CommunicAsia 2007: Digitally Converged

Singapore was the host for CommunicAsia 2007. Showcased at the
event were digital technologies across mobile networks and applications, and
network infrastructure and satellite communications, covering the full spectrum
of the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) industry across the world.

Nearly 70,000 people came to CommunicAsia to experience the
"Digital Convergence". Of the total visitors, 50% were from over 100
countries across the Apac, Europe, the US, and the Middle East.

The four-day event in June saw visitors at the Singapore Expo
gaining first hand experience on the impact of convergence on the way one works
through the engaging technologies, solutions and devices being showcased. Spread
over eight halls, a total of 2,413 exhibiting companies from 65 countries
demonstrated solutions across the value chain of convergent technologies.

Major companies such as Canon, Ericsson, Huawei Technologies, LG
Electronics, Nokia-Siemens Networks, Qualcomm, Samsung, and ZTE were among the
growing list of exhibitors who showcased their innovations at the event.
Handsets manufacturer Nokia didn't participate in the event.

Key highlights at CommunicAsia this year included, Broadcast
Australia's plans for a DVB-H trial in Sydney. Likewise, the US telecom major,
Qualcomm, announced a technical trial of its MediaFLO mobile TV service with
PCCW. Chinese telecom equipment vendor Huawei Technologies unveiled its current
portfolio of 3G music phones targeting the music-savvy mobile users in Asia;
while Korean handset maker, Samsung, showcased its latest device from the Ultra
Edition II series. Cyberoam, a division of Elitecore Technologies announced the
availability of its CR25i appliance at CommunicAsia 2007 in Singapore.

Partnering Deals

Partnership was another flavor at CommunicAsia with many tie-ups sealed this
year. Irdeto, known for its content security solutions for digital TV, IPTV, and
mobile networks, inked a partnership deal with China's ZTE to provide content
security solutions for the latter's end-to-end IPTV system to be marketed and
sold worldwide.  Fujinon Singapore concluded a multi-million dollar deal
with Broadcast Solutions, which included purchases of HD lenses, HD vision
mixers, HD camcorders, VTRs, monitors, and glue solutions. Broadcast Solutions
also closed a deal with EVS of orders crossing the $5 mn mark, one of the
largest single HD equipment purchases seen in Singapore. Small and medium-sized
enterprises (SMEs) also leveraged on CommunicAsia to introduce their solutions
to international attendees. Singapore-based secure mobile services provider, NGV,
offered end users the means to bypass costly IDD and roaming charges imposed by
overseas phone providers. With its Click-2-Phone services, users can enjoy
quality voice calls, fax services, secured messaging and multi-party
conferencing with a simple click from different devices such as fixed line, PDA,
mobile or the Internet. Also, Innoxius Technologies showcased its
next-generation DVB-H base station, a smaller and slimmer version than its
predecessor.

Addressing Issues

To make the most of the event, conferences on emerging convergent issues and
applications were also introduced. The New Media Conference was one such
conference that examined the impact of user-generated content, and its influence
on traditional broadcasters and the media. The IPTV Forum featured insights from
operators, technology and content providers on the deployment and marketing of
IPTV services in Asia. The Mobile TV Forum took up case studies and business
models from successful mobile TV trials in different parts of the world, as well
as addressed standardization and content delivery issues.

CommunicAsia was held in conjunction with Enterprise IT,
Broadcast Asia and Interactive DME. Another event CG Overdrive (or Computer
Graphics Overdrive) was also held along with CommunicAsia for the first time, to
answer the growing interest in animation and demand for Asian animated content.
One of the main highlights of CG Overdrive was a knowledge-centric conference
that addressed topics such as character animation techniques, character modeling
and production of CG cinematic for gamers. Fringe activities like digital
animation screenings, digital art gallery and networking parties was also staged
to connect CG enthusiasts to the gurus.

Sandeep Budki


sandeepb@cybermedia.co.in