Farewell to Supercomm

The USTA has put the final nail in the Supercomm coffin by announcing TelecomNEXT - a combination of their part of Supercomm and the Telecomm shows - in competition with the TIA's Globecomm. It's the end of an era. Remember

• the glorious and sweaty nights of Supercomm in New Orleans,
• the crushing tedium of the fifth year in a row in Atlanta,
• the excitement of Supercomm in 1999 and 2000,
• the depression of Supercomm in 2003,
• the parties and entertainment (what goes on at Supercomm stays at Supercomm),
• and the occasional actual business transacted with a potential customer?

I suppose the only question now is, can the industry really support two mega-shows within a few months of each other? There's barely enough business to support one (see this year's NFOEC/OFC combo). I predict that consolidation's going to hit yet another segment of the telecomm market - the all-important trade-show segment - in the next year or so.

Filed in: telecommunications