16th April, 2008 - Atlanta:

Thought leaders, top innovators showcased at inaugural Americas event

The GSM Association (GSMA) announced the headline speakers for the Mobile Innovation Marketplace - Americas, which is being held in Atlanta, Georgia, June 3 - 4, 2008. Ralph de la Vega, President & CEO, AT&T Mobility; Michael Joseph, CEO, Safaricom, the leading mobile operator in Kenya; Bob Berner, EVP & CTO, Rogers Wireless, Canada; Ted Matsumoto, CSO, SoftBank Mobile Corp., Japan; Torbjorn Nilsson, Senior Advisor to the CEO, Ericsson; Michael Nash, EVP Digital Strategy & Business Development, Warner Music Group and Tom Wheeler, MD, Core Capital Partners, are some of the industry leaders who will discuss ways in which the mobile industry can encourage and leverage new and innovative ideas, products and services to help shape the future success of mobile communications.

"With the calibre of experienced industry leaders headlining the event, I am sure we'll see a lively debate focused on how new mobile products and services are developed and brought to market successfully," said Bill Gajda, Chief Commercial Officer of the GSMA. "The event also offers innovators a valuable opportunity to pitch their products and services to decision makers and senior executives within the mobile operator and venture capitalist communities."

Some of the other speakers and panellists include:

• Rajeev Chand, MD and Senior Equity Research Analyst for Wireless, Rutberg
• David Christopher, CMO, AT&T Mobility
• Patrick Gauthier, Senior VP, Innovation, Visa
• Mohan Gyani, Vice Chairman, Roamware Inc.
• Francis McDougall, CTO & Co-Founder, GestureTek
• Neeraj Roy, CEO, Hungama Mobile
• Ori Sasson, CEO, Zad Mobile Inc.
• Christina Domecq, CEO, Spinvox
• John Giere, CMO, Alcatel-Lucent
• Chris Barraclough, MD, STL Partners
• Mauro Sentinelli, Board Member, TIM Group
• Will Hodgman, CEO & President, M:Metrics Inc.
• Trevor Adey, CEO, Consilient
• Jean Marc Harion, VP Business Development, Orange
• Brian Cayce, Investment Director, Grey Matters Capital
• Kamal Quadir, CEO, Cell Bazaar

The GSMA Mobile Innovation Market is designed to identify the industry's top priorities for new products and services and elevate the best-in-class innovations that are building them, as well as facilitate dialogue with potential interested customers or investors. The Mobile Innovation Market is hosting the Americas Marketplace event to bring together global thought leaders from the mobile industry's innovative technology companies, operators, major brands, investors and key suppliers, as well as showcase the best innovators who will compete for a place on the global stage at the GSMA's Mobile World Congress in February 2009 in Barcelona, Spain.

The Mobile Innovation Marketplace - Americas will be a unique platform for top innovators competing for the Mobile Innovation Global Championship Competition. During the event, 15 emerging growth companies from around the world will compete in five innovation categories, reviewed by senior executives from mobile operators and venture capital organisations. One winner will be named in each of the following categories:

• Most Innovative True Mobile Start-Up
• Most Innovative Carrier Infrastructure or Platform
• Most Innovative Consumer Application or Service
• Most Innovative Mobile Application in a Vertical Market
• Most Innovative Wireless Device Centric Technology

From the five Category Winners, two will emerge as Global Finalists and win a trip to Barcelona to compete against other Global Finalists selected from regional Global Award tournaments in Macau and Barcelona, for the prestigious title of '2009 GSMA Mobile Innovation Global Champion', which will be announced at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona next February.

For further information about the Americas Marketplace event or to enter the Mobile Innovation Global Championship Competition, please visit www.mobileinnovation.us or email info@mobileinnovation.us.