The GSMA may not get a lot of press love as an organization, but they’re responsible for not only holding the largest wireless trade show of the year (Mobile World Congress), but also inventing and maintaing the standards that power over 80% of the mobile phones currently being used today. Their CEO, Rob Conway, has decided to step down as of September 1, 2011 after being in charge for over a decade. He says: “After 12 years I feel very good that I am leaving the GSMA in the best possible position to address the challenges and opportunities ahead.” Franco Bernabè, Chairman of the GSMA Board, commented on the news by saying: “Rob has led the GSMA during a period of tremendous growth as we have moved from 500 million mobile connections to nearly 6 billion connections today, and has nurtured the Mobile World Congress into an extraordinary yearly event where the mobile industry convenes to do business. We wish Rob well as he looks to the future.”
Looking forward, we’re expecting the future of wireless to bring us eve faster mobile data, to the tune of 100 Mbps minimum, and devices that make the dual core Android superphones of today look as ancient as a Nokia 1100. The GSMA will no doubt start talking about LTE-Advanced in 2012, despite the fact that LTE is barely starting to roll out in Europe and Asia; over in America Verizon is already offering LTE, and AT&T will soon join the game later this year. One thing we wish the GSMA did was promote near field communications harder, because it’s embarrassing that we’ve had to wait so long to just now see the first efforts (Google Wallet in the USA, Orange Quick Tap in the UK) come out the woodwork.
No word as to who the new CEO will be, but we’ll find out soon enough.