WiMAX World 2008 on Track for Record Attendee Growth and Industry Participation

2008-06-23 23:59:08 -

- Exhibitor/Sponsor Contact: Trendsmedia Kate Walsh, 705-728-3074 katew@trendsmedia.com or Press Contact: Echo Communications Jodi Echakowitz, 905-709-9600 jodi@echo-communications.com While industry experts predict that 2008 will be a "breakout year" for WiMAX, Trendsmedia, the Events and Publishing Division of Yankee Group, Inc., today announced that this year's WiMAX World Conference & Expo (global.wimaxworld.com/) is poised to be the largest WiMAX event ever held. WiMAX World 2008 will run September 29 to October 2, 2008 at McCormick Place in Chicago, IL. The four-day conference program will showcase virtually all major WiMAX players, including more than 30 WiMAX operators.

"WiMAX World has grown more than tenfold since our first event was held in 2004, and has quickly become the must attend event of the year for the global WiMAX industry," says Eliot Weinman, conference founder and co-chair, and president of Trendsmedia. "As WiMAX deployments gain attention around the world, we expect this year's event to attract over 10,000 attendees, feature over 200 exhibits, and draw the support of more than 350 global sponsors."

Scheduled tracks at this year's event include: the Business of WiMAX; the Technology of WiMAX; WiMAX Applications and Services; WiMAX Live!; Global Deployment Strategies and Spectrum Policy; and the WiMAX Ecosystem. Plus, an entire track will be dedicated to WiMAX in Latin America. WiMAX World 2008 will also feature the new 4G World Executive Summit.

Attendees will hear presentations focused on three key topics:

-- WiMAX Deployment: This year WiMAX networks are moving from trials to full commercial deployment in many countries. More than 30 network operators will be on hand to present their business models, investment, implementation strategies and deployment best practices.

-- Enabling Technologies: Presenters will discuss updates on certification and testing, share the latest news on WiMAX standards, and provide a technical roadmap for next-generation protocols.

-- Demand Generation for Mobile Broadband: WiMAX World 2008 will provide network operators, design engineers, and the content community with insights into new device categories, value-add services and how to monetize over-the-top IP services.

"After much infrastructure work and major deals on the part of vendors, carriers and other players, this is definitely the year for a WiMAX breakthrough," says Berge Ayvazian, conference co-chair and chief strategy officer at Yankee Group, "Sprint Nextel and Clearwire have committed billions to building out WiMAX in the months to come, and Intel has put its full support behind WiMAX with the announcement of its next-generation WiMAX-enabled mobile platform. The groundwork has been laid and the idea of a seamless global network is finally coming to fruition - WiMAX will be an integral part of that."

New for 2008 is the 4G World Executive Summit. This pre-conference event will showcase the key industry players and highlight topics ranging from infrastructure, device and CPE strategies to regulatory and spectrum policy and more. Visitors will be able to choose from a variety of roundtable discussions and presentations across a number of tracks.

The popular WiMAX Solutions Theater will once again be located on the WiMAX World exhibition floor during expo hours on October 1st and 2nd. It will feature product briefings from many of the world's leading solution providers, enabling attendees to evaluate competing technologies in an educational setting.

More than 150 exhibits have been confirmed to date, and over 200 are anticipated. Motorola is once again the official corporate host, while Xohm is the flagship service provider. Premier sponsors include Alvarion, Juniper Networks, Nokia Siemens Networks, Nortel, Redline Communications, and Samsung Telecommunications America. Platinum sponsors include Aperto Networks, Cisco Systems, Intel, picoChip, POSDATA, SEQUANS Communications, Siemens Home and Office Communication Devices GmbH, and Telsima Corporation. Gold sponsors include Airspan, Beceem Communications, Bridgewater Systems, Cedar Point Communications, Comsys, DragonWave, Fujitsu Network Communications, GCT Semiconductor, Huawei Technologies, NextWave Wireless, Proximetry, SOMA Networks, Starent Networks, Texas Instruments, WebNet Global Communications, WiChorus, and ZyXEL Communications.

For additional information on WiMAX World, or to inquire about attending, sponsoring or exhibiting, visit global.wimaxworld.com/.

About WiMAX World Global Event Series

Now in its fifth year, WiMAX World is the largest global event series focused on WiMAX and mobile broadband. It brings an unbiased viewpoint to the industry, and presents a balanced perspective on the promises and challenges of WiMAX in the context of the broader mobile broadband and mobile internet markets. In its inaugural year, the event attracted 700 attendees. In 2007, the WiMAX World Global Event Series was supported by virtually every major WiMAX Forum ecosystem player; 350+ corporate, media, association and analyst sponsors; and 275+ exhibitors. To date, over 20,000 professionals have attended the WiMAX World Global Event Series. Additional information is available at www.wimaxworld.com/2008/.

About Trendsmedia

Trendsmedia is the events and publishing division of Yankee Group Research, Inc. Our mission is to help our clients stay ahead of the major technology trends that are likely to impact their businesses significantly. Trendsmedia provides their clients with independently researched and produced media products that target emerging technology markets in depth, including focused conferences, independently produced online media, and in-depth newsletters and market intelligence studies. For more, see www.trendsmedia.com.

Note to Editors/Analysts:

-- To register to attend WiMAX World USA, visit is.gd/Bfb

Fifth Annual Event to Focus on Deployment, Enabling Technologies
and Demand Generation as WiMAX Adoption Grows