imbX 2008: WiMax, IPTV to make bigger showing
SINGAPORE--Asia's biggest infocomm technology show, the Infocomm Media Business Exchange (imbX) is back for its annual run, this year promising to showcase more cutting edge mobility and convergence technology.
The four-day event starts Jun. 17 and will bring four conferences under the imbX's umbrella brand: CommunicAsia, BroadcastAsia, EnterpriseIT and InteractiveDME.
According to a spokesperson from show's organizer, Singapore Exhibition Services (SES), the exhibition and conferences will occupy eight halls of the Singapore Expo to fill a combined space stretching 69,000 square meters (sqm). This is, however, smaller than last year's exhibition which filled 72,000 sqm.
Some 2,300 exhibitors are expected at the show, 80 percent of which are based overseas. SES said it is expecting to attract 68,000 visitors, half of which from outside Singapore shores.
According to the show organizer, this year's WiMax and IPTV exhibitor clusters are bigger compared to last year.
The SES spokesperson said in an e-mail interview: "There is a greater sense of convergence [at this year's imbX] than any other year, as Internet Protocol (IP) looks to drive the consumption of media not only via the Web, but also through mobile data access, IPTV and a host of Wi-Fi-enabled devices."
The SES spokesperson added that there will be an increased showing from "fast-growing" technologies such as access networks, IMS (Internet Protocol Multimedia Subsystem), and mobile and interactive services and applications.
SES declined to reveal revenues expected to be generated at the event.
At the imbX show in 2006, business deals worth some US$9.5 billion were estimated to have been inked.
According to SES, several large companies making an appearance for the first time this year include Yahoo and location-based services giants Garmin, Navteq and Tele Atlas.
The imbX will also host two high-level discussions: a ministerial forum on ICT, which will convene on the theme Broadband: Opportunities and Challenges, and the Asean Telecommunication Regulators' Council (ATRC) meeting, which will discuss regulatory issues in relation to next-generation networks and network security.
The annual ministerial forum will be chaired by Singapore's Minister for Information, Communications and the Arts (MICA) Dr. Lee Boon Yang, and the Infocomm Development Authority will host the ATRC meeting.
Dr. Lee will also be delivering his yearly opening address at the imbX, during which he is expected to provide updates on the country's Intelligent Nation 2015 (iN2015) initiative, first unveiled during imbX 2006.
Singapore's Media Development Authority announced last week the Singapore pavilion, which has been adding to its showcase line up over the past few years, will make its largest showing yet this year, promising to feature more emerging technology and local Web 2.0 startups at its booth.