Mega Bigger Betterband

I like the term “broadband.” Always have. I like that it’s as malleable as this industry. I like that it means different things to different people at different times, depending on their perspective and their discipline and the evolutionary stage of whatever they’re working on.

I get that the word is generic. That’s why I like it. Things change rapid-fire in the communications game (along with every other game), and sometimes it’s necessary to maintain a little linguistic consistency. It can get a little dicey to try and over-categorize or over-define the communications industry, given how quickly everything evolves. The wireless technology tag “ultra wideband” is amusing — it seems like the kind of hyperbole you might find on the side of a box of Tide.

You’ll hear us use the word “broadband” a lot in describing the direction and mission of SUPERCOMM. That’s not an attempt to be vague about what the SUPERCOMM brand stands for or what the 2009 event promises. We believe SUPERCOMM (as an event and a community) should convey a comprehensive outlook of communications innovation —what’s driving it technologically, how it’s being implemented in networks, the opportunities it creates for service providers, and how it changes lives. Broadband most accurately and completely represents all of that — what it is right now, and what it will become.

NOTE: I’ll be contributing to this blog periodically to comment on industry issues related to SUPERCOMM (thanks to xchange and Paula Bernier for the opportunity). I welcome your feedback (about broadband, SUPERCOMM, the industry or anything else) at jmeyers@supercommshow.com.

Jason Meyers is director of conferences for SUPERCOMM. Jason has 15 years of BtoB media experience, most recently as managing director of Penton Custom Media, where he was responsible for overseeing content development, research operations and global content licensing for Penton Media brands across a wide range of industry sectors. Prior to joining Penton’s custom media group, he was director of content development for Penton's Telephony magazine. Jason was editor-in-chief of Telephony and Wireless Review from 1999 to 2006. He joined the staff of Telephony in 1993 as an assistant editor and covered all aspects of the telecom industry in a variety of editorial positions.

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