolving standards and technical issues to promote end-to-end services and accelerate business opportunities. WBA’s membership is comprised of major operators and leading technology companies, including Broadcom, BSNL, Orange, Facebook, Google, HPE Aruba, Huawei, Microsoft, NTT DOCOMO Ruckus, Shaw, SK Telecom and T-Mobile US.
The WBA Board includes AT&T, Boingo Wireless, BT, Cisco Systems, Comcast, Deutsche Telekom AG, GlobalReach Technology, Intel and KT Corporation. For a complete list of current WBA members, click here.
About Fira Barcelona
Fira de Barcelona is one of the most important trade fair institutions in Europe and the Spanish market leader, especially in trade and industrial shows. It hosts around 150 trade shows, congresses and corporate events per year with 30,000 exhibitors, both direct and represented, and receives 2.5 million visitors from over 200 countries. The institution has some 400,000 m² of exhibition floor space, one of the largest in Europe, spread over 2 venues: Montjuïc and Gran Via. Its annual economic contribution to the city of Barcelona and its surroundings is estimated at over 2,600 million Euros and also brings added social and public value. IOT Solutions World Congress is one of the main events in Fira de Barcelona’s calendar since 2015.
Media contacts:
Wireless Broadband Alliance Press
US Media Inquiries
Sonus PR for WBA – Micah Warren
+1 (609) 247-6525 wba@sonuspr.com
EMEA/ROW Media Inquiries
Sonus PR for WBA – Chevaan Seresinhe
+44 20 3751 0330 – wba@sonuspr.com
Fira de Barcelona’s Press Office
IOT Solutions World Congress (IOTSWC)
Maria Dolores Herranz
Tel. +34 93 233 25 41
mdherranz@firabarcelona.com