WASHINGTON, D.C. – The exhibition floor will once again serve as the center of most convention activities, including general sessions, at The 2006 NCTA National Show.
The 55th annual convention of the National Cable & Telecommunications Association (NCTA) is scheduled for April 9 – 11, 2006, at the Georgia World Congress Center in downtown Atlanta.
The show had been planned for New Orleans, but the devastation wrought by Hurricane Katrina forced the convention to move.
Organizers said today the sale of exhibit space is moving briskly and is on track to match or exceed space at the 2005 show in San Francisco.
Returning to a successful model that has proven popular with delegates and exhibitors in recent years, general sessions in 2006 will again be held on the exhibit floor of the convention center. While space constraints at San Francisco’s Moscone Center prevented this set-up in 2005, the return of the general sessions to the exhibition floor is designed to generate more activity for exhibiting companies.
NCTA said that 150,000 square feet of exhibit space has been sold to date, on pace with 2005 exhibit floor sales, says a press release. However, because the exhibit floor in Atlanta is larger, prime space is still available for vendors that have not secured an exhibit.
"With just five months to go before the show, our planning is right on track, and we’re working hard to ensure that The National Show is a central platform to enable cable and telecommunications executives to connect, share ideas, and build on our industry’s progress,” said Barbara York, senior vice-president, industry affairs, NCTA. "By moving the general sessions back to the exhibit floor, we expect to create an environment buzzing with activity, which should benefit our exhibitors and all attendees."
Another popular feature of recent National Shows also will return. CableLabs has announced that its popular CableNET exhibit will be featured for a third consecutive year at The 2006 National Show. CableNET, described as an "exhibit within an exhibit," is sponsored jointly by CableLabs and NCTA.
The 10,000 square-foot CableNET exhibit will display a wide variety of next generation broadband technology and services that cable operators may deploy and deliver to consumers in the near term, to assure the industry maintains – and advances – its position in an increasingly competitive field. CableNET will emphasize broadband content and applications with technology as an enabling tool; demonstrate innovations in products and services; and highlight the benefits of the industry’s cutting-edge broadband services.
CableLabs is soliciting proposals from service/application developers, manufacturers, cable operators, and cable programmers for demonstrations to be considered for possible inclusion in the CableNET ’06 exhibit. Interested vendors may access the CableNET 2006 RFP at www.cablenet.org.
