With the global telecom sector in a downturn, several international companies have decided to tighten their belts and skip this year's International Telecom and Networking Show scheduled to start tomorrow at the World Trade Center.
"This year, some global players such as Nokia and Siemens -- who joined the show last year -- are absent from the occasion in an effort to lower marketing costs," said Steven Chu (
Chu said most telecom companies regard the show as an important opportunity to promote brand awareness and to show off new products. But Nokia and Siemens say they put their money in generic advertising and have decided not to join the show.
According to CETRA, this year 140 companies will set up 530 booths featuring up-to-date mobile phones and networking equipment as well as mobile services. That's a nearly 20 percent drop from last year's 178 companies and 700 booths.
"Companies are more conservative in spending. For instance, several participants who booked more than 10 booths last year only registered for six to eight booths this time," said Gwendolin Chang (張惠華), an official at CETRA.
Still, international mobile phone companies such as Motorola, Sony, Ericsson and Samsung Electronics will participate, running high-profile campaigns at the show.
"Taiwan's mobile communications market is very promising and handset makers all try to raise public awareness here," Chu said.
According to Directorate General of Telecommunications, as of July the nation's mobile-phone service penetration rate was 107 percent, surpassing Luxembourg to become to the most deeply penetrated country in the world.
"We've designated Taiwan as one of our major markets and will showcase nearly 30 mobile phones at the show," said Ahn Jae-woo (安宰佑), a marketing manager at Samsung who is coming to Taiwan especially for the event.
He added that in 2001, the company shipped 170,000 handsets to Taiwan and this year the target number is 300,000, accounting for 7 percent of the Taiwan market.
Meanwhile, Chu said because the telecom show is already well-known as a venue for companies to promote brand awareness to end users, he hopes telecom equipment manufacturers will also make use of the chance to gain foreign orders.
"For instance, local handset maker DBTEL Inc (
Currently, more than 500 foreigner buyers have registered to attend and CETRA estimates the number will rise to 800, the same as last year.
The four-day telecom show will kick off tomorrow and run through Monday at the Taipei World Trade Center's Exhibition Hall I. The show is open daily from 9am to 6pm on the first three days and from 9am to 3pm on the last day. Admission is NT$200.
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