International expo, conference on information

International expo, conference on information
and communication technology opens today

Rikza Abdullah
Contributor
Jakarta

Today's opening in Jakarta of a tandem event for an
international exhibition and conference on information and
communication technology (ICT), called the Techno Pre-Eminence
(TPE) -- Connectivity Indonesia 2002, is very timely as the ICT
market in Asia and the Pacific is on its sign of recovery in the
second half of this year.

The ICT market in the region, excluding Japan, is projected to
expand by 13.5 percent to US$76 billion in 2002. Furthermore, the
widespread mobile adoption will also drive telecom services in
the region to grow by 20.6 percent to $161 billion this year,
according to IDC Asia-Pacific.

"About 20,000 key players in telecommunications, banking,
finance, security services, information technology, Internet
education and government are expected to visit the TPE --
Connectivity Indonesia 2002, which is held from Sept. 30 through
Oct. 3 at the Jakarta Convention Center," said Taufik Hasan,
director for research and development (RisTI) of PT
Telekomunikasi Indonesia Tbk (Telkom).

Telkom, represented by its RisTI, is the host of TPE--
Connectivity Indonesia 2002, which is organized by CMP Asia Ltd.
in association with PT Internusa Promosarana.

The TPE -- Connectivity Indonesia 2002, focusing on the theme
of "Mobilizing Towards a Networked Economy," starts at Hall A of
the Jakata Convention Center today with a four-day exhibition on
international communications and networking solutions. More than
100 companies from 14 countries worldwide have confirmed their
participation in this showcase. Complementary to this exhibition,
a two-day conference will start tomorrow at Cendrawasih Room,
presenting four keynote speakers and 14 highly-qualified
speakers. About 1,000 delegates are expected to attend the
conference.

The keynote speakers, including Indonesian Minister of
Communications Agum Gumelar and IBM Indonesia's country general
manager Betti Alisjahbana, will discuss strategic alliances for
the future business world; services and applications in the
networked economy era; keys and strategies for strengthening
international e-commerce; and the next generation network as
vehicle for future telecommunication business.

The other speakers will address topics related to services and
application, strategies and regulations, platforms and
technology, as well as business trends and country/district
experiences. The first day of the conference will be closed with
a panel discussion on opportunities and challenges for Indonesia
in a networked world and the second day on plans and strategies
for Indonesia in a networked economy.

"Thus, participants of the conference will be able to explore
the significant issues, challenges and opportunities of strategic
alliances for the future business world," Taufik said. "Besides
that, participants will have sharper vision on what and how
services and application are needed and implemented in the
networked economy era, and also what and how the future networked
economy will be."

M. Gandhi, executive director of CMP Asia, said that key
players in telecommunications, banking, finance, security
services, information technology, Internet education and
government had definite reasons to attend the event.

They, for example, knew that it was a reference event for the
ICT industry, a truly business-to-business opportunity, the only
conference with a clear focus and direction, and a global
networking forum for marketing support and campaign.

The facts that the event had a proven track record of success,
that it was strongly supported by regional trade publications and
that it was officially hosted by Telkom were also strong points
for them to take part in it.

This year's Techno Pre-Eminence conference is the eighth of
its kind, while Connectivity Indonesia is the fourth
international communications and networking solution exhibition
to be organized in the country. Last year's event attracted more
than 10,000 trade visitors.

"Officially hosted by the state-owned incumbent
telecommunication service operator PT Telkom, TPE -- Connectivity
Indonesia 2002 will surely capture the essence of the technology-
driven notion, all in one avenue," Gandhi said.

Telkom, with its new vision "to become a leading InforCom
company in the region", has a mission of providing one-stop
prime-quality communication services at competitive prices, and
running business with best management by optimizing the
performance of its high quality human resources, employing
competitive technologies and working synergically with its
strategic partners.

The event's organization by CMP Asia Ltd., in association with
PT Internusa Promosarana, is another factor that would bring it
to success.

CMP Asia, formerly known as Miller Freeman Asia, is the
largest non-governmental organizer of trade fairs in Asia and a
provider of high-quality business information through its
publications and websites. It is part of United Business Media
plc, one of the world's leading business-to-business media and
market information companies. It operates in 12 market sectors
through its regional headquarters in Hong Kong with 400 staff in
11 major cities in Asia and the United States. In Indonesia, it
works in association with PT Internusa Promosarana.

CMP Asia has more than 80 media products comprising over 70
trade shows held in eight countries/regions and 13 publications
with associated business-to-business websites. Every year, 15,000
exhibitors and about 700,000 visitors come to CMP Asia's trade
fairs from around the world. Last year, the company won the Hong
Kong Trade Development Council Export Marketing Award in the Hong
Kong Awards for Services.

