"We're extremely pleased with the turnout that we've seen this week. The strong level of attendance, particularly among the C-suite of the world's leading communications companies, demonstrates that Mobile World Congress continues to be the place where the industry comes to do business," commented John Hoffman, CEO, GSMC Limited. "The mobile industry stands out as one of the few vibrant sectors in a tumultuous world economy, and this week's congress emphasises the important role mobile has in creating new opportunities that will drive future growth."
During the event, leaders from companies including AT&T, China Mobile, China Unicom, Ericsson, Microsoft Corp., MySpace, Nokia, Telefonica, Telenor, Verizon Communications and Vodafone, among others, gathered to address challenges presented by the global economic slowdown and outline strategies for sustaining growth. Additionally, the congress delved into the world of mobile entertainment, with the one-day Mobile Backstage event featuring the MOFILM Mobile Short Film Festival.
The 2009 Congress featured 1,300 exhibiting companies and occupied more than 57,000 square metres of exhibition and hospitality space with a footprint 11% larger than that of the previous year. Nearly 2,400 international print, web and broadcast media attended the event to analyse and report on the industry announcements made at the congress.
"Barcelona has again been a tremendous host city for the Mobile World Congress," continued Hoffman. "We thank the city, Catalonia, Fira Montjuic and all our Barcelona partners for being such warm and efficient hosts. We would also like to thank our sponsors, particularly our Platinum sponsor LG and our Mobile Innovation Platinum sponsor Generalitat de Catalunya for their support."
