PR Vibes: PTC '10: Embracing the Cloud: Enabling Connectivity and Innovation
By Laura Borgstede | January 28, 2010
Honolulu, Hawaii
Hilton Hawaiian VillageŽ Beach Resort & Spa
January 17 - 20, 2010
Attendees: around 1,300, unaudited
Exhibitors: 24
Media: 13
Calysto Overview
In its 32nd year, the Pacific Telecommunications Council’s show attendance grew by an unexpected 20% over last year, causing organizers to scramble to come up with enough show programs and goodie bags for attendees. According to the Pacific Telecommunications Council, the unaudited total number of attendees was about 1,300, about 200 more than last year’s unaudited total.
The program started originally as a forum for regulators, academics and practitioners in the industry to meet to discuss policy, said Stephan Beckert, event co-chair. “Over the years. it became, almost by accident, a bilateral meeting place because it was a convenient forum for operators to congregate. This year, I met people from companies that had not been here before, and they told me they planned to bring a bigger delegation next year.”
Now, the event attracts telcos, satellite and undersea cable providers, equipment and software developers, content providers, investors, researchers, policy makers and all types of ICT arena professionals who meet each January in Hawaii to forge alliances, negotiate agreements and to learn from one another’s experiences. This year’s theme was “Embracing the Cloud: Enabling Connectivity and Innovation.” During the show, attendees explored the evolution of cloud-based services and their implications for strategies and business models in a rapidly evolving marketplace.
The energy level during the conference was high, and the plenary sessions were packed. One of the most interesting included the heads of infrastructure for Google, Yahoo and Facebook, who gave overviews of their current network infrastructures and discussed network management strategies. The breakout sessions were, for the most part, well attended as well, and included topics such as what cloud computing means to carriers, China, building for sustainability and consumer-centric communications.
The show floor was quiet, but, again, the event’s real strength is that it is a common ground for one-on-one meetings. One attendee said that the show is a very good networking show for carrier wholesale personnel, buying and selling capacity and services. “It really is seen as a “deal center” sort of meeting.” Most of the exhibitors don’t expect much walk-up traffic, and many use their booths as a meeting venue. The visitors they do get tend to be serious.
Perhaps because of its premium location, those in attendance are generally senior-level decision makers. Last year, 66% of the attendees were C-level executives (21%), vice presidents (22%) and directors (23%), and organizers expect the breakdown to be similar this year. A vice president of a service provider said his experience with the show is consistent, and he likes it that way. “I got lots of good one-on-one feedback. Just about all the people we wanted to meet with were there, and because the show is not cluttered with low-level salespeople, the high-level people make themselves more available.”
Those execs come from some of the most visible companies in the telecom field, with representatives in attendance running the gamut: Alcatel-Lucent Submarine Networks, Deutsche Telekom, Facebook, Google, Huawei Marine Networks, Lockheed Martin, Microsoft, NEC, Nortel, Orange, Sun Microsystems, Verizon Business and Yahoo.
One vice president said his company has been coming to PTC for at least 12 years and has increased its delegation over the years because the show has been such a key venue for setting up meetings and conducting business.
This may not be a great show for exhibiting or making a big announcement, but if you’re trying to get some visibility through a speaking opportunity or catch up with some carrier execs working in the Asia Pacific region, this would be a good event to check out.
