FiberComm triples attendance

For three days this month everything in the International Congress Centre Munich (ICM) revolved around the topic of optical networks.

For three days this month everything in the International Congress Centre Munich (ICM) revolved around the topic of optical networks.

Nearly 300 delegates boosted their knowledge of the industry at the FiberComm Conference 2004 by participating in tutorials, presentations and podium discussions covering the business and technical trends that the sector is experiencing.

And 27% of the delegates came from outside Germany.

In his keynote address, "Three years after the burst: where are we?" which was held during the session entitled "The optical network market - today, tomorrow", Stephane Teral from the American market research company RHK pointed to positive market indicators: "In 2004, Europe is beginning a new era".

This trend was spurred on by a major expansion of the networks in the countries now joining the EU.

These countries wanted to provide up to 70% of all subscriber connections with broadband access.

Simultaneously, existing networks were thinned out considerably, which was accompanied by improved services.

AT and T, for instance, is now only using one operating support system (OSS) platform instead of the 100 platforms that it was using a year ago.

The industry was strongly encouraged by the outstanding example of the Italian fibre-optics and DSL provider FastWeb, which caused a sensation with video services that earned the company the world's highest ARPU (average revenue per user).

"Resurrected from the dead" was the motto for the presentation from analyst Jagdish Rebello from the market research company iSuppli.

This general sense of movement combined with reserved optimism was a repeated theme throughout the presentations.

As far as expectations for the future are concerned, observers see strong regional differences for optical networks: while the trend in North America remains weaker, the boom in Asia is cooling off somewhat and Europe will see moderate growth.

In parallel with the conference, some companies presented their products and services at the affiliated "table top exhibition".

They praised the high level of professionalism among the visitors and the quality of the conversations on business and technical topics.

Compared with FiberComm 2003, the number of participants attending this year's conference was more than three times as high.

Some of the events, such as "The evolution of Ethernet" presentations from Cisco and Marconi, were booked right down to the last seat.

The strong interest in these topics was also reflected in the discussion that followed, which included a lively exchange of opinions between experts in the audience and the podium speakers.

Dr-Ing Stefan Neidlinger, Vice President of Solution Management for Optical Networks, Siemens, emphasised the comprehensive overview of the industry that the conference provided: "FiberComm presented an excellent mixture of speakers from network operators, manufacturers, analysts and universities".

Klaus Dittrich, Managing Director of MMI (Messe Munchen International), believes in the success of the congress and exhibition: "FiberComm provides a complete overview of the market, the forces that drive it, and the companies that are active in the sector".

"In this way, the event points the way to holistic solutions for the future".

For next year, the event organiser is optimistic: the company plans to present the field of optical information technology and communication technology in June 2005 at FiberComm 2005 in parallel with the "Laser 2005 - world of photonics" exhibition.

Back to top