Communications developing at a breathtaking pace is largely driven by devices which are more compact but features added capabilities. Growing competition has provided an ideal environment for technological innovations and new applications. “More importantly these devices and services are becoming more affordable,” declared Mr. Shyamal Ghosh, Chairman, Data Security Council of India, at the international conference of 18th Convergence India 2010, which concluded in the nation’s capital last week on a triumphant note. The three-day exhibition and conference featuring 458 exhibitors from 19 countries received an overwhelming response from the discerning and growing ICT industry.

Spread over a gross area of 12,000 sqm, the event attracted nearly 12,000 trade visitors and about 940 delegates. The event was inaugurated by Shri Gurudas Kamath, Hon’ble Minister of State for Communications and Information Technology, Government of India. Addressing the industry present he said, “It has always been in the forefront of our Government policy that the technological innovations should reach Aam Aadmi”

For the Indian ICT market of over 1 billion people, affordability would be the main driver to spread communications technologies, as 70% of the population belong to the rural segment. With growing competition in the lucrative Indian market, communication devices along with their applications and services are gradually becoming cheaper and more accessible for the masses.

The concurrent conference sessions discussed relevant topics against the changing backdrop of technological developments taking place in the communications sector. Sessions focusing on WiMAX and Voice over IP solutions examined the best way to accelerate the spread of affordable, wireless technologies and pave the way for 4G in India.

The 18th edition of Convergence India Conference highlighted the importance of Green ICT in the concluding day session and brought a high profile mix from the ICT industries playing an exemplary role in mitigating carbon-footprints by adopting clean business solutions and practices having minimum impact on the environment.

Mr. Pranshu Singhal, India Environmental Manager from Nokia pointed out that unless consumers do not change their behavior, much cannot be done to enforce green ICT, as availability is dependent on the demand. “Changes in the demand side are more important than changes in the supply/production side” he said. Mr. Sridhar, India Marketing Director from Dell India Pvt Ltd spoke about green IT and efforts made by Dell in maintaining its carbon neutrality by using energy efficient products. He highlighted, “39% of emission is caused from desktop and laptop and 26% from servers” hence it is imperative to deploy right kind of mechanism which adhere to GHG standards.

Prof. Srivasthan, PRO-Vice Chancellor, IGNOU chaired the session and presented a different perspective and approach to Green ICT. Emphasizing the implementation of digital learning Prof. Srivasthan elaborated on the technical challenges faced in integrating the various individuals / centers of learning. He brought to the attention that the present education system barely caters to 1/4th of the potential learners in the country. To serve the staggering numbers and needs, we need to engage multiple communications modes such as internet, TV, IPTV, 2G and 3G mobile services, community radio ,Wimax, WiFi, etc and exploit cloud services for an open - university system. He proposed a hybrid solution which would use hierarchy of networks including regional datacenters. This would require local entrepreneurship and content support developed in the regional language.

South Asia’s largest ICT event, the 18th Convergence India 2010 Expo was the center stage for not only business exchange but also for comprehensive knowledge dissemination. Ending on a promising note for the future of communications industry in India, the event was organised by Exhibitions India Group - the only event organizer with ISO 9001; 2008 & ISO 14001:2004 Certification. The 19th Convergence India 2011 expo is scheduled to be held from 24-26 March 2011 at New Delhi, India.