Industry trade groups GSMA and CTIA are set to host the MWC Las Vegas event later this month, the latest trade show collaboration between the two associations. And here’s hoping the new location and pandemic-suppression efforts add some pizzaz to North America’s once dominate wireless event.

Last year’s event ran under more worrisome COVID-19 conditions and was deemed a dud by our staffer-on-point, who admittedly did not make the 25 mile trek from his home to downtown Los Angeles.

This year’s three-day show will reside in one part of the cavernous Las Vegas Convention Center, home to some of North America’s trade shows and expos. The MWC Las Vegas event is limiting its reach to the west hall, which is on the other side of Paradise Rd. from the main hall, but is closest to Elvis Presley Dr., so there’s that.

GSMA expects “up to” 10,000 attendees at this year’s event, which would be more than double the 4,100 attendees GSMA said attended last year’s event in Los Angeles. That number should be attainable in light of surging travel comfort.

By comparison, GSMA’s halo MWC Barcelona event attracted 61,000 attendees this year.

MWC Las Vegas attendees will have access to more than 200 speakers and more than 300 exhibiting companies.

This year’s keynote speakers will include industry executives from AT&T, Verizon, T-Mobile, Qualcomm, and NTT Group. Others taking the stage will be Las Vegas Mayor Carolyn Goodman and CIO Michael Sherwood; Zach Katz, president and chief commercial officer at esports and entertainment company Faze Clan; and Peloton Chief Marketing and Communications Officer Dara Tresder.

One compelling keynote session is focused on closing the digital divide. Accenture is sponsoring the talk, which will include that firm’s Peters Suh; Phillip French, VP of engineering for Verizon Wireless’ West Territory; and Stephen Matherne, AVP for education at AT&T’s Public Sector and FirstNet operations.

Scheduled sessions include a focus on the latest wireless technologies like 5G, private 5G, and the growing influence of the cloud system into the telecom space.

The 5G sessions touch on ongoing deployment and monetization challenges and opportunities. This bleeds over into the private 5G space, which has gained significant momentum over the past six months.

Amazon Web Services (AWS) is sponsoring a handful of sessions, highlighting the cloud giant’s telecom aspirations. Microsoft Azure is sponsoring the event’s “Industry City Manufacturing Summit,” and Cisco is sponsoring the tangentially related “Industry City Smart Mobility Summit.”

Catch up on all of our coverage from MWC Las Vegas here.