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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