Other countries are not so lucky. Due to insufficient safeguards, in some countries (especially Eastern Europe and Russia) wireless devices are very vulnerable:

• Based on industry reports Russia’s infection rate is estimated to be 41.6 percent, with their infection rates in app stores reaching more than 90 percent.
• Around 50 percent of the malicious BadNews-infected apps are in Russian, with fake ads prompting users to “update” or download a new app.
• Unofficial app stores in China have an estimated infection rate of between 55 and 77 percent, leading to the government to prevent users from downloading paid apps to mitigate infections in apps that automatically update.

We provide more information on the U.S. wireless industry’s efforts against infected apps and malware. We have also provided tips on how to protect your mobile device.

To remove your personal information from your cellphone, CTIA offers these eight simple tips:

To download and print these tips in both English and Spanish: http://ctia.it/10wxCrJ

Unfortunately, this increased convenience may make you a more attractive target for cyberthieves.

To help consumers keep their financial information safe, here are eight simple tips.

To download and print these tips in both English and Spanish:  http://ctia.it/15twWqc

Attendee, exhibitor and media registration is open today from 8-5 pm at the Sands. We’ll also have videos, photos and stories on our show highlights website throughout the week so keep visiting the site!

Here are some of this week's highlights:

Keynotes – Our lineup this year is phenomenal with experts, innovators and disruptors. If you’re unable to attend in person, we will be live streaming the keynotes on day one and two at 9 am-11 am PDT.

Our day three keynote is Ashton Kutcher at 9:30 am-10:30 pm PDT.

Policy Panels – Through the state and federal public policy panels, attendees hear from the regulators and policy makers helping to shape the issues around the innovative wireless ecosystem, including mobile broadband, mCommerce and smart energy.

Cybersecurity Summit – A first of its kind event, the Cybersecurity Summit bring attendees face to face with the challenges of cybersecurity. Through workshops, panel sessions and a plenary keynote, the summit will feature industry and government experts leading the efforts in mobile security.

Thought Leadership Conference – Joining forces with Forrester Research and J.D. Power & Associates, the Thought Leadership Conference brings you 25 sessions over two days on the hottest issues and topics facing in the industry including apps, location-based services and cloud.

B!G Idea and E-Tech Awards – Announced during CTIA 2013, these prestigious awards honor the mobile and visionaries who make the wireless industry one of the strongest and most innovative in the world.

Partner Events Series – Over the next few days, CTIA 2013 offers a variety of events coming from some of the biggest names in the industry to discuss the key issues impacting businesses and consumers.

We’ll keep you updated on what’s happening at CTIA 2013 on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and Google+ For more news and info, check us out on:

• Twitter: @CTIA and @CTIAShows (#CTIA13)
• Facebook: CTIA and CTIAShows
• LinkedIn: CTIA and CTIAShows
• YouTube
• Google+

Our program will kick off on Tuesday May 21^st with a panel of leading policymakers from state government, including public utility commissioners and elected representatives, and will continue with a panel focused entirely on emerging  public safety issues in the new mobile world.

On Wednesday, we will do a deep dive on spectrum issues, keynoted by speeches from the Federal Communications Commission Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel and Commissioner Ajit Pai. Both of our Wednesday panels will focus on the challenges and importance of bringing more spectrum to market to meet consumer demand and serve as a platform for innovation. One panel will focus entirely on broadcast TV incentive auctions, and the other panel will tackle other key spectrum topics, like the effort to make more efficient use of federal government spectrum, the need for both licensed and unlicensed spectrum and the role of new technologies in meeting mobile broadband demand.

We are looking forward to a great discussion and to seeing you at the CTIA 2013 policy panels!

_______________________________________________________________

Wireless Policy Hot Topics: Tuesday, May 21, 2013;  2:00-3:15 pm

Key state government decision makers will discuss wireless policy hot topics on a range of issues including the growth in mobile broadband adoption, wireless regulation, wireless tax policy, tower siting, universal service policy, and more.  Panelists will answer questions about policies they think will best spur wireless’ continued growth, innovation, and evolution.

• Moderator:     Jamie Hastings, Vice President, CTIA
• Moderator:     Ina Fried, All Things D
• Panelist:          Joe Armstrong, State Representative – Tennessee; President NBCSL
• Panelist:          Orjiakor Isiogu, Commissioner, Michigan Public Service Commission
• Panelist:          Paul Kjellander, President, Idaho Public Utilities Commission
• Panelist:          Bruce Starr, State Senator – Oregon, President-Elect of NCSL

Wireless in the New Public Safety Ecosystem: Tuesday, May 21, 2013;  3:30-4:45 pm

Over the last year, wireless communications have withstood unprecedented emergency events to demonstrate the increasing value and reliance that consumers place on wireless. The evolving wireless landscape has also raised public expectations to utilize wireless for emergency response, coordination and communications. With these growing expectations come challenging technical, operational and regulatory questions. A panel of industry representative, public safety leaders and policymakers will address the major issues at the intersection of wireless communications and Public Safety.  Panelists will explore the deployment of Text to 911, evolution of Next Generation 9-1-1, utilization of wireless emergency alerts, and coordinated responses to emergency situations, among other topics.

