A new wireless network roaming service will be available to visitors attending the annual CeBIT technology trade show in Hanover, Germany, from 10-16 March.
InfoWorld: “When Wi-Fi users go to the CeBIT log-on page, they will find a drop-down menu with a list of operators connected to our service,” Wollner said. “All they have to do is click the name of their provider and then enter their user name and password. They don’t have to worry about buying a prepaid voucher or using their credit card.”
The wireless network will be supported by more than 200 access points throughout the exhibition area, InfoWorld says. CeBIT is the world’s largest technology trade fair, with nearly a half-million visitors to the 2004 show.
More information at the CeBIT website (but no RSS feed!).
While the scale of CeBIT is simply huge – over 6,100 exhibitors in more than 300,000 square meters of exhibition space for this year’s show at the Deutsche Messe venue in Hanover – it perfectly illustrates a point I made recently about making it easy to get connected for people who participate in conferences, exhibitions and other events.
I wonder what impact this ease of connectivity at CeBIT will have on the way in which news and information will be quickly communicated in an environment that traditionally is very controlled. For example, many exhibitors use CeBIT as a focal point for announcing new products and services, issuing press releases and making announcements in the traditional and controlled way.
This year, anyone with a wireless-enabled laptop can stroll through the exhibition and blog away. It will be worth keeping an eye on tech-related blogs in mid March for potential scoops.
More interesting, though, is that such an open communications environment presents some great opportunities for savvy communicators at tech companies, and their PR agencies, to take advantage of this for some proactive communication and engage with some influential bloggers. I wonder how many actually will.
Neville Hobson is the author of the popular NevilleHobson.com blog which focuses on business communication and technology.
Neville is currentlly the VP of New Marketing at Crayon. Visit Neville Hobson’s blog: NevilleHobson.com.