Articles of Interest
Official PTC Daily coverage:
Commsday International
January 18, 2010
http://www.ptc.org/uploads/deployed/commsday/pdf/cdi100118ptc.pdf
Commsday International
January 19, 2010
http://www.ptc.org/uploads/deployed/commsday/pdf/cdi100119.pdf
Commsday International
January 20, 2010
http://www.ptc.org/uploads/deployed/commsday/pdf/cdi100120.pdf
Commsday International
January 21, 2010
http://www.ptc.org/uploads/deployed/commsday/pdf/cdi100121.pdf
Commsday International
January 22, 2010
http://www.ptc.org/ptc/sites/default/files/cdi100122.pdf
Hilton Hawaiian VillageŽ Beach Resort & Spa
January 17 - 20, 2010
Attendees: around 1,300, unaudited
Exhibitors: 24
Media: 13
Calysto Overview
In its 32nd year, the Pacific Telecommunications Council’s show attendance grew by an unexpected 20% over last year, causing organizers to scramble to come up with enough show programs and goodie bags for attendees. According to the Pacific Telecommunications Council, the unaudited total number of attendees was about 1,300, about 200 more than last year’s unaudited total.
The program started originally as a forum for regulators, academics and practitioners in the industry to meet to discuss policy, said Stephan Beckert, event co-chair. “Over the years. it became, almost by accident, a bilateral meeting place because it was a convenient forum for operators to congregate. This year, I met people from companies that had not been here before, and they told me they planned to bring a bigger delegation next year.”
Now, the event attracts telcos, satellite and undersea cable providers, equipment and software developers, content providers, investors, researchers, policy makers and all types of ICT arena professionals who meet each January in Hawaii to forge alliances, negotiate agreements and to learn from one another’s experiences. This year’s theme was “Embracing the Cloud: Enabling Connectivity and Innovation.” During the show, attendees explored the evolution of cloud-based services and their implications for strategies and business models in a rapidly evolving marketplace.
The energy level during the conference was high, and the plenary sessions were packed. One of the most interesting included the heads of infrastructure for Google, Yahoo and Facebook, who gave overviews of their current network infrastructures and discussed network management strategies. The breakout sessions were, for the most part, well attended as well, and included topics such as what cloud computing means to carriers, China, building for sustainability and consumer-centric communications.
The show floor was quiet, but, again, the event’s real strength is that it is a common ground for one-on-one meetings. One attendee said that the show is a very good networking show for carrier wholesale personnel, buying and selling capacity and services. “It really is seen as a “deal center” sort of meeting.” Most of the exhibitors don’t expect much walk-up traffic, and many use their booths as a meeting venue. The visitors they do get tend to be serious.
Perhaps because of its premium location, those in attendance are generally senior-level decision makers. Last year, 66% of the attendees were C-level executives (21%), vice presidents (22%) and directors (23%), and organizers expect the breakdown to be similar this year. A vice president of a service provider said his experience with the show is consistent, and he likes it that way. “I got lots of good one-on-one feedback. Just about all the people we wanted to meet with were there, and because the show is not cluttered with low-level salespeople, the high-level people make themselves more available.”
Those execs come from some of the most visible companies in the telecom field, with representatives in attendance running the gamut: Alcatel-Lucent Submarine Networks, Deutsche Telekom, Facebook, Google, Huawei Marine Networks, Lockheed Martin, Microsoft, NEC, Nortel, Orange, Sun Microsystems, Verizon Business and Yahoo.
One vice president said his company has been coming to PTC for at least 12 years and has increased its delegation over the years because the show has been such a key venue for setting up meetings and conducting business.
This may not be a great show for exhibiting or making a big announcement, but if you’re trying to get some visibility through a speaking opportunity or catch up with some carrier execs working in the Asia Pacific region, this would be a good event to check out.
Articles of Interest
Official PTC Daily coverage:
Commsday International
January 18, 2010
http://www.ptc.org/uploads/deployed/commsday/pdf/cdi100118ptc.pdf
Commsday International
January 19, 2010
http://www.ptc.org/uploads/deployed/commsday/pdf/cdi100119.pdf
Commsday International
January 20, 2010
http://www.ptc.org/uploads/deployed/commsday/pdf/cdi100120.pdf
Commsday International
January 21, 2010
http://www.ptc.org/uploads/deployed/commsday/pdf/cdi100121.pdf
Commsday International
January 22, 2010
http://www.ptc.org/ptc/sites/default/files/cdi100122.pdf
