PR releases

Industry giants enter the Mobile Zone at IBC2006

National Grid Wireless announced as Platinum Sponsors

Leading IT, Telecom and Broadcast companies are signing up to enter the Mobile Zone at IBC2006 as interest in Mobile TV starts to take off in Europe. Harris, Nokia, Qualcomm and Texas Instruments are amongst the dozens of companies who have signed up to-date. Signalling its own commitment to play a leading role in this new market, National Grid Wireless, one of the UK's leading providers of broadcast transmission infrastructure, has been announced today as Platinum Sponsor for the Zone.

The IBC2006 Mobile Zone will bring together application developers, content providers and technology companies to showcase their capabilities at the heart of the world’s leading broadcasting exhibition. In addition to demonstrating the latest developments in mobile TV and 3G services, the Mobile Zone will feature the latest innovations in mobile devices and explore their impact on the creation, management and delivery of content. The accompanying IBC Mobile Zone Business Briefings, to which attendance is free, will examine some of the issues and opportunities arising from this revolution in mobility in further detail. National Grid Wireless will be making a key-note address within the Business Briefing sessions which will also include presentations from Harris, Nokia and Snell & Wilcox.

Commenting on the Mobile Zone at IBC2006, Mike Crimp, Marketing Director, IBC said: "We are delighted with the interest being shown in the Mobile Zone at IBC2006. The delivery of broadcast content to mobile devices is likely to be a driving force in the development of the industry in the coming years and it is natural for IBC, the world’s leading broadcast event, to be taking a lead in setting the agenda."

Alan Norman, Managing Director of IT Europa, which is working with IBC in developing and marketing the Mobile Zone, added: "As IT Telecoms and Broadcast technologies continue to converge, the delivery of compelling content to mobile devices will be key to winning the hearts and minds of consumers."

Mark Watkins, Director Mobile Media at National Grid Wireless, said: "IBC is the perfect showcase for us to demonstrate our expertise and experience in the delivery of mobile TV networks. This significant sponsorship demonstrates our commitment to playing a major part in this developing market."

In spite of doubling in size this year to more than 1000 m², with more than two thirds of the available stands already sold, demand for space is likely to outstrip supply at this year’s event, which takes place from 8-12th September 2006 at the RAI, Amsterdam.  Confirmed exhibitors in the Mobile Zone for this year already include: Axcera; BMCO Forum; Createcna; Digital Rapids; DTV Interactive; Frontier Silicon; GVG; Harris; IIS Fraunhofer; Irdeto; Larcan; NagraVision; NDS; Nokia; Qualcomm; Safenet; Siano-MS; Snell and Wilcox; Teamcast; Telestream; Texas Instruments; The Bridge; and UDcast.

The IBC2006 Mobile Zone is being jointly developed and marketed by IBC, IT Europa and BPL.

About IT Europa and BPL

IT Europa is the leading provider of strategic business intelligence, news and analysis on the European IT marketplace and the primary channels that serve it. It publishes pan-European newsletters and database reports that provide accurate, authoritative, objective and up-to-date information and enable vendor and channel organisations to increase efficiency and gain competitive advantage. IT Europa’s sister organisation, BPL, publishes a range of both end-user and channel publications for the IT, Telecoms and Broadcast sectors. It also organises a number of conferences, seminars, industry awards and other events. Its main titles include Channel Business, Comms Dealer, Retail Technology, C2M (Content to Mobile) and IBE (International Broadcast Engineer). IBE and C2M are media partners of the Mobile Zone. For further information on IT Europa and BPL visit this page.

About National Grid Wireless

National Grid Wireless is a wholly owned subsidiary of National Grid and is the leading independent provider of infrastructure to the mobile telecommunications operators in the UK. National Grid Wireless is also one of two UK providers of terrestrial infrastructure for the transmission of analogue and digital television and radio broadcasts in the UK and as such achieves a 98% population coverage. In addition to the traditional analogue services, National Grid Wireless has a strong position in the growing digital television market, owning two of the six digital terrestrial television licences and providing infrastructure services to all the Freeview channels and the BBC and BSkyB.

See this page for details of booth pricing, sponsorship and so on