WHAT TO SEE AND DO AT
    TELECOM 99 + INTERACTIVE 99

Mobile telephony is in the process of revolutionising the world – perhaps even more than the invention of the printing press, the automobile or the computer. When TELECOM 95 was held, four years ago, there were still more analogue mobile phones than digital. In 1999 there are now, however, more than 300 million cellular subscribers around the world, and that figure is growing fast. At TELECOM 99 + INTERACTIVE 99 you’ll be able to see the latest developments in mobile telephony and a snapshot of the future as we enter the 21^st century.

As more and more people sign up for cellular service, the distinction between fixed-line and cellular service will blur. At TELECOM 99 + INTERACTIVE 99 you will be able to see mobile phones that can tap into the fixed-line network and cordless phones that can connect to the cellular network when you’re out of range of the fixed-line network.

Highly visible at TELECOM 99 + INTERACTIVE 99 will be applications, services and products that bring the Internet into the world of telecoms. At TELECOM 95 the World Wide Web was in its infancy; four years on it is ubiquitous in the developed world and has completely changed the way we see the world. Indeed the move towards data and away from voice traffic has meant that some new telecoms operators will be showing networks which are optimised to handle packets of data first and foremost, with voice simply becoming another application to be layered onto the packet-switched network.

Since TELECOM 95 we have seen the explosion of the World Wide Web, which is underpinned by the fusion of the computing and telecoms industries. At TELECOM 99 + INTERACTIVE 99 you will be able to see the latest hardware and software applications that will make electronic commerce take off, as well as specialised services such as security, encryption, compression etc.

In the future the network will have to be able to find subscribers rather than the other way around. At TELECOM 99 + INTERACTIVE 99 you will be able to see the networks of the future and find out how they address such issues as numbering, access to the network, the difference between fixed and mobile.

Four years ago, at TELECOM 95 the talk was all of convergence and how it was happening. The theme of the TELECOM 95 event was "Connect!" In 1999 convergence is a reality and at the event you will be able to see the concrete results of the move from analogue to digital, from circuits to packets, and the uptake of the Internet and mobile telephony. You will also be able to see the latest in value added services such as number portability, caller line id, call forwarding, etc.

At TELECOM 99 + INTERACTIVE 99 every type of satellite system, from VSAT to geostationary to GMPCS (Global Mobile Personal Communications by Satellite), will be on show.

There are many sorts of cable in the telecoms world – from the broadcasting industry to fibre-optic cables. At TELECOM 99 + INTERACTIVE 99 you will be able to see the latest technology on show, including advances in optical switching and new applications based on dense wave division multiplexing (dense WDM).

As we move into the new millennium a number of new technologies have the potential to radically transform the lives of people in both the developed and the developing world. At TELECOM 99 + INTERACTIVE 99 you will be able to see the technologies that will have a radical impact in the areas of health, education, transport, commerce, etc.