Doug on IP Comm » TIA

May travel schedule–Interop Vegas and TIA 2011

Doug Mohney — Mon, 25 Apr 2011 19:39:52 +0000

I’ll be at two shows in May.

Interop Las Vegas 2011, Mandalay Bay Convention Center, Las Vegas, NV

Running around the show floor on Tuesday, May 10 and Wednesday, May 11.

TIA 2011, Gaylord Texas, Dallas, TX

Wednesday, May 18 – “HD Voice: Implementing the Advantages” 8:30 am – 9:15 am.

After my presentation, I’ll be on site through about 2 PM local time before I have to head to the airport.

As usual, if you are seeking a briefing, email me at moo@vegascommando.com.

CES announces Telecom Pavilion

Doug Mohney — Tue, 13 Apr 2010 19:24:51 +0000

Taking advantage of (hopefully final, stick a fork in it, it’s done) the SUPERCOMM implosion, CES (www.cesweb.org) has announced a dedicated telecom pavilion. (Not that I needed another excuse to go to CES…)

Scheduled to run January 6-9, 2011 in Vegas, the Telecom Pavilion will be focused on broadband equipment and services. More specifically from the press release–

The Telecom Pavilion at CES is designed to bring traditional and emerging communications companies together to leverage the rapid convergence of advanced core network and broadband equipment, services, content and applications. The newly floored CES exhibit space will feature the latest in 3G/4G, broadband, content, copper and fiber-based networks, FMC (Fixed-Mobile Convergence), IPTV, IMS, triple play, quad play, security, VOIP and more.

(Psst, you guys need to work in “HD Voice” into your buzzwords. Maybe replace FMC with UC)

ANYway, CES boasts that “all of the top 50 global telecommunications service providers” showed up at the show in 2010. Be interesting to see if the Big Iron/Network people traditionally represented by TIA will exhibit and what kind of lover’s triangle may emerge between CES, TIA, and USTA – the latter two the former “partners” in SUPERCOMM during its tumultuous life.

Rumor mill – SUPERCOMM dead (again)?

Doug Mohney — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 22:03:53 +0000

Is SUPERCOMM dead again?

I just got a “Deep Throat” style phone call that said just that. It is not clear if SUPERCOMM will be re-organized/re-named into Yet Another Event, if USTA and TIA have (yet again) split over philosophical differences, or if someone just wants to re-brand the event because they are bored.

If the assertion is true, this would be the latest ugly saga between the big phone companies and telecom equipment manufacturers dating back nearly a decade.

After all, once upon a time, there was a successful show called SUPERCOMM held every June in Chicago. By most accounts, the USTA would supply the keynote speakers and TIA would pay the majority of the bills through its exhibiting members.

Unfortunately, USTA and TIA couldn’t agree on how to run the show, so there was a big messy divorce and SUPERCOMM split into two shows by the different organizations. The show run by TIA became GLOBALCOMM while the USTA tried to run its own show in Vegas in the spring, but nobody showed up.

After no shows at USTA’s show and GLOBALCOMM seeing declined attendance and exhibits — when you have to invite the ditch diggers to fill space, it is obvious – the two, like Heidi Fleiss and Tom Sizemore on “Celebrity Rehab,” appeared to reach an amicable agreement to get back together for SUPERCOMM.

Until, according to more word on the street, USTA unilaterally decided in April 2009 to uproot the SUPERCOMM 2009 from a June date to October — thereby pissing off numerous vendors who had already made commitments for travel, hospitality, and other arrangements.

Needless to say, if USTA and TIA have split once again, it shouldn’t be a great surprise to anyone and now leads to an interesting situation where there may or may not be a need for a telecom trade show with USTA and TIA both involved… but you’d have to be crazy to do so, given the drama history.