Comptel Reporter’s Notebook

In the interest of full disclosure, I need to say right up front that I hate going to events in Las Vegas. From the moment I arrive and wait forever to pick up luggage at an airport which doesn’t believe in benches to the moment I stand in a long line to get an overpriced cab back to that airport and every moment in between spent trekking through a smoky casino to get anywhere, I just hate Las Vegas.

On the other hand, I’ve always enjoyed Comptel shows--they are focused and compact, and usually quite lively.

When Comptel comes to Vegas, well, I have to admit, the results were mostly positive. Of course, again in the interest of full disclosure, I viewed the whole thing through the fog of a sinus infection.

The show floor was as lively as ever and a little larger than in the past, with 130 exhibitors. Most of the vendors with whom I spoke were happy with the floor traffic. One thing Comptel does wisely is to open the show floor for only three to four hours each day, and not run conference programming opposite the exposition times, giving attendees a better opportunity to see the exhibits. That also compresses the time exhibitors have to spend on their feet at the show, and many have said they appreciate what they see as a better use of their time.

Much of the business of Comptel took place one floor below the exhibit hall, where affiliate meeting rooms housed concurrent meetings on an almost nonstop basis. The reality of the competitive service industry is that everyone does business with everyone else – Verizon Partner Solutions and Qwest Communications were right there along with XO Communications, Level 3 and others. Even in an era of consolidation, coopetition is alive and well.

The only down note was there was no “state of the industry” session in which Comptel officials addressed the assembled group to discuss progress and priorities. Sugar Ray Leonard, one of my all-time favorite athletes, did a nice keynote speech, but it was the same speech he would have given to a group of bankers.

For attendees, the other sour note might have been the Las Vegas weather – judging from how people were dressed, I don’t think any of us were expecting snow but some flakes were seen (and documented on the nightly news) on Wednesday, and anyone wanting to get in a round of golf had to battle a wind chill factor in the high 30s.