The mobile world has celebrated its four billionth connection, according to Wireless Intelligence, the GSMA’s market intelligence unit. This milestone underscores the continued strong growth of the mobile industry and puts the global market on the path to reach a staggering six billion connections by 2013.

The growth is driven by two primary sources: the integration of mobile into previously unconnected devices and subscriber additions in emerging markets. At
2009 GSMA Mobile World Congress, the world’s leading mobile communications industry event, taking place from 16-19 February in Barcelona, the industry will be exploring ways of sustaining this growth.“As we enter 2009, the world is in the midst of a broad economic slowdown, one that is impacting every facet of business, every link in the communications value chain. To address the significant challenges facing the global economy, the GSMA and its membership are focused on leveraging mobility to create new opportunities and to drive productivity and prosperity,” said Michael O’Hara, Chief Marketing Officer of the GSMA.

“GSMA industry initiatives in the areas of Mobile Broadband, Mobile Lifestyle and Mobile Planet will help drive this innovation and growth despite the challenges of the global economic downturn.”

At Mobile World Congress on Wednesday 18 February executives from China Unicom, Google, Nokia Siemens Networks, Qualcomm, Skype , Telstra and Verizon Communications will unite at the “Mobile Broadband” and “Mobile Internet” sessions to explore Mobile Broadband uptake, how consumers are adapting, and how Internet services become even more compelling when married with always-available Mobile Broadband.

The GSMA’s Mobile Lifestyle initiatives concentrate on the cross-industry creation of innovative services that combine web attributes with mobility to make services, such as travel or entertainment, far more compelling and accessible.

Chris DeWolfe, CEO and Co-founder of MySpace will be sharing his perspective on the role of the mobile industry in entertainment at the Mobile Backstage conference on 19 February at Mobile World Congress. The conference, which features both Kevin Spacey and will.i.am, will also tackle the technical challenges of delivering mobile services and commercial elements influencing mobile industry and entertainment partner collaboration.

The GSMA’s Mobile Planet initiatives leverage mobility to help improve the lives of individuals across the developing world in a socially responsible manner. With countries like India adding 10 million new mobile connections per month, and many users accessing the Internet, email and banking exclusively via mobile devices, the developing world is central to mobile industry growth.

For more information on Mobile World Congress, visit www.mobileworldcongress.com
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