NEW ORLEANS — With carriers activating third-generation
depends on how compelling and reliable new voice, data and video services
are.
At the Cellular Telecommunications and Internet Association (CTIA) 2005
trade show which begins here today, companies are out to prove
that consumers will pay a monthly premium for their offerings — and they’re
out in force.
“Square feet of exhibit space grew by approximately 20 percent, or 25,000
square feet, from the 2004 event,” Erin McGee, a CTIA spokeswoman, said.
“The number of exhibitors has also increased by a solid 20 percent.”
One factor in the jump is the arrival of non-wireless companies, McGee said.
Photo giant Eastman Kodak and sports programmer ESPN are among those with a
presence at this year’s show.
The companies are seeking new ways to deliver their services and content.
ESPN already has a deal to provide news and feature clips for Verizon
Wireless’ new Vcast
service. Verizon Wireless is expected to announce some additional partners
for Vcast this week.
In addition, wireless network and device equipment makers will be on hand to
demonstrate technology that delivers this content to phones and handhelds.
The company’s offering delivers 24 frames of video per second on 3G and
Wi-Fi
and starts that once hampered wireless video transmission.
While streaming multimedia will be prevalent at CTIA, John Malloy,
co-founder and managing general partner of BlueRun Ventures (formerly Nokia
Venture Partners), expects to see continued momentum in less flashy
segments, including custom ring-back tones for consumers.
And 2005 could be the year that location-based services finally break
through. “It’s been a long time coming,” Malloy said. “But we’re seeing
that the applications are there and the networks are there.”
Besides a chance for companies to showcase the latest offerings, CTIA gives
industry executives a platform to discuss their visions for the
industry or to provide updates on new product lines.
Delivering addresses at the show are CEOs or top managers from Eastman
Kodak, Disney Media Networks, Samsung, Sybase, Nortel, Ericsson,
Alcatel, Lucent, Sprint, Alltel, Cingular and T-Mobile USA.
This year’s show also includes special exhibits that highlight promising new
wireless segments, including home networking and entertainment.
Attendees can stroll through a 7,000 square foot model home that will provide
interactive demonstrations of how a family can communicate via voice,
video, instant messaging, message boards and alerts over a variety of
devices and access methods.
Or, for CTIA visitors who often find themselves stuck in traffic, there’s
@Road’s “mobile Wi-Fi hotspot” technology van. The vehicle shows how
wireless technology can be integrated into vehicles to boost productivity.
There will also be a breakout conference on the impact of Radio Frequency
Identification
devices. Among the topics discussed will be advances in RFID tags/readers
embedded in mobile handsets and what that might mean for mobile commerce.
Finally, CTIA will bring back its Mobile Entertainment Expo (MEX) to the
show floor. The MEX debuted last year and is dedicated to the latest in
mobile entertainment services, consumer products and accessories. For
example, it will have a runway where models will show the latest in wearable
wireless devices.