• Moderator:     Brian Josef, Assistant Vice President, CTIA
• Moderator:     Phil Goldstein, Editor, FierceWireless
• Panelist:          Jeff Cohen, Chief Counsel – Law and Policy, Director of Government Relations, APCO
• Panelist:          Holly Henderson, External Affairs Manager, SouthernLINC Wireless
• Panelist:          Brandt Hershman, State Senate Majority Leader, State of Indiana
• Panelist:          Charles McKee, Vice President, Government Affairs - Federal & State Regulatory, Sprint Nextel
• Panelist:          Phil Montgomery, Chairperson, Wisconsin Public Service Commission

All of the Above:  Spectrum Planning for the New Mobile World: Wednesday, May 22, 2013; 1:30-3:00 pm

Spurred by rapid increases in demand for mobile broadband services and the growing importance of mobile broadband to our economy, policymakers have taken an “all of the above” approach to bringing additional spectrum to market.  This panel will focus on the multiple efforts to free up spectrum to meet mobile broadband demand, with a focus on spectrum for licensed and unlicensed use, the balance between cleared and shared spectrum, and the prospects for a new infusion of the fuel that drives mobile innovation.

Kick-off Remarks:        Jessica Rosenworcel, Commissioner, FCC

• Moderator:     Scott Bergmann, Assistant Vice President, CTIA
• Moderator:     David Goldman, CNNMoney
• Panelist:          David Goldman, Legal Advisor -- Office of Comm.  Rosenworcel, FCC
• Panelist:          Tom Power, Deputy Chief Technology Officer, White House Office of Science and Technology Policy
• Panelist:          Tom Sugrue, Vice President of Government Affairs, T-Mobile
• Panelist:          David Taylor, CEO, Capitol Solutions
• Panelist:          Peter Tenhula, Senior Advisor, National Telecommunications and Information Administration

Spectrum Incentive Auctions:  Step Right Up!: Wednesday, May 22, 2013; 3:15-4:45 pm

The U.S. has long led the world in both wireless services and spectrum policy.  That trend will continue in 2013 with the introduction of an all-new tool: voluntary incentive auctions.  In 2012, Congress authorized the FCC to design and hold incentive auctions to free up valuable broadcast television spectrum for mobile broadband use.    The effort will create new challenges for policymakers and new opportunities for mobile players.  This panel will discuss the broadcast television incentive auction, its implementation, and its implications for U.S. wireless leadership.

Kick-off Remarks:       Ajit Pai, Commissioner, FCC

• Moderator:     Krista Witanowski, Assistant Vice President, CTIA
• Moderator:     Kevin Fitchard, Senior Writer, GigaOM
• Panelist:          Matthew Berry, Chief of Staff, Office of Comm. Pai, FCC
• Panelist:          Paula Boyd, Director, Government and Regulatory Affairs, Microsoft
• Panelist:          Joan Marsh, Vice President-Federal Regulatory, AT&T
• Panelist:          Grant Spellmeyer, Vice President - Federal Affairs and Public Policy, US Cellular

I know that some people like to gripe about the U.S. wireless industry, but the facts remain that we are the world’s leader. Carriers spent $94 per subscriber in the U.S., compared to $16 per subscriber for the rest of the world, even though we have only five percent of the world’s wireless users! We have more 4G subscribers than any other country, despite having fewer people. We talk and text more than other countries, yet we pay less. We have 96% of users with a data plan.

After working in this industry for more than 20 years, I recognize that I may be perceived as a bit biased. So that’s why I pulled together this one page independent assessment about the U.S. wireless industry.

Whether it’s innovation, value, competition, economic impact or mobile access and satisfaction, the U.S. wireless industry is working.

As Stanford Professor Bill Barnett explained in a blog post, “As a firm competes, it becomes more capable, and so performs better.  Even though its rivals also perform better, the net effect turns out to be beneficial in time. Highly competitive markets, over time, feature some of the world's greatest competitors…Competition is good for you.”

Steve accepted the award on behalf of the wireless industry for its work on the Wireless AMBER Alerts, which has now transitioned to Wireless Emergency Alerts.

As Steve noted in his remarks, when Wireless AMBER Alerts ended in December 2012, there were 700,000 wireless customers who enrolled to receive these on their mobile devices. While that is certainly an impressive number, when we transitioned to Wireless Emergency Alerts, millions of Americans across the country now receive these alerts.

Most importantly, these alerts work.

In February 2103, one mom in Saint Paul, Minnesota had her eight-month-old son returned within an hour of his abduction.  A teenager, who had received the alert about the missing child, saw the car used in the abduction and told her father, who called the police. Police located the child and the suspect was in custody.

Here are some photos of last night's events. As Steve said last night, "We ask all of you to help us make sure people recognize this vital important benefit that these alerts offer. Yes, it is a startling alert that's designed to get your attention. Encourage people to keep the alerts, and to not opt-out."

