The World Just Got More Interesting

The ITU Telecom World 2009 event in Geneva nearly didn't happen: International Telecommunication Union (ITU) Secretary-General Dr. Hamadoun Touré admitted as much on the opening day of this year's event.

The reason was a general lack of support from the industry. But Touré persevered, and the ITU filled out the show floor with country pavilions, invited heads of state and governmental decision-makers from developing regions, and launched a global promotional tour. A Touré tour. (See ITU Chief Defends Telecom World Event.)

Before the event opened its doors, the ITU predicted 40,000 people would be involved. Ultimately, the figure was about 18,000.

So did Touré waste his time and efforts? Was the event, as many had suggested in the preceding months, a pointless exercise? (See Geneva, Anyone?)

Surprisingly (especially following the snoozefest of 2003, and the distinctly local nature of the 2006 event in Hong Kong)... no.

Despite an inauspicious start (see ITU: Out of Touch?) it turned out to be a stimulating, interesting week, soured only by some grumpy locals and a visiting despot. (See ITU: Mugabe Hits ITU Show Floor.)

Of course, the event as it was set up this year was something of an anachronism. The old format just doesn't work any more: A show floor of vendor booths housing technical exhibits isn't relevant in 2009, and I'd be surprised if the small but big-name group of vendors and carriers from Asia/Pacific that clearly spent significant sums of cash to build sizeable, multi-level booths will ever do so again. The "human traffic" needed to justify that sort of marketing gesture just wasn't there. (See Photos: ITU Telecom World, Part I and Photos: ITU Telecom World, Part II.)

But... the event was a melting pot of people from many different markets with contrasting views of the world and the role technology plays in it – Russian and Malaysian WiMax service providers, African backhaul and broadband players, Middle Eastern mobile operators, Indian systems integrators, Japanese visionaries, and American Ethernet peering point pioneers, to name but a few (oh, and John Chambers). (See ITU Day 3: CTOs, Innovation & IMS, ITU Day 2: WiMax Brings It, Equinix Offers Global Ethernet Peering , ITU: Cisco's Chambers Hints at More M&A, and ITU Day 1: Green Is the Color.)

I can't imagine finding that same mix of folk anywhere else.

I even met an Israeli guy who offered me $50,000 to streak through the show floor with his company's marketing messages daubed across my torso. That was a first... (And no, alas, he couldn't raise the money in time.)

The ITU is planning to hold its next Telecom World event in 2011 -- yes, in just two years time. Too soon? Maybe. Will the show floor be even smaller than the two halls that were used this time around? Very likely.

Will the event even happen? I hope so, because the ITU can still be the industry organization that brings many disparate groups together and puts them in a melting pot, whether it's to talk about emerging market broadband or the role ICT can play in reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

If the event gets the go-ahead in October 2011, I plan to be there.

— Ray Le Maistre, International News Editor, Light Reading