Mobile merger: CTIA and MobileCon morph into ‘super show’

Old-school wireless trade association CTIA has absorbed MobileCon, a show for IT and enterprise mobile technologies, into its annual CTIA show, which itself is the one of the motherlodes of mobile conferences.

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Previously, CTIA’s main event was held in the spring (usually March, but lately May), with MobileCon gathering IT folks later in the fall. The first so-called CTIA “super show” will be held in Las Vegas in September 2014; with this timing, organizers hope to avoid being overshadowed by either CES (held in January in Las Vegas) or Mobile World Congress (held in Februrary in Barcelona).

“The wireless industry is evolving rapidly, and there is a need to have a show that centers on the entire global mobile ecosystem in a way that hasn’t existed among the current shows, which is why CTIA 2014 will be unique,” said CTIA exec and show director Rob Mesirow in a statement on the news.

“In addition, the timing of the 2014 show will deliver the perfect stage for companies to debut mobile consumer products and services for the annual holiday buying season.”

Reps from Sprint and Ericsson chimed in, saying that the timing and scope of the new super show would be better for company and product announcements, as well.

CTIA and MobileCon will continue to run separately this year, with MobileCon 2013 taking place Oct. 9-11 in San Jose and CTIA 2013 taking place May 21-23 at the Sands Expo Convention Center in Las Vegas.