SEOUL, KOREA – CommunicAsia 2012, the world’s leading event for the increasingly converging Digital Multimedia, Entertainment, Infocomm and Telecommunications arena will be held on the 19th of June at Marina Bay Sands and nearby Suntec City, Singapore. This year, CommunicAsia, EnterpriseIT and BroadcastAsia are going to be held in conjunction with each other. By utilizing a single registration, guests can move freely throughout both events, gathering key information at this critical time for the industry, learning all they need to know to move forward within the offerings of their own organization. Some 110 Korean small- and medium-sized companies will showcase Korea’s potential as an ICT power by participating in this event. It is Asia’s most unique event, highlighting current debates and demonstrations across the latest technology breakthroughs and applications, ranging from film, audio and TV to cloud, mobile apps and services, satellite, M2M and vertical solutions. It is the premier launching pad for many companies from around the world to showcase the latest and best technology has to offer, and is also Asia’s largest and most successful event of its kind within the industry.
The converging trend became clear in 2011, where more than 17 per cent of visitors attended both events – which also individually experienced higher attendance levels than in 2010. Apart from sheer visitor numbers and registration, the event already has close to 300 first time exhibitors – with many of them already reflecting the aggregation of technologies in a rapidly evolving market.
IPTV leads the way in showing convergence
IPTV is one field which visitors should pay close attention to at CommunicAsia 2012. IPTV is the primary global application from the integration of broadcast and telecommunications technology. Among the leading players using CommunicAsia2012, EnterpriseIT2012 and BroadcastAsia2012 as an integral component for their marketing mix are AppearTV, Conax, Envivio, Exset, Harmonic, Huawei, KIT Digital, Irdeto, Pace, Verimatrix, Viaccess and ZTE.
Earlier in May, leading broadband analyst firm Point Topic reported that global IPTV subscriptions were approaching 60 million, with the last yearly quarter seeing the biggest three month growth in history.
Mr. Oliver Johnson, CEO of Point Topic said, “IPTV led the way in demonstrating convergence in the market, and the enormous numbers of subscribers we are seeing are a welcome boost in ARPU (Average Revenue Per User) for service providers. At events like CommunicAsia, EnterpriseIT and BroadcastAsia, they will be seeking new platforms to repeat that success and so will their suppliers, so I’m sure Singapore will once again be an important event for the industry.”
Mr. Johnson will be giving a presentation on “Value Added Services: Broadband Driven Revenues, Who, How Much and Where”, which is part of the CommunicAsia2012 Summit’s Next Generation Broadband Business Models track.
Watch out Cloud Broadcasting and Over the Top Technology as well
Cloud Broadcasting and Over the Top Technology are further examples, where the prolific growth of portable devices has created new business opportunities and has impelled broadcasters and content producers to look for means to monetize content. As the world population progresses into a digitally connected domain, broadcasters are driven to add value by customizing content catered towards specific audience interests, as well as communicating with viewers across various platforms. Broadcasting is no longer based solely on transmitting, but also about interaction between content providers and users.
A new feature area at BroadcastAsia2012 will illuminate ground-breaking OTT technologies, a must-see for industry professionals as OTT delivery promulgates throughout the coming years; with cloud broadcasting setting new standards in video content delivery network (video CDN). Solutions for Digital Radio, DVB-T2, File-based and Digital Media Asset Management will also be showcased. Concurrently, CommunicAsia2012 will feature a Cloud Services and Security Techzone – a dedicated area designed to showcase the latest products and services related to cloud spectrum as a whole, from cloud infrastructure and platform, services and applications, to cloud security.
Which Korean companies will participate in CommunicAsia 2012
Around 110 Korean companies including FORCS Co., Ltd from the business sector as well as the institutional sector and the local governments are slated to participate in this exhibition. The Korean Pavilion run by KOTRA (Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency) will see participation from approximately 40 businesses from various fields including Jiransoft(DirectReader), e2on(Social Media Monitoring Solution), Digent(Smart Reader), SafeOK(Intelligent Video Security Solution), LinkLine I&C(Optical Communication Connector), Nano Solution(Cloud Storage), Sollae Systems(Communication Equipment), INNO(Mobile Phone Case).
The KOTRA-run Korea Pavilion is located in the center of the main entrance on the second basement floor. SBA(Seoul Business Agency) and Gyeong-gi Province Joint Pavilion are also located on the second basement level alongside the Korea Pavilion. Korea’s local government pavilions will be located on the 5th floor.
Since 1999, KOTRA has participated in CommunicAsia, and this year marks the twelfth time that it has opened its own pavilion.
Park Jong-geuon, director at Overseas Exhibition Team of KOTRA explained, “CommunicAsia, one of the biggest Information and Communication Exhibitions in Asia, is considered one of the world’s four major information and communication exhibitions along with CeBit (Hanover, Germany), CES (Las Vegas, USA), and GITEX (Dubai, UAE). Singapore has a strong geopolitical advantage, which makes it easier to target markets in Asia and China.”
He also added, “Many developing countries have shown great interest in Korea’s e-learning using IPTV as a result of the 5th APEC Education Ministerial Meeting held last month in Gyeongju. The participants will have opportunities to meet relevant Korean businesses at the CommunicAsia 2012.”
Boston Sohn, manager at Overseas Exhibition Team of Exhibition and Convention Department of KOTRA, said, “Businesses with various products such as apps for smart phones, social monitoring solutions, equipment for broadcasting audio signals, electromagnetic wave enhancement film, and IP phones are able to submit for the Exhibition, setting the stage as a push into the Southeast markets.”
In the mean time, KOTRA selected some 100 exhibitions from the annual exhibitions held all over the world and marked them as promising and influential, aiding Korean businesses as they attempt to make inroads into the overseas market. Participation in the exhibitions is considered very important in securing markets for promotion since more than 60% companies which participate exhibition in Germany, the mecca of the exhibition, and more than 60% of the participants in the U.S. trade show regard the exhibition as the most potential marketing tool.
On top of this, as Korea has been branded in the wake of the Korean Wave, many events are scheduled for targeting markets which can gain momentum from the Korea Premium effect. The K-pop concert held in France last year and another K-pop concert scheduled this year in Osaka are all part of the effort. Director Park expressed his ambitions that he would make Trade Show a great festival ground so that many Korean companies can enjoy the benefits from business by utilizing a variety of Korean cultural staples including contents, entertainment, and games with te Trade Show as a stepping stone.
