Canada's original mobile industry conference returns to Toronto:
MOBILEINNOVATIONWEEK 2010 begins September 13

Hundreds of local and international mobile innovators and experts converge to share ideas on Mobile 3.0

TORONTO, Sept. 1 /CNW/ - The Mobile Institute, a Canadian organization that supports global mobile innovation, today announced the return of MOBILEINNOVATIONWEEK, a week-long series of events that explores mobile trends and advancements from around the world. Between September 13-18 more than 150 mobile industry experts will present at various events around Toronto, making it one of the most significant mobile industry events globally.

"For one week, Toronto will be the centre of the Mobile universe," said Michael J. O'Farrell of The Mobile Institute, founder and co-producer of MOBILEINNOVATIONWEEK. "Canada is a mobile industry powerhouse, but Canadian talent and innovation are rarely exposed to local and international audiences. MOBILEINNOVATIONWEEK 2010 will showcase our mobile prowess together with global mobile industry leaders, while also giving Canadian organizations the tools and information they need to take advantage of the emerging mobile universe."

MOBILEINNOVATIONWEEK 2010 will feature more than 150 speakers and over 100 interactive presentations, moderated sessions and workshops. More than 2,000 are expected to attend from Canada, the US, the UK, Germany, Brazil and other international locations. MOBILEINNOVATIONWEEK 2010 includes featured presentations by Adenyo, Bell Mobility, the Canadian Broadcast Corporation (CBC), comScore, Deloitte, Ericsson, Google, IDC Canada, KPMG, Microsoft, MyThum Interactive, OCAD University, RBC Financial, Research In Motion (RIM), Rogers Communications, Samsung, Sybase, Sympatico Mobile, The Globe and Mail, Visa, Yellow Pages Group and more.

Anchor events include: Mobile Media World 10, co-produced by The Mobile Institute and the Mobile Marketing Association (MMA); MobileBizBootCamp, co-produced by The Mobile Institute and the Mobile Experience Innovation Centre (MEIC); Mobile ThinkTank Series, produced by The Mobile Institute, featuring focused symposiums on mobile retail & commerce, mobile enterprise, mobile healthcare and mobile cities; and the FITC Mobile Developer Conference. New additions for MOBILEINNOVATIONWEEK 2010 include IN | 10 The Interactive Exchange, produced by Interactive Ontario; and mobile experience + design (MXD), produced by MEIC. Registration for all events is now open. 

Co-Chairs for MOBILEINNOVATIONWEEK 2010 are Michael J. O'Farrell, founder of The Mobile Institute; Shawn Pucknell, director of FITC; Gary Schwartz, chair of the Mobile Entertainment Forum Americas and president & CEO of Impact Mobile; and Ian Kelso, president & CEO, of Interactive Ontario.

Mobile in Canada:

• Canada's wireless carriers now offer coverage to more than 99 per cent of Canadians.
• At the end of June 2010, Canadian wireless phone subscribers numbered 23.4 million.
• The mobile sector offers high value employment, with an average salary level of $59,000, compared with a Canadian average salary of $42,640.
• Canada's wireless carriers invest more than $1 billion in mobile phone communications infrastructure each year.
• The demand for highly skilled wireless communications specialists is so great that Canadian post-secondary institutions are creating programs specifically geared to the wireless industry.
• Wireless revenues in Canada totalled $16.9 billion in 2009.
• Wireless market sector revenues are the largest component (41%) of total telecommunications revenues¹
• Eight percent of Canadians have made purchases using a mobile phone through a retailer's site.
• Fifteen percent of Canadians have done banking through a mobile device.²
• Mobile Advertising Revenues in Canada exceeded budgeted expectations of $5.2 million, and grew by 347% over 2007 numbers, to just over $11.9 million for 2008.
• Mobile Content and Mobile Advertising (Display/Sponsorship) were the principal drivers behind the 347% increase in overall Canadian Mobile ad revenues in 2008.³

About MOBILEINNOVATIONWEEK 2010:
MOBILEINNOVATIONWEEK 2010 is co-produced by The Mobile Institute, the Mobile Marketing Association (MMA), FITC, Interactive Ontario and the Mobile Experience Innovation Centre (MEIC). The festival of events is sponsored by over 50 mobile and digital media companies and supported by a diverse mix of national and global organizations,  including: the Government of Canada, the Canadian Wireless Telecommunications Association (CWTA), the Information and Technology Association of Canada (ITAC), the Canadian Interactive Alliance, the Cross Innovation Academy, the Digital Arts and Technology Association (DATA), Flash in TO, Ad Lounge, Mobile Dev & Design, the Mobile Entertainment Forum (MEF), Mobile Monday (MoMo), the Ontario Media Development Corporation (OMDC), RGD Ontario, Wireless Industry Partnership (WIP), and Wavefront AC. MOBILEINNOVATIONWEEK 2010 is produced in cooperation with the City of Toronto.

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¹ Canadian Wireless Telecommunications Association
² KPMG International : "Consumers & Convergence IV Survey"
³ The Interactive Advertising Bureau of Canada: "2008 Actuals/2009 Estimated Mobile Revenue Report"

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