TIA, USTelecom to Recombine Trade Shows
Reversing a 2005 decision to split into 2 shows, TIA and USTelecom said Wed. they're reuniting with a combined trade show (CD Oct 4 p7), NXTcomm, June 18-21 in Chicago. The name blends TIA’s GlobalComm and USTelecom’s TeleNext, officials told reporters in a news conference.
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The 2007 show will be in space already held at Chicago’s McCormick Place for GlobalComm, the groups said. USTelecom, which will cancel a TeleNext set for March in Las Vegas, is in talks to use that Las Vegas space in June 2008 for NXTcomm’s 2nd year. Using GlobalComm’s Chicago reservation gives the associations more time to plan than if they had opted for the March TeleNext arrangements, they said.
USTelecom Pres. Walter McCormick and TIA Pres. Matt Flanigan heralded the new show as industry’s “premier exhibit and conference,” serving USTelecom’s network providers and TIA’s suppliers. After holding a combined show for many years called SuperComm, the groups held separate shows for the first time this year. Asked if they recombined because exhibitors didn’t like attending 2 separate shows, Flanigan said industry desire for one show was a factor, as was the associations’ desire for an event that more broadly reflects convergence. The associations described the new show as reflecting the growing merger of communications and entertainment.
The show is a “50-50 ownership venture,” said McCormick and Flanigan, with each group’s president and chairman on its board. The executives didn’t say what SuperComm’s financial split was but TIA reportedly quit because it thought its share too small (CD June 9 p9). Flanigan said the joint show is the result of “private negotiations over the past several weeks” between officials of the 2 associations.
When asked if NXTcomm will be the “born again Supercomm,” McCormick said definitely not. NXTcomm will be a different concept that “showcases” new telecom business and technology, he said. “It’s a new world, a new event,” said McCormick. Asked if the associations erred when they split SuperComm into 2 shows last year, McCormick said both shows succeeded and “now we're combining for one spectacular event.”