Voice. An Opinion.

We’re off to eComm in March. In what surely looks like the most packed-in, packed-out, choc-a-bloc assembly of people out to either bolster or destroy the industry known as Telecom this year, eComm 08 will gather to engage in what organiser Lee S Dryburgh has dubbed “The Trillion Dollar Rethink”.

eComm arose from the ashes of ETel, the O Reilly Emerging Telephony conference that mashed together both established players from the telecom world with outsiders, new entrants, naysayers and wannabes to create an enticing mix of attendees and presenters quite difficult to find at other conferences (outside of”unconferences” and perhaps Telco 2.0).

When O Reilly said it wasn’t going to run ETel any more, Lee grabbed the flag and rallied people to create a worthy successor, and the line-up looks impressive. So much so, that most of us are confined to a short speaking slot of 15 minutes - the idea being to cut the waffle and get people to focus and be blunt. This acknowledges the fact that the interesting discussions at conferences generally happen during the breaks, the lunch and in the bar, with the presentation set-pieces serving the purpose of stimulus.

I love that idea - and think it’ll make for a refreshing and hopefully ground-breaking event. You can feel something’s in the air this year with respect to Telecom:

• Spectrum Auctions
• Those who were closed declaring themselves open
• Impending releases of software and hardware
• Data is now getting “big“
• The DIY and roll-your-own ethic in Mobile
• Acquisitions indicating intent
• And just plain cool stuff

It’s all happening. You may need to be there to help both understand and prosper. Hope to see you there.