CTIA Wireless this year attendance fell 15%, but the number of exhibitors held steady as the bad US economy spared not even the king of wireless industry trade shows. Total attendance fell from 40,000 in 2008 to 34,000 this year, and the number of booths remained about the same at 1000, though CTIA saw dips in both categories between 2007 and 2008.

“We expected attendance would be down from last year due to the current economic conditions,” CTIA said in a statement today. “We heard from several attendees and exhibitors that floor traffic was steady and meetings were extremely effective because key decision makers were in attendance.” more

As major telcos ponder whether broadband stimulus funds are worth the strings attached, a diverse group of other grant applicants are moving forward with their own bids to win federal funds, including a large number of local and regional governments.
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