On behalf of the wireless industry, CTIA President & CEO Steve Largent accepted the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children Hope Award.

Here is CTIA President & CEO Steve Largent and former NFL Defensive Lineman Joe Ehrmann at the NCMEC Hope Awards.

Bryan Cranston and his wife Robin Dearden during press availability at the 2013 NCMEC Hope Awards.

Upon release of the Federal Communication Commission’s (FCC) Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) examining ways to address contraband cellphones in prisons, I said

“We applaud the Commission for continuing the effort to identify ways to combat the problem of contraband phones in prisons, while ensuring that legal communications – such as public safety officials and consumers – are not prevented from using their wireless devices in any way by illegal jamming technologies. As we have seen from successful demonstrations and deployments across the country, non-interfering technologies, such as cell detection and managed access, are lawful, scalable and available today. This is an important issue for the wireless industry, and we look forward to working with the Commission on this proceeding.”

###

Once again, the wireless industry survey reveals some extraordinary results. Capital investment, for example, reached an all-time high in 2012. Wireless carriers invested more than $30 billion in capital in the U.S. in 2012, amounting to a quarter of all wireless investment around the world (according to Bank of America Merrill Lynch).

Since 2000, wireless providers invested more than $296 billion, not including the more than $35 billion in spectrum auction revenues paid to the U.S. government.

As a result, commercially operational cell sites deployed by the responding carriers reached a high of 301,779 at year-end, up more than 6 percent year-over-year.

Some of the other results (& see charts below):

• Wireless subscriber units (or connections) – active devices associated with subscriptions or prepaid accounts – totaled 326.4 million at year-end.
  • That’s equal to 102 percent of the total U.S. population.
  • More than 152 million were smartphones.
    • 22.3 million were wireless-enabled tablets, laptops or wireless broadband modems.
    • If it's Wi-Fi only, we don’t count it.
  • More than 76 million of them were prepaid or “pay as you go” units.
  • Participating wireless carriers reported handling almost 1.5 trillion MB of data in 2012 – up 69.3 percent from 2011.
    • If each book in the Library of Congress’s book catalog were digitized at 1 MB each, that would mean wireless carriers were delivering almost six times the Library of Congress’ book collection every hour of every day of the year.

As the wireless industry evolves, CTIA’s semi-annual survey evolves with it. We strive to maintain a consistent base of responding companies, and the core metrics measured by the survey remain the same. But dynamic change is inherent in the industry. As new services arise, and older ones mature, how they are measured often changes. For example, because service providers increasingly do not distinguish between data and non-data services and revenues, wireless data revenues will no longer be tracked or reported via CTIA’s survey. We’ll release our mid-year report in October at MobileCON.

"On behalf of the wireless industry, we are pleased that Commissioner Clyburn has been named Acting Chairwoman of the FCC. We have worked for several years with the Commissioner and her staff, and believe that she will serve with distinction during her time as Acting Chairwoman. We look forward to working with her during this time period on the range of key issues that are pending before the Commission, including the ongoing efforts to establish the framework for the upcoming broadcast incentive auctions."

###

"On behalf of the wireless industry, we congratulate Tom on today’s announcement. Tom has a deep understanding of communications issues, a passion for hard work and creative thinking, a diverse background that spans the realm of the Internet world and a keen understanding of how mobile wireless broadband can drive our economy and innovation. His leadership of the FCC's Technological Advisory Council, combined with his private sector experience means he will hit the ground running. We look forward to working with Tom, once he completes the Senate confirmation process, on the breadth of spectrum and other wireless telecom matters which are pending at the Commission and critical to the maintenance of our position as global leader in mobile communications.”

The Mobile Visionary — Vision, Strategy & Business Acumen

• John Horn, President of RACO Wireless, RACO Wireless
• Wayne Irving II, CEO & Chairman, Monster Offers
• Matt McKenna, Founder, Red Fish Media

The Ingenious Innovator — Product & Service Innovation, R&D

• John Donovan, Senior Executive Vice President, AT&T Technology and Network Operations, AT&T Inc.
• Rip Gerber, President & CEO, Locaid
• Jason Roberts, CEO & Co-founder, Tech21

The Commerce & Retail Commander — Commerce, Retail & Distribution

• Steve Abernethy, President & CEO, SquareTrade
• Christina Koshzow, Chris Mason & Joey Rahimi, Co-founders, Branding Brand

The Mobile Guardian — Enterprise IT & Security

• Chris Hill, Senior Vice President, Advanced Solutions, AT&T Business Solutions, AT&T
• Chris Newton, President & CEO, Securus, Inc.
• Tasso Roumeliotis, Founder & CEO, Location Labs

Congrats to the finalist! We will present the B!G Ideas winners on Tuesday, May 21 at 2 p.m. PDT at CTIA 2013 on the Show Floor Exhibit Innovations Stage, Booth 5646.

We have the thought leaders, representing government and industry, at CTIA 2013 for panel discussions and workshops on how the industry can continue to protect itself and consumers.

Learn more about the Cybersecurity Summit by visiting : http://www.ctia2013.com/info/index.cfm/session-details?trackID=147