Over four days, visitors witnessed cutting-edge technologies and business solutions designed to enhance enterprises’ mobility and users’ lifestyles. Held together with CGOverdrive2008 and inter-government and industry meetings such as the imbX Ministerial Forum and the Regional Seminar on Digital Terrestrial Television Broadcasting, the events spread over eight halls. More than 2,300 exhibiting companies from 61 countries and regions demonstrated products and solutions throughout the value chain of convergent technologies. Stephen Tan, chief executive of Singapore Exhibition Services and President of Allworld Exhibitions Alliance said that 78 percent of exhibiting companies had already committed to participate in 2009; CommunicAsia and BroadcastAsia will be back at Singapore Expo from june 16 – 19, 2009. Samsung chose the show as a platform to launch a new touchscreen smartphone – the i900 Omnia – globally; LG and Garmin also introduced new handsets and product offerings. Another key highlight at BroadcastAsia2008 was the NHK exhibit, which showcased for the first time in Asia outside of Japan, the Super Hi-vision (SHV) system. About 5,000 visitors witnessed first hand the SHV system, which offers a projection system with resolution 16 times higher than regular HDTV. And CGOverdrive2008, featuring a line-up of internationally renowned CG artists, all of whom are directly involved in creating box-office hits, award-winning feature animated and VFX films or games, was held for the second time alongside BroadcastAsia this year. BT Media and Broadcast had a slew of major announcements as it continues to expand its Global Media Network (GMN) – an MPLS enabled IP network enhanced by innovative software that allows media companies to work seamlessly with customers, suppliers and partners across the globe to break and win new markets and audiences. “The Asian market has been key for us,” explains Mark Wilson-Dunn, global director of sales and marketing, BT Media & Broadcast. “There has been strong take-up in Asia, where we find companies open to new ways of doing things.” Indeed, major Indian broadcaster INX Media announced its global expansion via through BT’s GMN. In a three-year deal, BT is to be INX Media’s global network supplier. Through BT’s Global Media Network1, INX Media can operate a direct distribution model to the UK and US. BT will also extend INX Media’s reach to markets in Africa, Australia, Canada and Japan, enabling them to further their global growth. The contract also includes the license of carriage for channels to Malaysia, Hong Kong, Singapore and Dubai. BT and INX Media are also in advanced stages of discussions over future services such as offering even more global locations to other channels, and outsourcing of broadcast facilities like IT setup and digital asset management. Vynsley Fernandes, group director network operations at INX Media, said, “For today’s broadcasters the big business opportunity is to leverage the best means to take advantage of globalisation. Multicast is one of the main reasons INX Media chose BT’s Global Media Network as we can realize the cost savings of sending the same feeds to multiple locations across the globe with the critical benefits of world class security, end-to-end network monitoring, and water-tight service agreements.” BT’s Media and Broadcast division also entered into a new agreement with New Delhi Television (NDTV) to be its global network supplier, enabling them to distribute NDTV’s Arabia channel in the Dubai market and NDTV Imagine in the UK market over the Eurobird sky platform. Shyatto Raha, CEO, NDTV Emerging Markets, said, “Last year we engaged BT’s Global Media Network1. It has proven so successful that we have decided to expand to additional sites in Dubai and the UK. So far the solution has proven to be reliable, resilient and very cost effective; something that immediately impacts our bottom line in a positive way and eases our ability to expand globally.” And earlier in the year BT Media and Broadcast sector was awarded a multi-million dollar three year managed service IP network solution contract for STAR Group. Initially STAR will carry eight channels – STAR Plus, STAR One, STAR News, Vijay, STAR Gold, STAR Chinese Movies, STAR Chinese Channel and [V] Taiwan – from Hong Kong to Los Angeles. Signals will be fed through Direct To Home (DTH) platforms including deploying connectivity to DirecTV, Echostar and other cable systems across the United States. Also high on Wilson-Dunn’s agenda was BT Mosaic, a “cross-enterprise digital media management platform which provides end-to-end integrated connectivity between key media locations worldwide. It manages content and workflow securely throughout the entire supply chain, leaving you free to embrace new ways of working whilst leveraging existing investments.” Wilson-Dunn explains that BT Mosaic has been operational for a year, it’s launch client being the UK’s ITV – the largest commercial television network, consisting of 15 regional licences and covering both analogue and digital bouquets. ITV also provides a range of new media and interactive services via the internet, mobile phones and broadband. BT Mosaic has been deployed to five ITV locations in the UK (including two external suppliers); with 20,000 assets digitised and archived in the BT Mosaic secure environments. With local and remote access to BT Mosaic, including browse copy viewing, PC-based full 50i compliance mark-up, web editing and a suite of workflows, ITV are already using BT Mosaic to find, prepare, process and deliver content to their traditional clients and across multiple distribution platforms.