|
|
|
ECONOMICS OF TELECOM
On arriving at a TELECOM event, whether every
four years in Geneva, or around the world at the regionals, most people see straight away
that there is a huge exhibition and an impressive forum. Many of them realise that behind
the show is the TELECOM organization, the part of the ITU specifically tasked
with making sure the event is a success for all concerned.
But how does TELECOM, as an
organization, actually work?
In essence we rent a venue in the host country, and then
cover our costs by selling the space to our exhibitors. We also receive income from Forum
delegates, and a share of the income received by our service providers, such as the
official publisher of the daily newspaper.
TELECOM is a
not-for-profit organization, so after an event’s accounts are closed TELECOM then hands over to the ITU any surplus of income over
expenditure. These funds are used for specific telecoms development projects, primarily in
the developing world.
Specifically TELECOM receives
income from:
- Rental of exhibition space
TELECOM’s
primary source of income is from exhibitors who rent an area of exhibition space at the
exhibition venue.
- Forum Delegates’ entry fees
TELECOM also receives
income from the sale of entry passes to the Forum. A small amount of extra income is
earned from the sale of Forum proceedings to people who did not attend the Forum itself.
- Agreements with Official Publishers and Media Services
Providers
Some income is also received from the publishers of the
catalogue, the daily newspaper, etc. in compensation for the advertising revenue that the
publishers receive.
- Agreements with Official Service Providers
Partners and Official Service Providers
share a part of their revenue with TELECOM.
- Visitors’ Entrance Tickets
At the World TELECOM event an
entrance fee is charged – at the regional events trade visitors are admitted free of
charge.
This combined revenue is then set against
TELECOM’s expenses, which include:
TELECOM rents the
venue where the Exhibition and Forum are held.
TELECOM has separate
teams dedicated to organizing the Exhibition and the Forum. In addition there is a
Business Development and Marketing Division which handles all activities relating to
marketing and future business development, sponsorships, and press relations.
Administrative tasks, including the drawing up of contracts, the handling of protocol
issues (governments are involved at the highest level in TELECOM events), human resources and other tasks such as mail
and faxes, are handled by the Administration and Protocol section. Apart from salaries, TELECOM also has expenses relating to staff travel – which
mostly relates to having staff available on-site at the regional TELECOM events.
Like any other organization, TELECOM has
costs relating to running a business, from renting office space (TELECOM, as an activity, falls outside the ITU’s regular
budget – and TELECOM pays the ITU for the
support services it receives from the Union), to buying office supplies and paying
telephone bills. TELECOM also invests in staff
training, to ensure that the best possible results can be delivered at the TELECOM events.
One of TELECOM’s
larger expenses is related to ensuring that people know about the TELECOM events. This means producing marketing materials, such
as Fact Sheets and Brochures, as well as sending out TELECOM’s
quarterly newsletter, Inter.Act, to a database of some 40,000 subscribers. TELECOM also advertises in the national and international press
before events to ensure that the largest possible number of people can benefit from what
is on show.
|
|
