21st Convergence India 2013 Expo.. Enriching a billion lives through convergence and innovation

“Convergence is going to be a big key word for the industry over the next few years. The government of India sees the telecom evolution as a continuum, and it is not going to stop because of anything that has happened in this space in the past couple of years. We remain fully committed to bring further growth to the telecom, media & entertainment sectors”, declared by Shri Manish Tewari, Hon’ble Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting, Government of India, at the international exhibition and conference of 21st Convergence India 2013 expo, which concluded in the nation’s capital last week on a triumphant note.

The three-day exhibition and conference featuring 326 exhibitors from 23 countries received an overwhelming response from the discerning and growing ICT industry.

During the opening ceremony, Mr. Akhil Gupta, Deputy Group CEO & Managing Director, Bharti Enterprise said, “There are very few industries in a country that can enrich a billion lives, and in the Indian context, telecom is one industry which has truly enriched the lives of the common man. Today, about 90% of the population is covered by the telecom sector.”

Spread over a gross area of 11,000 sqm, the event attracted nearly 14,000 trade visitors and about 800 delegates. The concurrent conference sessions discussed relevant topics against the changing backdrop of technological developments taking place in the communications sector.

The inaugural session titled” Enriching a billion lives” emphasized the tremendous growth in the voice sector and government focus shifting from voice to enhancing broadband penetration.

“A 10 percent broadband penetration in a country contributes 1.83% to its GDP and our primary approach is to enhance broadband penetration in rural areas,” said R K Arnold, Secretary, Telecom Regulatory Authority of India.

Digitization has been made an integral part of the 21st Convergence India 2013 expo. Dedicated sessions digitization revealed industry’s mixed opinion towards consequences, challenges and emerging revenue models through digitization in India.

“Digitization has completely failed in the two metros and unless the government doesn’t educate the cable industry, monetizing from it will be a distant dream,” said Ms. Roop Sharma, President, Cable Operators Federation of India (COFI). She further added consequences of imposing the digitization in a market which is not prepared for it will be disastrous.

On the other side, Mr. Jayant Changrani, Country Head and GM, NDS India expressed “With more and more digitization happening in the country, it will be a new platform for the advertisers who are willing to reach the masses.”

The event also highlighted the importance of broadband in the post digitization era. Mr. Richard Callahan, Co- Chairman, Indiverse Broadband said, “Government is heading in the right direction for broadband revolution in India. The entire cable industry is keenly waiting to witness the outcome of a pan India digitization.”

The 21st edition of Convergence India Conference also highlighted the ways to make digitization transition process easier and effective and brought a high profile mix from the ICT industries playing an exemplary role in the broadcasting space.

The global revenue of M2M is estimated to reach approx. US $ 1.23 trillion in another 10 years. 21st Convergence India expo also emphasized the challenges, growth and potential of the market for next-gen M2M technology.

One major point discussed was on the monetization front. There is no clear answer about who will pay and who will benefit. The key challenges faced by the sector includes making maintenance free hardware, uninterrupted connectivity, privacy concerns, and educating the end users about the benefits, etc.

The last day of the event focused on two emerging technologies- mobile payment and cloud computing. Mobile payment can play a pivotal role in easing the financial transaction processes in the country of more than 900 million mobile users, particularly for the rural masses. Unfortunately, the lack of a proper ecosystem in the country is hindering the uptake of mobile payment, which is growing at a snail’s pace, felt the panelists.

The session on “Mobile cloud computing in India- strategies, challenges, differentiation and economics” draw attention to increasing popularity of mobile cloud, which is being driven by increasing mobile adaptation. Data treatment, data safeguards and consumer awareness are major elements in the way forward in the mobile cloud space.

South Asia’s largest ICT event, the 21st Convergence India 2013 expo was the center stage for not only business exchange but also for comprehensive knowledge dissemination. With a continuous flow of high profile trade visitors including government officials, trade associations, regulatory bodies and media, the 21st Convergence India 2013 was an exciting event for the ICT and broadcast industry, buzzing with entrepreneurship and innovation.

Ending on a promising note for the future of communications industry in India, the event was organised by Exhibitions India Group. The 22nd Convergence India 2014 expo is scheduled to be held from 21-23 January 2014 at New Delhi, India.

Source: http://cablequest.org/news/national-news/item/790-21st-convergence-india-2013-expo-enriching-a-billion-lives-through-convergence-and-innovation.html
Source: http://cablequest.org/news/national-news/item/790-21st-convergence-india-2013-expo-enriching-a-billion-lives-through-convergence-and-innovation.html