The wireless industry has yet another trade show under its belt. It’s time to sit back and take a deep breath before all hell breaks loose in preparation for the next one.
Every year, after every major trade show, the industry collectively wonders whether it needs to attend and/or exhibit at both CTIA’s and PCIA’s trade shows. This year it’s beginning to sound like some industry heavyweights are realizing they don’t need and/or want to attend both shows.
Lucent Technologies Inc. has gone on the record as saying it will not attend PCIA’s trade show in fall 2000. The manufacturer is only stating publicly what many a carrier and vendor have grumbled about privately for a couple of years. Lucent said it plans to focus more of its efforts outside the United States, including attending international trade shows, and further suggested that CTIA and PCIA combine their show efforts for one large event focusing on wireless in North America.
The company has a point. If RCR’s calendar of events is any indication, the show industry is the only part of the telecom world that hasn’t been affected by consolidation. Each February or March, CTIA puts on a trade show catered to cellular and PCS carriers. And each September, PCIA puts on a trade show catered to PCS carriers (which in many cases also happen to be cellular carriers) and the messaging industry.
Each show has a little different spin, but for many vendors and carriers, it’s the same show. And in the meantime, there are 100 other shows (some of them legitimate) demanding attention.
Perhaps what needs to happen is one of the shows needs to evolve. Lucent’s decision not to exhibit at PCS 2000 may force PCIA to do that with its Personal Communications Showcase.
Lucent’s suggestion that the two associations join forces to create one large trade show seems a bit idealistic to me. Few competitors join forces for the greater good, and to expect CTIA and PCIA to do so would require a lot of work. After all, the two groups disagree on some pretty major issues, like spectrum caps and whether to lobby for more 3G spectrum.
Instead, one trade show should cater to the needs of cellular and PCS and one show should address everything else.
Hey, isn’t that how PCIA’s predecessor Telocator and CTIA addressed the market 10 years ago?
