CONNECTIONS Summit at CES to feature analyst roundtable, 3DTV, smartphones, connected home services, and consumer buying habits

Parks Associates will open CONNECTIONS™ Summit at CES on January 6 with the session "Analyst Roundtable: The Connected Home is Here!" at 10:00 a.m., featuring expert analysis on the expansion of enhanced connectivity in the home.

Sales of Internet-capable consumer electronics will exceed 200 million worldwide in 2011. Mainstream adoption of digital technologies is reaching all corners of the home. Multiple players, including content owners, CE companies, retailers, broadband and communications providers, and energy utilities, will seek to enhance their consumer relationships through new applications, services, and features that fit with these new market demands.

• In 2011, 36% of new flat-panel TVs sold worldwide will be Internet-capable, growing to 76% of all units in 2015.

• Smartphones and Internet-capable CE remain popular purchases despite CE purchase intentions plunging from almost 50% in 2009 to 38% in 2010.

• In 2011, U.S. sales of smartphones will reach nearly 60 million, and Internet tablets, including Apple iPads , will exceed 13 million.

• By 2014, 80% of new flat-panel TVs sold in the U.S. and Western Europe will have 3D capabilities.

The analyst roundtable will feature data from recent consumer projects, including Consumer Decision Process, Residential Energy Management, Consumer Demand for Technical Support Services, and Digital Video: Three Screens and Beyond.

CONNECTIONS™ Summit at CES is on the first day of 2011 International CES in the South Hall Convention Center, Rooms S206-207. Summit sessions:

Analyst Roundtable: The Connected Home is Here!
Operator Strategies: Video, Services, and Support
Monetizing Connected Consumer Electronics
Executive Roundtable: The Smart Grid and the Home Area Network
Anytime Anywhere Entertainment & Communication – Mobile Applications
Video Everywhere: Key Strategies

CONNECTIONS™ Summit at CES includes support from CONNECTIONS™ Europe sponsors Accedo Broadband, ActiveVideo Networks, ADB, Gigle Networks, Latens, PacketVideo, ProVision Communications, Radialpoint, Ralink Technology Corporation, Virgin Media, and Zeitera. CONNECTIONS™ 2011 sponsors include Association Sponsor CEA and Affinegy, Allegro, HCL, iTOK, Rovi, and Roxio.

The Current Economy: Opportunities in customer support

Things are tough for broadband service providers. They face slower subscriber growth and increased competition. At the same time, their costs for supporting home networks could total hundreds of millions of dollars annually. But — to borrow a cliché — when one door closes, another opens.

Changes in consumer spending are reducing dollars spent on entertainment outside of the home, but with people staying inside for their entertainment, they develop a greater dependence on at-home services. This greater level of dependence opens new areas for growth in customer support, self-diagnostic, and troubleshooting solutions. These opportunities could benefit a diverse batch of players, from broadband, communications, and entertainment providers to retailers and CE manufacturers.

CONNECTIONS™ features the track Support & Management for its 2009 events. The sessions in this track will address, among other topics, how service providers can implement remote support capabilities and turn customer support from a liability into an opportunity – and a service differentiator. Operators can put a renewed focus on building customer satisfaction and ultimately improving subscriber retention, all of which fits nicely with their new strategies for gateway-supported advanced services.