The executive president of Telefónica, José María Álvarez-Pallete, has been elected as the new president of the Council of the GSMA, the association that encompasses the largest telecommunications operator groups and small independent operators with a global reach.
With this election, the presidency of the GSMA will fall to a Spanish company for the first time in the association’s history. Álvarez-Pallete will occupy the position between February 2022 and December 2024.
The president of Telefónica accepts the Presidency of the GSMA Council at a crucial moment, in which connectivity and telecommunications infrastructures have never been so important and in which the world is witnessing a technological revolution that brings with it a new paradigm .
“I am very proud to join the GSMA as Chairman representing the global mobile ecosystem. Technologies such as 5G, edge computing, cloud, cybersecurity, AI and IoT have redefined the way society operates and interacts, paving the way towards the metaverse, web3 and the new digital age”, assures the president of Telefónica.
Álvarez-Pallete will contribute from the GSMA to the strengthening and development of these technologies, and will do so without losing sight of the human dimension and the values that must govern the digital transformation. “Digitalization progress must include responsible leadership to drive growth, job creation, sustainability and accelerate digital inclusion. I look forward to supporting the GSMA in advancing these critical issues.”
More than 400 companies and 25 million jobs
The GSMA represents more than 400 telecommunications companies worldwide, which generate more than 25 million direct and indirect jobs. Mobile technology has generated 4.4 trillion dollars in added value, which represents 5.1 percent of the world’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP). By 2025 it will reach 5 billion dollars, with the development of 5G as the definitive lever for productivity and efficiency.
At the end of 2020 -the last year with official data-, there were more than 5,000 million people subscribed to mobile services, which represents 67 percent of the world population. The forecasts are to reach 2025 with at least 500 million new users, to exceed 70 percent of the world population.
MWC Barcelona 2022
The president of Telefónica will become the Presidency of the GSMA in the month that will end with the celebration of one of the great annual events of the association, the Mobile World Congress (MWC) de Barcelona. Barcelona will host this year’s edition between February 28 and March 3 in a contest that will show the latest trends and developments in the sector, the most avant-garde value propositions and the enormous potential of technology, digitization and mobile telephony.
Along with the MWC, Barcelona will also host the 4YFN, the event for startups that the GSMA promotes to support entrepreneurs, investors and companies to connect and launch new projects together.
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