Gandhi said the participation of major national and
international communications players, such as Indosat Multi Media
Mobile (IM3) and Microsoft Indonesia, in TPE -- Connectivity
Indonesia 2002 would add the weight of the event.

Sutji Lantyka, corporate communications officer of IM3, said
her company would promote its technologically superior products,
such as M3-Multimedia Messaging Service (MMS), M3-Coolbox, M3-
General Packet Radio Service (GPRS) and M3-Zone, at the
Connectivity Indonesia 2002.

She explained that with the M3-MMS, subscribers could send
messages not only in the form of letters, but also in the form of
voice, pictures, photos, animation, graphics and/or video clips.

M3-Coolbox was an m-commerce service, with which subscribers
could buy soft drink by using their cellular phones with pulses
as payments, while M3-GPRS could be used to get an access to the
Internet through cellular phones. M3-Zone was IM3's portal, with
www.indosat-m3.net as its address, which provided information and
interactive services for customers and the public, she said.

She said some of IM3's services could be accessed with pre-
paid telephone card IM3 Smart and some others with post-paid
telephone card IM3 Bright.

IM3 is jointly owned by the country's primary provider of
international telecommunications services, PT Indonesian Satelite
Corporation (Indosat), and its cooperative Kopindosat,
At the exhibition, Microsoft Indonesia is to promote a wide range
of Microsoft Corporation's products and services designed to
empower people through great software -- any time, any place and
on any device.

Building on the popularity of the Windows operating system and
the Office productivity suite, Microsoft, the worldwide leader in
software, services and Internet technologies for personal and
business computing, is now focused on developing technology for
the next-generation Internet.

The company's .NET platform will enable businesses to
collaborate to offer an unprecedented range of integrated and
customized solutions -- solutions that enable their customers to
act on information wherever and whenever they need it.

Headquartered in Redmond, Washington, Microsoft Corporation
operates subsidiary offices in more than 60 foreign countries,
including Indonesia, and employs nearly 49,000 people worldwide.

Besides Indosat and Microsoft Indonesia, the exhibitors
include IBM Indonesia, the Indonesian Satellite Association
(ASSI), Hewlett-Packard, Alcatel, Fujitsu Ltd., SAP, Ericsson,
Minolta, Multipolar, NEC Corporation, NEC Nusantara
Communications, Telcoware Korea, Teleware Network Systems, Telkom
Group, Telkom Vision, Telkomsel, Siemens and Astra Graphia.

The other participants are, Allied Telesyn, AMP Netconnect,
Ardigraha Murni Infolestari, Bestindo Intiselaras, Bisnis
Indonesia, Bisnis.Com, BizNET, BS Power, Bubu Internet, C-COM
Corporation, Capella Sumber Intranet, CBN Internet, Cerah
Sempurna, Clinux, Cisco Systems, CMP Asia Ltd., CMP Business
Media Pte. Ltd., Communications Cable Systems Indonesia,
Computrade, CTC Union Technologies, Cyberguard Corporation,
Dataglobal Komukatama, Datang Telecommunication Technology Co.
Ltd., DetikCom, DFON, Draper, DrayTek, Enterasys, E-Solusi
Indonesia, Excelsoft, GEIC Jaya Lestari, Hawker, Hummingbird,
Indonesian Infocosm Business Community-i2bc, Ideal Industries,
Indovisual Presentatama, Info Linux, Infomedia, Intermediacom,
Invensys, Kabelvision, Meitraco Bahana Sejahtera, Metrolink,
Microsoft Indonesia, NetEnforcer, Neoware, Netmanage, Netwave
Maju Abadi, NFR Security Corporations, Nobi Putra Angkasa, OTC
Wireless, Panduit, PC Media, Pentasafe, Perdana Consulting,
Perdana Jati putra, Perkom Indah Murni, Pinpoint, Planet
Technology Corporation, Plesk Inc., PLUS, Powerware, Prosys
Bangun Persada, Proxima, Radware, RisTek, Senao Communications
Pte. Ltd., Sentradata Mitra Cakrawala, SSH, SonicWALL, STIMIK
Perbanas, Supra Primatama Nusantara, SWA Magazine, Symantec,
Terminal Elektronika Sekawan, TrendMicro, Trijaya FM Jakarta,
Tripwire, Unipro Nuansa Indonesia, Visi Lintas Media, Visual
Centre Media, Warta Ekonomi, Websense, WebTrends, WinTelecom and
ZyGATE Communications Inc.