With each month that passes, PTC’19 draws closer and closer. While we are busy preparing for our next annual conference, plenty of exciting developments continue to take place in the fast-paced world of global ICT. As we like to do at the end of each month, join us as we take a look back at several of the topics that generated the most interest in May 2018.

GDPR

GDPR officially entered into law on May 25. Blackberry’s Data Protection Officer shared his perspective as well as some stories about GDPR preparation with Forbes. On the PTC blog, Stephen McClelland penned an extensive piece detailing the requirements of GDPR and asking “Is GDPR a worldwide regulatory gamechanger for ICT?” Meanwhile, businesses in APAC in particular were urged to strengthen cybersecurity measures ahead of the 25th. Data Economy also published a piece about what data center operators in APAC need to know about GDPR.

The T-Mobile/Sprint Merger

Mobile operators T-Mobile and Sprint made huge waves earlier this month by announcing their intention to merge. Light Reading’s Mari Silbey wrote about how this merger is different than those we have seen in the past and how it could change the landscape if it ends up going through. In Forbes, Fred Campbell wrote about how spectrum is likely to complicate an already-complex business deal even further. Right on the heels of the announcement, Sprint detailed which markets would be its key targets in the initial stages of 5G rollout.

5G Preparations

Preparations for the widespread launch of 5G networks also continued to make headlines and generate discussion. Over on the Spectrum Futures blog, Gary Kim suggested that many 5G use cases will have to be discovered and created. It was also pointed out in Enterprise Networking Planet that there is still significant work to do on the infrastructure side of things, as well. RCR Wireless News Editor in Chief, Sean Kinney wrote a piece detailing the importance of finding the right mix of spectrum for #5G. Meanwhile, CTIA analyzed the race to 5G, highlighted the road we’ve taken to get to 5G, and showed some statistics that display the global economic and social impact that 5G is expected to make.

Get Involved in PTC’19

Here at PTC, preparations are already underway for next year’s conference, PTC’19. The theme for the year is “From Pipes to Platforms” and we want you to get involved! If you are interested in being a presenter or featured participant at this year’s conference, click here to view our call for participation. If you would like your company to be a sponsor of this year’s event, click here to learn about sponsorship opportunities. If you want to claim your spot early, click here to register now. To relive the excitement of last year’s keynote presentations and to see exclusive interviews with top global executives, click here to visit PTC-TV.