Wireless Broadband Alliance hosted an event called WBA Vision Forum 2016 – Connecting the Unconnected. During the event, was announce that Karnataka and Telangana will join the Connected City Advisory Board. The board provides an exclusive platform for City Managers and CIOs to share knowledge and create best practices with their counterparts in other cities. The aim of the Connected City Advisory Board is to promote the development of the connected city. The event also saw number of dignitaries who exchanged dialogues, global insights, case studies and more.
Read the complete press release below
Wireless Broadband Alliance, an industry organization that strives at championing the development of the converged wireless broadband ecosystem announces the second chapter of its India Initiative- WBA Vision Forum 2016 – Connecting the Unconnected in partnership with FICCI. Hosted on January 22, 2016 at FICCI Offices, Tansen Marg,Delhi, the event will see two new Indian states, Karnataka and Telangana, join the Connected City Advisory Board.
With Inaugural and keynote addresses by Shri Rakesh Garg, Telecom Secretary from the Government of India, Mr. Asish Khetan, Vice Chairman, Delhi Dialogue Committee, Mr. Akhil Gupta, Vice Chairman from Bharti Group, Vijay Sammeta, CIO, City of San Jose, and Mr. Yan Shui Li from China Telecom Global, the event will also witness thought-provoking panel discussions led by key operators such as Tata DOCOMO Wi-Fi, Reliance Jio, AT&T, Boingo Wireless, Deutsche Telekom, Airtel and global industry players including- Cisco, Ruckus Wireless, Intel, Microsense, Facebook, Google, Nokia, IBM, etc. Key Government officials from FICCI, City of San Jose will also participate in the panel discussions and workshops.
Other dignitaries who will be attending the event are Peeyush Agrawal, Member (T), DoT, GS Phani Kishore, IT Secretary, Government of Andhra Pradesh, Steve Martin, Senior VP, Global Marketing, Ruckus Wireless, Dr. Derek Patterson, CTO, Boingo Wireless, Sanjay Kaul, MD, SP Business, India and South Asia, Cisco, Srivats Kamisetti, Director, IBM, and Munish Seth, Head of Connectivity, Facebook India.
Speaking on the occasion, Shrikant Shenwai, CEO, WBA said, “Wi-Fi is the integral element in fulfilling Shri Narendra Modi’s 100 Smart Cities dream and it will account for 9 percent of all global Wi-Fi traffic and generate $150 Bn in operator revenue by 2018. We are also glad that we have two new states, Karnataka and Telangana, on-board our Connected City Advisory Board.”
“While our first India initiative was targeted at establishing India as a green field of Wi-Fi and what it could do to lay a strong foundation for a connected and interoperable future, our second India initiative aims at bridging the digital divide and to assure the overall growth of the country,” he further added.
Karnataka and Telangana will be the next two Indian states after Delhi to join the WBA’s Connected City Advisory Board after Delhi.
“We have a vision of making the leading city of the state, the first 100 percent Wi-Fi enabled city in the country and are already in the process of establishing public Wi-Fi networks in different parts of our state. Several public and private operators are investing. Joining the Connected City Advisory Board will help us expedite the process and offer the most cutting-edge connectivity to the inhabitants of our state.” said IT Secretary, Mr. Jayesh Ranjan, Telangana state government on accepting WBA’s invitation to join the Connected City Advisory Board.
“Being a part of the Connected City Advisory Board will help us get an idea about monetization opportunities. We have always wanted to facilitate only the most futuristic technologies to people living in our state and make them ‘Internet Literate’. Joining the CCAB is a great step on our part to make our state digital,” said V.Manjula, Principal Secretary IT/BT/Science & Technology, Govt of Karnataka.
Key Highlights of the WBA Vision Forum 2016
· Exchange of dialogues, global insights, and case studies on transformational opportunities in the area of bridging the urban-rural digital divide, unlicensed and licensed connectivity, converged services, Wi-Fi calling, Interoperability and Roaming, LBS, Wi-Fi monetization, high density venue deployments and several other trending topics in the wireless ecosystem.
· Other than showcasing the benefits of a citywide integrated carrier Wi-Fi network, the event will provide an opportunity for participants to meet senior executives from government bodies, technology vendors, public & private telecom operators, and ecosystem players across the world
Key Initiatives undertaken by WBA
Connected City Advisory Board
The Connected City Advisory Board aims to help deliver the vision of Connected Cities being pursued by a growing number of cities from around the world. It provides an exclusive platform for City Managers and CIOs to knowledge-share and create best practices with their counterparts in other cities to determine the best way to leverage public-private partnerships. The mission of the Connected City Advisory Board is to promote the development of the connected city, and also identify and disseminate information about the best practices, challenges and opportunities in the development and execution of smart cities.