WASHINGTON, D.C. – With exhibit space nearly sold out, the upcoming 2005 National Show will highlight the products, services and equipment enabling the cable industry to deliver advanced broadband services to millions of consumers. This year's National Show, the 54th Annual Convention & International Exposition of the National Cable & Telecommunications Association (NCTA), is being held April 3-5 at the Moscone Center in San Francisco.
NCTA announced today that the exhibition floor – currently at more than 189,000 square feet, near capacity at Moscone Center – will be 13 percent larger than last year's event in New Orleans. The number of paid exhibitors so far is 319, equal with the number of paid exhibitors at last year's Show.
NCTA also confirmed that pre-show registrations are tracking about the same as during the last two years, when about 17,000 visitors attended the trade show in New Orleans in 2004 and Chicago in 2003.
“From our stellar line-up of speakers and sessions, to a vibrant exhibition floor, we're setting the table for a great Show this year,” said Steve Burke, Chief Operating Officer, Comcast Corporation and Chairman of The 2005 National Show . “Moscone Center will be brimming with cable business, networking, and educational activities.”
In addition to the dozens of programming services, equipment suppliers and other industry vendors that will be at The National Show , the floor of this year's show will feature three anchor exhibits:
- New to the floor this year will be the Best Buy “Fun Zone,” a self-contained mobile product showcase featuring some of the best cable-related home electronics and entertainment products available to consumers. The 53-foot tractor-trailer, complete with full-length bump-out section and 16-foot stage, will feature consumer technology highlighting cable's voice, video and Internet services, including Digital Cable Ready and high-definition TVs, video on-demand and digital video recorders, high-speed Internet service and multi-player broadband video games, as well as circuit-switched and Internet protocol telephone products.
- The 10,000 square-foot CableNET exhibit, sponsored by CableLabs, will display a wide variety of next-generation broadband technology and services that cable operators will be delivering to consumers in the future, including home networking solutions, interactive video services and Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) products.
- Another new feature, the GameNET exhibit, co-produced by Shorecliff Communications, will demonstrate how cable's broadband platform is the ideal solution for next generation delivery of interactive video game content. GameNET will bring together broadband carriers, game publishers and infrastructure solution providers to explore the future of broadband gaming through exciting displays, game demonstrations and educational sessions.
Public Policy Sessions Announced
NCTA also announced its slate of public policy sessions and federal policy makers and regulators that will be speaking at The National Show :
- U.S. Rep. Anna Eshoo (D-CA), a prominent member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, will speak at the public policy lunch on Monday, April 4.
- The public policy lunch for Tuesday, April 5, will feature:
- Kathleen Abernathy, FCC Commissioner
- Jonathan Adelstein, FCC Commissioner
- Michael Copps, FCC Commissioner
- Kevin Martin, FCC Commissioner
- Michael Gallagher, Assistant Secretary, U.S. Department of Commerce and Director of the National Telecommunications & Information Administration (NTIA)
- Jon Leibowitz, Commissioner, Federal Trade Commission
Additional, up-to-the-minute information for The 2005 National Show , including a convention schedule and registration materials, is available via the official Web site of the Show (www.thenationalshow.com) or from the NCTA Department of Industry Affairs (202/775-3669).