17th Convergence India 2009

Paving way for next generation technologies
Capturing endless possibilities of tech-applications

The 17th Convergence India 2009 international exhibition and conference, organised at Pragati Maidan, New Delhi, concluded successfully on 20 March, 2009. Innovative solutions, driving the current phase of growth in India’s information & communications technology (ICT) segment, were visibly in focus at the event.

Organized by Exhibitions India Pvt. Ltd., the event brought together over 400 participants for an exciting showcase of cutting edge technologies in Telecom, Mobility, Broadcast, Cable, Satellite, Entertainment, Information Technology and Information Security. The participation of exhibitors from 20 countries and the presence of three country pavilions – from China, Taiwan and USA - emphasized the growing interest of international players in accessing the Indian market.

The event was inaugurated on 18th March, by Shri Siddhartha Behura, Secretary, Department of Telecom, Ministry of Communications & IT, Govt. of India. Shri Kuldeep Goyal, CMD, BSNL and Shri R.S.P Sinha, CMD, MTNL were felicitated as Guests of Honor. The event saw the release of a White Paper on the ICT industry, presented by Mr Rajeev Karwal, Founder Director, Milagrow.

Convergence India served as an apt platform for many companies, including BSNL, MTNL, Noida Software Technology Park (NSTPL), RAD data Communications, Sai Info Systems Ltd (SIS), Span Technologies, Techroutes to display convergence of technologies and applications on single platform offering triple play services- Voice, Data and Video.

Many organizations used the opportunity provided by the event to make announcements, and launch new products. SIS launched its video phone service at the event in collaboration with state owned telco BSNL. The service, allowing audio/video calls worldwide at rates lower than the current charges for landline calls, might just prove to be a breakthrough in rural telephony and help in extending telecom services in all parts of the country.

Railtel announced the launch of its NLD service for carriage of inter-circle voice traffic of operators using NGN networks. With this network, Railtel is now the only operator in the country using an NGN based network for voice, having its own fiber network.

European optical transport solutions provider, Ekinops, marked its entry into the Indian market at the event, with the launch of Ekinops 360 – a revolutionary new video transport solution.

The concurrent conference allowed 70 domestic and international speakers to share their expertise on various subjects such as the empowering role of digital convergence, broadband expansion in the Indian market, India’s perspective on IPTV, WiMAX’s emerging position in wireless communication, the rising Infosecurity challenge, new business models in the mobile information society and the growing VAS market in India.

Broadcasting was given a special focus with sessions on regulatory aspects, battle for supremacy in the Indian market amongst Multi System Operators (MSO), Cable and Direct-to Home (DTH) providers, and emerging technologies in satellite broadcasting.

Additionally, technical workshops were conducted by the Centre for Content Protection (CCP) on ‘The Future Role of Fingerprinting and Watermarking in Content Distribution’, ‘Migrating the Backhaul Network - Technology Alternatives and Transition Paths” by ECI Telecom and “Transforming MSOs to an Experience Provider” by Cisco.

17th Convergence India 2009 ended on a triumphant note as it was a fruitful experience for many exhibitors, speakers, visitors and delegates, who promised to be back for the 2010 edition.