For the last 20 years, the PT / EXPO COMM 2013 Beijing (September 24-28) exhibition-cum-conference has been the leading forum for ICT service providers, equipment manufacturers, device manufacturers, IT solution providers and other players aiming to make their mark in the China ICT industry to enlarge their market not only in China but also globally. The event is recognised as one of the largest and most influential ICT and electronics science and technology sector shows in Asia, and also the biggest event in the ICT industry on the China mainland.

Sponsored by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology of the People’s Republic of China and China Council for the Promotion of International Trade, PT/EXPO COMM CHINA has become the preferred platform to learn about the latest developments in the dynamic and fast-growth China and Asia ICT markets, and connect with the ‘who’s-who’ of the industry.

PT/EXPO COMM CHINA 2013 was hosted at China Exhibition Center, Beijing on Sep 24-28, 2013. This year’s PT/EXPO COMM focused on the theme of expanding industrial development, convergence of technology and great innovation. With close to 500 exhibitors from 16 countries including the People’s Republic of China (including Hong Kong SAR and Taiwan), the United Arab Emirates, Finland, France, Germany, India, Japan, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Denmark, Israel, the United Kingdom, and the United States, PT/EXPO COMM CHINA this year set new benchmarks. It is estimated that nearly 200,000 persons visited the show. Nearly 300 Chinese and overseas media reported PT/EXPO COMM 2013.

The successful 21 sessions of the event featured industry updates, product / service launches, optimising business opportunities and knowledge sharing by ICT industry experts.

All the five main exhibition zones (CSP, Smart City, Mobile Digital, App Developers and Wearable Technology) managed to garner huge interest from attendees. Smart Wearable Devices and 3D Print Experience Zone were two of the key highlights of the prestigious event.

Companies such as telecom carriers, IT solution providers, telecoms / IT equipment suppliers, system integrators, terminal manufacturers, internet service providers, mobile game developers and operators, mobile appliance vendors and distributors attended the show to demonstrate their sophisticated technologies, solutions and products.

Telecoms and entertainment press also turned out in strength.

Compared with earlier editions of the event, PT/EXPO COMM CHINA 2013 had the below highlights:

High-Level Forum 2013: Concurrent Activity

The concurrent activity of PT/EXPO COMM CHINA 2013 – the ICT China High-Level Forum 2013 – referred to as the “Davos of the China ICT industry” was held at the Radisson SAS Hotel Beijing. The forum boasted of an agenda that had high-level industry invitees, executive decision makers and professionals from government and ICT industry as speakers and panelists. The topics of discussion ranged from policy, cutting-edge technological developments, discussions on ICT and mobile digital life, TD-LTE, mobile internet devices and apps, smart cities, personal and family entertainment in the mobile internet era. Growth and development trends in the China as well as world ICT industry were also discussed. The forum was a very good networking opportunity to get acquainted with the industry elite.

Parallel Forums

Parallel forums like Smart City Development Forum, TD-LTE Industry Forum, Mobile Digital Entertainment Conference and Broadband China Summit Forum took place during the course of the event and provided deep insights in their respective areas.

Smart Wearable Device Section

It is no doubt that smart wearable devices market will grow in coming time. The display of these devices in wearable device section of PT/EXPOCOMM CHINA 2013 was a huge hit and some of the products were applauded by the end consumers

LTE Technologies

As China Mobile Telecoms sector moves into the 4G era, technologies such as TD-LTE-Advanced technology, researched and led independently by China Mobile and other players of the 4G ecosystem were one of the highlights of the event.

Smart Cities

Since January 2013, 90 Chinese cities have been approved to be built on the Smart City model. Companies providing enabling services and solutions found the event a good opportunity to meet potential partners and customers.

Mobile Digital Life

PT/EXPO COMM CHINA 2013 had a special zone for Mobile Digital Life, which offered business opportunities to mobile game developers and operators etc.

Besides the above, PT/EXPO COMM CHINA 2013 also demonstrated other leading technologies in the fields of Optical Communications and Testing, APP development, Consumer Electronics, Green Technologies etc.

PT/EXPO COMM has managed to generate interest not only amongst ICT players in the Greater China region, but also started catching the attention of ICT industry players from Asia-Pacific and other countries. In view of this, provided below are a few CMR recommendations for PT/EXPO COMM 2014:

1. Exhibition content in English language: Availability of exhibition content along with the content of the exhibitors (product information, brochures etc.) in English language will make it easier for overseas media to report in their respective countries.
2. Increase in number of parallel forums: Forums generate a lot of interest from senior management of the ICT sector, serving as a suitable platform to discuss issues affecting the industry at large, challenges and sharing of knowledge and ideas.
3. Invitations to the Global Press and Media: Invitations to the global press and media will generate a lot of interest from ICT players not only from China but from other countries and regions as well.
4. Restriction of general public from visiting the B2B solution centric booths / halls: The general public should be restricted from visiting the B2B solution centric booths/halls, as it does not make a business case for these exhibitors to devote their time and energy to the audience who are not their end customers.
5. Enabling or incentivising exhibitors to launch new products: Product launches attract a lot of media attention and generate high interest from business visitors as well as the general public. Such ‘events’ in turn serve to attract more visitors and help to promote the show as well.

Having witnessed the response to PT/EXPO COMM 2013 first hand, I feel quite confident that PT / EXPO COMM 2014 will set new technological benchmarks and one can see many more innovative products, solutions and technologies in action in 2014.