As the surge in LTE connections across Latin America shows no signs of subsiding, the fifth LTE Latin America conference and exhibition - the region's only dedicated LTE event - will once again take place this month in Rio de Janeiro and is expected to be larger than ever before.
The event expects to attract over 700 delegates, with 60% of those attending representing operators. Attendees will fly in from over 30 countries from across the continent and beyond, and leading vendor companies will showcase their latest developments to the industry. There will also be over 90 speakers from some of the region's top operators, including: ETB Colombia, On Telecom, Telecom Personal Argentina, Antel Uruguay and Telefonica Vivo.
According to research from the GSA (February 17, 2014), there are 36 commercially launched LTE networks in 17 countries across the LATAM region, and at least a further 10 operators are expected to launch LTE services in 2014, with more guaranteed to follow. Brazil is currently the fourth largest mobile market, and as host to the up and coming 2014 football World Cup and the Olympic Games in 2016, it is preparing for a huge spike in traffic.
Ari Lopes, Principal Analyst, Informa Telecoms & Media said: "LTE has become a reality in Latin America, more than 30 operators have already launched LTE networks, and there have been new announcements on a monthly basis. The technology`s superior performance has been used by companies to increase competition in mobile and fixed broadband markets. In 2014 it is expected an even faster growth for LTE, as most operators change the focus from securing spectrum and deploying the network to expand coverage and further explore new services enabled by LTE."
This year's event will focus on the strategy of operators' LTE networks and the technical issues facing service providers. The discussions will be led by a top speaker line up representing the entire region and Day One of the conference will kick off with a keynote panel discussion titled, "Hear from Global Leaders and Innovator's Pushing the Industry Forward - How to Address the Next Telecoms Challenges". The panel will feature:
Sergio Gonzalez, VP Strategy and Business Development, ETB Colombia
Fares Nassar, President, ON Telecom Brazil
Sante Vallesse, Board Director, Hola Paraguay- Vox
Martin Pineiro, Head of Technology Innovation, Telecom Personal Argentina
Natalia Pignataro, LTE Project Leader, ANTEL URUGUAY
Nestor Bergero, Chief Technology Officer, NEXTEL BRASIL
Carlo Filangieri, CTO, TIM BRASIL
Alongside the show's strong speaker line up, the event will also provide other opportunities to attendees, including executive speed networking sessions, which are a great opportunity for visitors looking to create important connections and find new business opportunities. Participating vendor companies at this year's show include: Huawei, Samsung, Amdocs, F5, Alcatel-Lucent, Broadsoft, CSG International, SAP, Allot Communications, Mavenir and BICS.
LTE Latin America will take place at the Windsor Barra Hotel, Rio De Janeiro, on 28-30 April 2014. To plan your visit, to view the full event programme, or to register for the event, then please visit latam.lteconference.com. Alternatively, keep up to date with the event on Twitter using @LTEWorldSeries.
