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the Broadband over Power Lines conference. The event is sponsored by the United Power Line Council, and the topic is one that is generally unexplored in the clamor for market dominance by telcos and cablecos. The DataComm Enterprise conference is drawing a lot of attention, and besides being somewhat broad, the conference does appear polished and well thought out. Speakers include representatives from end-user groups like PBS and GMAC, which will likely provide a welcome break from a generally long chain of telecom-types. And, as always, the IEC’s Communications Forums promise to be solid. It is noteworthy that the IEC has made the transition from Supercomm to GLOBALCOMM, as there was some doubt among critics about whether or not any turmoil associated with the cessation of Supercomm and the creation of two new shows would leave the IEC caught in the middle and lost in the shuffle.
The listed hottest topics in the IEC conference materials are relatively unchanged from previous years, and include next-gen TV, IMS, and WiMax. Indeed, Flanigan concurs that “a lot of the focus is going to be on convergence and IPTV. Video is going to be
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a hot commodity.” And video generally is a hot commodity. But what new buzz will circulate on the exhibition floor? What will be the technology that is to GLOBALCOMM 2006 as IMS and IPTV were to SuperComm 2005? We could speculate all day, but ultimately, only the attendees can decide what creates buzz and what doesn’t.
And so far, the event itself is creating a little bit of buzz. As of May 19, TIA reported that 85% of their hotel block was already booked, which is not a bad sign. And it’s a beautiful time to visit Chicago. And why Chicago again this year? “Chicago is an excellent city for this event,” says Flanigan. “It’s the largest enterprise arena in the country, in terms of enterprises within a given area.” GLOBALCOMM plans to make its way back next year as well, and TIA is confident that the event will be an even bigger success in 2007. “After SuperComm, lots of people were upset over the split [between TIA and USTelecom]. We want everyone to know that GLOBALCOMM is going to be the replacement for Supercomm.”
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