VANCOUVER, BC, Monday, April 21, 2008 – As the result of an invitation from the Wireless Innovation Network of BC (WINBC), Jari Tammisto, President and CEO of MobileMonday Global, says his organization is now considering Vancouver as the location for its 2010 Global Summit. A final decision will be made this fall at the MobileMonday Global board of directors meeting.
MobileMonday (MoMo) is a global community of visionaries, innovators, developers and other influential leaders in the wireless industry. Members get together on a Monday evening of each month in casual gatherings to exchange wireless industry news, information and ideas.
Tammisto says MobileMonday Global is drawn to Vancouver for two reasons: One is the powerful draw of the 2010 Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games and the world’s attention on Vancouver; the other is the growing strength of the wireless industry in Canada, and in BC in particular.
"I am excited to move forward together. The MobileMonday global community is really pleased to see Canada become a vital part of its' future developments," says Jari Tammisto, President and CEO of MobileMonday Global. "With MoMo chapters growing in Montreal, Toronto, and Vancouver, that surely enables us to consider Vancouver as the site of MobileMonday's Global Summit 2010."
Michael Bidu, Executive Director of the Wireless Innovation Network of BC and one of the founders of MobileMonday Vancouver, says he's delighted that MobileMonday Global has acted so quickly and positively to his invitation.
"I spoke to Jari just a few days ago to brief him on what MobileMonday Vancouver (MoMoVan) is doing. I also told him some of the results of our recent Wireless Industry Survey – how the BC wireless cluster has reached the milestone of $1 billion in revenues – and mentioned that Vancouver is the site of the 2010 Winter Olympics. Then I told him we were going to hold our third Pacific Northwest Wireless Summit (PNWS) in March at the new Vancouver Convention & Exhibition Centre, immediately after the games, and suggested that MobileMonday Global Summit be part of it."
Tammisto says he has already talked with others in MobileMonday Global, and to some of the top executives at Nokia, in Helsinki and they are definitely excited about going to Vancouver in 2010. Nokia is the world leader in mobility, driving the transformation and growth of the converging Internet and communications industries; it has a major R&D site for devices and services in Vancouver.
"Bringing the MobileMonday Global Summit to Vancouver as part our own Summit will help us create a world-class event for BC's wireless industry and bring lasting benefits to the local wireless and new media economy and for our colleagues from Montreal and Toronto, as well as for our partners in the region and around the world." says Bidu.
About MobileMonday
When two well-know visionaries of the wireless industry in Finland invited a bunch of their colleagues for drinks and an exchange of ideas and information one Monday night in the Fall of 2000, they had no idea they were creating an international phenomenon.
Since then, in cities all over the world, thinkers and innovators in wireless have been getting together on the first Monday of every month in their own MobileMonday chapters. There are now chapters in major cities on every continent, making MobileMonday the world’s leading mobile community.
The Global Summit is a true fast-growth story. The first summit in 2005 brought four MoMo chapters and fewer than 500 delegates together. By the 2006 summit, the number of chapters had grown to 17, with over 1,000 delegates. At the 2007 summit last September there were more than 50 chapters from around the word and 1,500 delegates.
Learn more about MobileMonday: www.mobilemonday.net
About WINBC and MoMoVan
The Wireless Innovation Network Society of BC (WINBC) is the wireless technology association of British Columbia, Canada representing more than 250 BC wireless technology companies including wireless services, developers, carriers, infrastructure suppliers and others generating in excess of $1B in revenues per year.
WINBC is a non-profit membership organization established in 2001 promoting the fast growth and sustainability of British Columbia, Canada as one of the world's best wireless technology clusters and communities.
The MoMoVan Chapter was founded in January 2006 by a group of wireless and Internet entrepreneurs and fans of the MobileMonday global community. It welcomes anybody interested in the wireless space to the fun and informative community events it holds on the first Monday of the month.
Learn more about WINBC: www.winbc.org and Pacific Northwest Wireless Summit (PNWS) www.pnwsummit.com
Contact WINBC: Contact MobileMonday Global:
Michael Bidu, Executive Director
WINBC, Vancouver, BC, Canada
Tel: 604-602-5237
Email: michael@winbc.org
Timo Poropudas, Editor
MobileMonday, Helsinki, Finland
Email: editor@mobilemonday.net