BYOND MOBILE, launched by VNU Asia Pacific, was held from September 28–29 at Samyan Mitrtown Hall, Bangkok, to set a platform for the networked economy of the future and its 5G products and solutions. The two-day conference and exhibition brought together business leaders from the health, manufacturing, smart city and future mobility verticals with strategy experts from the Internet, mobile communications and IT sectors.
Today, mobile broadband networks cover 96% of the population of Asia Pacific, with 1.2 billion people accessing mobile internet services. 5G momentum continues to accelerate across the region, with commercial 5G services now available across 14 markets. By 2025, there will be 400 million 5G connections across the region – just over 14% of the population. The mobile ecosystem continues to contribute strongly to the economy across Asia Pacific, generating 5% of GDP across the region, which is equivalent to $770 billion of economic value added. The mobile ecosystem also supports 8.8 million jobs, both directly and indirectly.
“It was exciting to finally launch BYOND MOBILE after the COVID pandemic. The region’s first dedicated platform for the rollout of 5G set the stage to connect key players within the 5G ecosystem from Southeast Asia. The atmosphere at the event was excellent as exhibitors and visitors were glad to participate at a live event again,” said Isabelle Springfeld, project manager of BYOND MOBILE.
Visitors and media were pleased with the extensive range of 5G products and solutions from the 36 exhibiting companies and associations as well as the great networking opportunities onsite. Spread over the two show days, BYOND MOBILE welcomed over 1,100 visitors from 14 countries. Likewise, the exhibitors were satisfied with the quality of visitors. The companies stated that it was great to meet their clients and prospects face-to-face again.
“Now it’s time to start thinking about where we can evolve with 5G, and this event has been really interesting. Many other 5G ecosystem players have come and brought their solutions in combination with the 5G capability – it is truly a BYOND MOBILE event,” offered Perry Poehlmann, head of APJ CX field marketing, Nokia.
“This exhibition is like a glove that matches us as our company does a lot of integration and communication. We see that many of the products we built – IoT, Smart City – will be affected by 5G; that’s why I think this event is the perfect fit for us,” stated Tanajak Watanakij, vice president of cybersecurity and data analytics, RV CONNEX.
Accompanied by the exhibition, the conference was conducted with 46 sessions over two days. The Thought Leader Arena in the main hall presented over 40 thought leaders in keynote speeches, fireside chats and panel discussions. In the Deep Dive Hub in the adjoining breakout room, visitors gained deep knowledge insights through master classes and product demonstrations from exhibiting companies and associations. The visitors appreciated the quality of both the speakers and their papers.
Navachai Kiartkorkuaa, head of enterprise marketing and SME business, AIS, and speaker of the Thought Leader Arena, said, “This exhibition is really good. It encourages Thai businesses or even Thai people to adopt 5G and bring more benefits of 5G to the society and to the digital economy in Thailand. I really believe that this type of event will help Thailand to promote our 5G infrastructure and make us gain more and more digital economy value from 5G.”
Wisarut Gunjarueg, manager of the Thailand 5G ecosystem innovation center (5G EIC) and speaker of the Deep Dive Hub, concluded, “BYOND MOBILE is the event which unites technology providers same as the vendors. We see all the partners among different industries such as banking, manufacturing or logistics. It’s a great opportunity for the ecosystem to have a discussion and find a way to collaborate to push the economic growth of the digital economy in Thailand.”
Until next year’s event in September 2023, the BYOND MOBILE team will create intensive content and engaging activities in the form of online webinars and physical meetup events for key stakeholders in Bangkok to discuss current industry news and stay connected.
BYOND MOBILE is a global bridge to Southeast Asia. With international experts serving the 11-country nation group, industries can connect with suppliers across the world. BYOND MOBILE will continue to provide insight and strategies for business leaders seeking to explore and evaluate the latest technology solutions and services that drive necessary innovation.
