The Competitive Carriers Association (CCA) will kick off its spring conference tomorrow and the show promises to be a doozy.
Starting fresh with a new name – the Mobile Carriers Show – the expanded conference will include a little bit of everything, from volunteering and networking events to sessions and panels on handset repair, MVNOs, the Internet of Things, spectrum, 5G and LTE-U. The event, which will be held in Nashville, Tennessee, will even work in some local flavor from area vendors during lunch breaks, CCA president and CEO Steven Berry said.
“Mobile Carriers Show is all about facilitating innovation, competition, and growth in the wireless competitive carrier market,” Berry said. “To that end, we’ve assembled some of the leading thinkers in the industry to share best practices and provide actionable intelligence to attendees.”
Berry said this year’s speakers will include the chief technology officers of C Spire, Ericsson and the newly rebranded Ligado Networks, as well as U.S. Cellular’s senior vice president of Technology, Services and Strategy, Sprint’s vice president of Network Planning, TNS’s senior director of Network and Mobility and Atlantic Tele-Network’s vice president of Engineering and Network Operations. The conference will also include speakers from FirstNet, the FCC, legal counsels and other carriers, Berry said.
Berry said those interested in a particular subject can choose one of several session tracks that will be offered at this year’s show, including a new IoT track that will explore revenue opportunities and network support. Other tracks will focus on topics related to business development, marketing and customer service, policy and technical issues. There will also be a seminar focused on MVNO opportunities.
Though Berry said spectrum is still a high priority for the CCA, the discussions surrounding it will be tailored to comply with the FCC’s anti-collusion rules due to the current auction proceedings.
“The auction will be ongoing, so the anti-collusion rules will be in effect,” Berry said. “But I think everyone is going to be focused on what they are doing with their network, what they are going to be doing with the spectrum they’re buying.”
In addition to expanded exhibit floor hours for networking, Berry said this year’s show will include a host of other new networking opportunities, including a speed networking event and a “Women in Wireless” reception hour.
The show will be held Tuesday, April 12 through Friday, April 15 in Nashville.
