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Backhaul experts pick MPLS & Ethernet Congress, not MWC

It was (you might think) obvious; if you want to discuss Synchronous Ethernet and its role in next generation (NGN) backhaul in February 2009, head to Barcelona. So it was something of a shock to hear "MRV Metro Ethernet Expert to Speak at MPLS & Ethernet World Congress" instead.

The expert in question, Zeev Draer, is vice president and product line manager for MRV International-Metro Ethernet Division. He was, his company explained, not planning to be in Barcelona, but would be present in Paris the previous week - as part of the Mobile Backhaul session on day two (Feb. 12) of the three-day MPLS & Ethernet World Congress.

The Metro Ethernet Forum (MEF) may be politically confused about which shows to support and which to leave out, but it was a shock to find that several prominent MEF member companies would not be in Barcelona at all, or with a minimal presence.

Some of the members are being financially conservative, of course. Alcatel-Lucent might not agree, but it's hard to think of another reason it would not normally make a big deal out of its LTE announcements, which coincided with MWC-09. But apart from releasing that news to coincide, it has little presence in Barcelona.

And unofficial contact with A-L executives revealed their belief that "Mobile World Congress just isn't attracting the backhaul community any more" as the real reason.

Other backhaul people disagreed strongly. Harris-Stratex VP Sean McFall spoke warmly of the value of being here, and insisted that "the right people" are definitely in the Catalan city.

And meetings in the former car park that is now "Hall 4" were over-subscribed as the company rolled out Eclipse Packet Node "to address the growing demands for high speed packet transport in next generation mobile backhaul networks."