A trade body that represents the interests of mobile network operators worldwide. Key facts about the GSMA:
- It was founded in 1995 and is headquartered in London, UK.
- The association represents over 750 mobile operators and over 400 companies in the broader mobile ecosystem, including handset and device makers, software companies, equipment providers, and internet companies.
- The GSMA organizes the world’s largest annual gathering for the mobile industry, the Mobile World Congress (MWC), held in Barcelona, Spain.
- It also organizes other events, such as the Mobile World Congress Shanghai, the Mobile World Congress Americas, and the Mobile 360 Series of regional conferences.
- The GSMA advocates on behalf of its members on various issues, such as spectrum allocation, privacy, and the development of the mobile economy.
- It also supports various initiatives and projects related to mobile technology, such as mobile money, mobile health, and mobile for development.
The term Global System for Mobile Communications refers to the GSM standard, a second-generation (2G) cellular network technology developed by the European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI).