Colombia. In March it is customary for many agents of the cable industry to set up at the Andean Fair Link Cartagena, (March 1, 2 and 3). In addition to enjoying a very beautiful city for three days, it brings together the great suppliers of inputs for the pay television industry and the audiovisual sector of Latin America.
Its president and manager, Luz Marina Arango, spoke to us and this was what she told us:
Luis Pinto: Tell me a little about Andina Link, what is it about and who are invited for this 2016 version?
Luz Marina Arango: Andina Link is the most important fair in Latin America for technology, telecommunications, television, broadband and cable television. It is held twice a year, in the first semester in the city of Cartagena, Colombia, and in the second semester in San José, Costa Rica.
The first andina Link fair was held in 1995 and since then it has established itself as the preferred place for negotiations and networking in the industry, offering all cable providers, content providers and telecommunications technology a space to negotiate and update.
Since then a wide variety of companies from all over the Andean region and great programmers, are presented at the event to be informed of everything related to cable television technology and the Latin American market.
L.P.: What will be the big topics that will be discussed within the event?
L.M.A.: It is really important to participate in the fair, more if you are in the technology and telecommunications industry. This year in the market floor the new trends and the latest technological advances, telecommunications and convergent technologies will be presented. We will have over twenty startups on display.
In the same way we have the conferences within the FICA Forum, which will deal with very relevant issues for companies about the challenges that arrive and how a successful convergent strategy can be generated.
L.P.: Which persons or entities have confirmed their attendance?
L.M.A.: We have the best companies and professionals in the sector attending the fair who will be presenting us with their latest news and innovations in the sector. We are visited by companies from all over Latin America, faithful participants of the event such as RCN, Televisa, FOX, Greenlee Communications, Viacom and many more.
We also have several companies participating for the first time:
AMT: which comes with an outstanding participation.
ANTIK: is a Slovak company dedicated to long-term development of hardware and software.
AZ TV: which is the meeting of the channels that TV Azteca had.
BCD: Argentine company, pioneer in the cable television industry.
Cable Servicios: large Colombian company, headed by Fermín Lombana, one of the most influential people in the country's industry.
CAVAR S.A: Who attends for the first time with the support of Corning.
Latina Link: company with 20 years in the television and network industry, launches its adult channel.
Divas TV: Uruguayan company that is the largest adult entertainment project in Uruguay.
Galastech/Arcom: provider of Network solutions for Telcos and Large companies from different economic sectors in Latin America.
Greenlee Communications: industry leader for the communication service provider industry.
Hayex – Khomax: consolidated, as the best supplier of supplies and equipment rental of the most important companies, in the telecommunications industry.
Micro Link: leading company in the manufacture of fiber connectivity.
NexStreaming: Argentine company that comes to share the new software development tools.
Porta One: Canadian company that creates software solutions.
Cable Union: independent operators of telecommunications services.
Vubiquity: is the leading global provider of premium content services.
L.P.: What is the ultimate goal of Andina Link?
L.M.A.: The main objective of Andina Link is to offer companies in the sector commercial and business spaces, responding to the need for innovation and development of technological platforms for television and telecommunications service providers in the region, facing the constant changes of commercial openness and digital transformation. In the same way, to be able to facilitate negotiations between the countries of Latin America by strengthening the relations and the economy of all the countries of the Andean region.
Text written by the engineer Luis Pinto, technical commercial advisor of the magazine TVyVideo+Radio.
