More telecom events expected this year<\/p>\n
By I. Christianto<\/p>\n
SINGAPORE (JP): The six-day Asia Telecom 97 event ended here
\nSaturday, but similar events will soon follow suit.<\/p>\n
Among large-scale telecom events to be held later this year
\nwill be AsiaCom in Hong Kong and Asia-Pacific Telecom 97 in
\nJakarta.<\/p>\n
Jakarta will host Asia-Pacific Telecom 97 from Nov. 29 to Dec.
\n3 at the Jakarta Fairgrounds in Kemayoran.<\/p>\n
Outside Asia, Geneva will host Telecom Interactive 97 in
\nSeptember. A prime event, World Telecom 99, will also be held in
\nGeneva in October 1999.<\/p>\n
Secretary-general of the Ministry of Tourism, Post and
\nTelecommunications, Jonathan L. Parapak, said that such events
\nwere gatherings for telecommunications experts and executives,
\nand other interested and related people, to find out developing
\ntrends in telecommunications.<\/p>\n
"We can also learn about new technologies," Parapak said
\nduring his visit to Singapore last week.<\/p>\n
He was in Singapore visiting Asia Telecom 97 and promoting
\nAsia-Pacific Telecom 97 in Jakarta.<\/p>\n
Telecommunications exhibitions have so far been very
\nattractive events.<\/p>\n
The recent Asia Telecom 97 held at a 32,000 square-meter space
\nat the World Trade Center, for instance, was beneficial not only
\nto Singapore's telecommunications businesses but also to its
\ntourist industry.<\/p>\n
Hundreds of journalists from various nations covered events
\nwhich were attended by dozens of VIPs (ministers and other top-
\nranking officials and policy makers), top executives, engineers,
\nmarketers, economists, lawyers, scientists and academics.<\/p>\n
Around 70 star-rated hotels on the island republic were fully-
\nbooked during the week-long event which was organized by the
\nGeneva-based International Telecommunications Union (ITU).<\/p>\n
Hundreds of millions of dollars changed hands during the
\nevent. Rental space for exhibitions reached and sometimes
\nexceeded US$500 per square-meter. In addition, exhibitors could
\nbe required to pay for extra electricity because of overuse.<\/p>\n
ITU considered Singapore an ideal location for the event.<\/p>\n
Singapore, which lacks natural resources, is also well-known
\nfor its seriousness in developing telecommunications and
\ninformation technologies.<\/p>\n
Secretary-general of ITU, Pekka Tarjanne, said that Asia
\nTelecom 97 was the biggest ITU event yet held in the region,
\ninvolving 475 exhibitors from more than 25 nations.<\/p>\n
"The theme of Asia Telecom 97 is 'The sky's the limit'.
\nSingapore is the ideal venue for an event with this theme,"
\nTarjanne said.<\/p>\n
He said that telecommunications events were unique in the
\nindustry. "Of course they are the biggest and most successful
\nevents of their kind, and they are special in other ways as
\nwell."<\/p>\n
"On one hand, they are a celebration of the incredible
\nachievements of the industry," he said. "On the other hand,
\ntelecommunications events also provide an opportunity to reflect
\non the industry and its future, and to think about what must be
\ndone in order to achieve the promises of technology."<\/p>\n
Telecommunications events usually consist of several
\nactivities, including two major ones, exhibitions and
\nconferences.<\/p>\n
Asia Telecom 97, which was opened by Singapore's Prime
\nMinister Goh Chok Tong, deserved thumbs-up as it succeeded in
\nfeaturing a wide range of telecommunications categories, both in
\nexhibitions and forums.<\/p>\n
Categories in exhibitions included mobile communications,
\nsatellites, networks, network services, intelligent networks,
\nmultimedia, the Internet, private networks, cabling systems,
\ndiagnostic and testing equipment and security systems.<\/p>\n
A forum and a symposium also covered various topics such as
\nregulations, community developments, copyrights, interactivity,
\npricing, financing, law and future trends.<\/p>\n
A steering committee, chaired by the Telecommunications
\nAuthority of Singapore, was formed in July 1996 to make
\npreparations for Asia Telecom 97. The committee, working closely
\nwith ITU, included representatives from the Ministry of
\nCommunications, Ministry of Information and Arts, Singapore
\nTourism Promotion Board, Singapore Telecommunication Ltd and
\nMobileOne Asia Ltd.<\/p>\n
Asia Telecom 97 also provided journalists with appropriate
\nfacilities, including free Internet service with e-mail accounts
\nduring the event. A well-equipped pressroom with pigeonholes
\nholding publications for events was also made available.<\/p>\n
Difficulties still occurred. Journalists who came after press
\nday on June 8, had to argue with security guards and police to
\nenter the pressroom for registration and badges. The pressroom
\nwas located inside the exhibition hall, while everyone wanting to
\nenter the hall was required to wear a badge.<\/p>\n
Other out-of-place scenes included exhibitors' gimmicks to
\nattract attention by featuring unrelated material. One exhibitor
\nincluded a contemporary ballet-style show with female and male
\ndancers in bodysuits.<\/p>\n
The Asia-Pacific Telecom 97 event to be held in Jakarta could
\nindeed learn from Asia Telecom 97. The event in Jakarta has
\nchosen "Competitiveness through multimedia and wireless
\ntechnology in the global information society of the 21st century"
\nas its theme.<\/p>\n
The event, hosted by the Ministry of Tourism, Post and
\nTelecommunication, will be another occasion which will feature
\nexhibitions and conferences on recent development.<\/p>\n
President of the event's organizing firm PT Multi Media Promo,
\nSony Pasaka, said that 15 ministers of related industries would
\nattend Asia-Pacific Telecom 97.<\/p>",
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