If there is no denying that our industry is evolving very rapidly, one thing has nonetheless remained constant over the years – the legendary hospitality and friendliness that one can expect from the Latin America wireless ecosystem. So it is hard to believe that two years had already gone by since our first seminar in Mexico City which, despite the 7.4 magnitude earthquake that struck off the country at the time of our visit, turned out to be extremely productive and enjoyable.

Once again, our trip to the capital city – and to Lima, Peru – did not disappoint, and our team was delighted with the high level of interest (which was reflected in the equally high participation rate: over 150 participants in total!) that our latest in-building seminars generated earlier this month!

It is true that the telecommunications market has been particularly active in the region. Ultra-broadband and LTE networks have gradually been rolled out in several countries; competition has intensified in the past few years, and Latin America, with boasts an impressive 115% mobile penetration at end-2013, has positioned itself well ahead of the world average! (against a global rate of around 96%).

Not surprisingly then, our first seminar was met with a great deal of enthusiasm, which led to very engaging discussions on the latest trends, key market drivers and restraints for growth. Our “In-Building in the World, DAS Design, Small Cells, and Mobile Planner‎” presentation was particularly well received, prompting numerous questions from the audience. Likewise, our guest of honor Abel Anaya (Nextel’s RAN Planning Director), which shared his company’s in-building strategy and experience, also received many positive comments.

Our next stop was Lima, Peru. There again, participants were eager to learn more about in-building best practices and processes. This is all the more understandable, given that the Peruvian telecommunications market, which market analysts have described as a new “rising telecom star“, has been growing steadily over the past few years. Our presentation on “In-building in The World, Small Cells, and LTE Optimization” therefore resonated very well with everyone, as were Sara Gómez Olivas (Nextel’s In-building Manager) insights, perspectives and updates on ongoing projects.

On a slightly less serious note, it has to be said that we also got a real kick out of seeing so many of our attendees play with our Super iBwave Man in-building app, virtually traveling the world to complete the in-building challenges set before them!

Our congratulations go out to our new champions, Eliseo Fuentes Garcia (from Unwired Solutions – Mexico) and Sandro Trigo (from Nextel – Lima) who impressed us all with their impressive scores (5275 points and 5,504 points respectively) as well as Rajesh Vairon and Cesar Sequeira.

We are already looking forward to our next visit, and hoping to see you all again very soon! Remember, we will be holding virtual iBwave certification classes on Oct 7 -9 (level 1) and Dec 2 – 4 (level 2). Also, we’d love the opportunity to catch up with you as part of the upcoming Futurecom 2014 (Oct 13- 16, Sao Paulo, Brazil). If you are there, do stop by our booth (#A50) and come and say hi!