CABSAT 2004 Reports Record Surge in Visitor Numbers

The 10th Middle East International Cable Satellite Broadcast and Communications Exhibition (CABSAT 2004) closed on a high note today after three days of record-breaking crowds, with exhibitors across the board expressing their satisfaction at the response generated.

This year's edition of CABSAT, which is the premier show in the region for companies seeking to gain a firm footing in the region's fast emerging cable, satellite and communications sector, saw a remarkable surge in visitor numbers with 6,112 going through the E-access gates, an increase of more than 35 per cent over the 4,523 trade visitors who came to the show last year. The visitors came in from all parts of the world including the Middle East, Africa, Southern Asia, Europe and USA.

Preliminary reports from the show floor indicated a near-unanimous upbeat mood among the exhibitors. Representatives from across the wide spectrum of exhibitors expressed their satisfaction at the number of deals struck and new business opportunities that came their way as a result of their participation. Most were of the opinion that CABSAT was the best platform by far for them to be able to showcase their wares and network with industry professionals and end users in the region.

A large percentage of the participating companies were also extremely impressed with the visitor response and were confident on building on the new avenues and opportunities that have opened up consequent to their participation and almost all of the respondents were firm in the opinion that they would definitely be coming back next year.

"CABSAT'S success has put the spotlight once again on the emirate's growing reputation as the leading trading centre in the Middle East, that offers ideal attractions as a base for doing business in the prosperous and growing markets of one of the world's most rapidly developing regions," said Dubai World Trade Centre (DWTC) Director General, Mubarak bin Fahad.

"We are pleased with the continuing interest in CABSAT from the international industry which has been powered by the range of new business opportunities in the broadcast, communications and media technology fields specifically in the fields of new satellites, VSAT, digital compression and the sustained and healthy competition among pay TV and free-to-air channels that has opened up a plethora of new business avenues in the region," added Mr. bin Fahad.

Overseas exhibitors representing a total of 27 countries including Belgium (3), Canada (1), China (33), Cyprus (2), Czech Republic (1), Denmark (1), Egypt (1), Finland (1), France (10), Germany (33), Holland (3), Hong Kong (3), India (2), Iran (1), Italy (2), Korea (7), Lebanon (1), Malta (1), Saudi Arabia (2), Singapore (1), South Africa (1), Spain (5), Switzerland (1), Taiwan (8), Turkey (3), United Kingdom (38) and USA (4) were at CABSAT '04.

Prominent among the big name exhibitors participating at the event from the different segments were Pinnacle, Seachange, Panasonic, Leitch, and BT Broadcast from the broadcast and production sectors; Intelsat, Eutelsat, New Skies, Iris Sat, and Globecast from the communications sector; and Vestel, Triax, Aston, Kaon and Horizon Satellite from the cable and satellite sectors.

"We have been participating in CABSAT for the past few years and we are very pleased with the show having met some very good quality customers from the region," said Mark Birchall, Managing Director of Trade Fair Support. "CABSAT is indeed the representative show for the Electronic Media Industry in this region and we look forward to be back with a bigger group next year," he added.

Marcello Dellepiane, Vice President, EMEA of SeaChange said, "This is the first time SeaChange is exhibiting at the event and the response has been extremely good. We met more customers compared to a month of travelling. We are very happy with the results and have already booked a bigger booth next year."

"CABSAT is getting bigger and better," said Malcolm Cathmoir, Marcoms Technical Project Manger of Eutelsat SA. "We are impressed with the quality of the visitors and their demographic mix from the gulf and beyond. We met some good contacts from India, Pakistan and North Africa."

A repeat visitor to the show after a ten-year time frame, Ali Ghuloom Mohammed, Head of Overseas Broadcasting, Bahrain Radio and Television Corporation said, "This is the second time I have visited the show after its launch in 1995 and it has grown dramatically in size and coverage and I can safely add that the standards this year are on par with international shows in Amsterdam and Las Vegas. This trip has proved to be fruitful and I will send more of my staff to attend this event next year."

Alongside the main exhibition, there were a series of seminars, presentations and workshops scheduled by various exhibiting companies. Among them were one by Glocom - a Harmonic solution provider in the Middle East featuring their new open standards-based solutions for the headend through the last mile enable customers to develop new revenue sources and a competitive advantage by offering powerful interactive video, voice and data service such as video-on-demand, high definition digital television, telephony and Internet access.

Another exhibitor, MediaCom, used the event to launch its HYUNDAI branded high-end and high quality satellite receivers with the latest technology and solutions. MediaCom is a leader in the satellite receiving equipment industry in the Middle East, North Africa and The Sub-Continent.

Luxsat launched the world's first real entertainment on-demand satellite TV service at the event. Luxstation, an all in one home entertainment system complete with DVD player and keyboard was introduced by which subscribers will be able to create their own personal profiles and select the entertainment they want to watch. Hundreds of movies per year, a broad selection of TV programmes and 3D video games are offered "on demand from the comfort of the couch. 

Dalet conducted a presentation on adopting a pragmatic approach to digital archiving. An increasing number of broadcasters and organizations are considering IT based systems to digitize their media archives. 

 EVS, JVC Broadcast, Hitachi Broadcast and Desisti Lighting were among the others who conducted presentations along side the exhibition.