UNLIKE PREVIOUS years, Expo Comm Argentina 2007 was smaller and plagued by bad weather with exhibitors grumbling about various issues.

Last year, organisers said there were over 200 exhibitors. This year there were only 180. Regardless of the number, the reduction in floor size was noticeable as soon as you stepped through the door.

Despite promises that the show would be a "totally renewed and revitalized event," exhibitors moaned about a range of issues, from Internet problems to a stolen notebook.

"We expected a higher attendance this year," said one exhibitor who sells networking devices but did not wish to give his name. "Yes, some brands didn't show up, and the kind of public wasn't what we expected". He also said there were connectivity problems at the show. "Not only with the Internet connectivity, but also with mobiles. It (the mobile network) was saturated."

Another exhibitor who tried to demonstrate a service requiring Internet connection said the connectivity they paid for simply didn't work. "They fixed it by mid-Thursday, with the event ending on Friday." The amount charged for four days of connectivity was "a bit outrageous", he said, without saying how much he paid. Estimates put the cost at around 1500 pesos - or £230.

Ironically, Argentina's IT and telecomms sector seems to be performing well so we can't blame that for the smaller show. According to Norberto Capellan from the IT and telcomms trade body, Argentina is expected to see a 20 per cent increase in sales this year, reaching some 34.6 billion pesos ($10.9 billion or €7.7 billion), which equals 4.6 per cent of the country's GDP.

Besides the show floor reduction and the ugly weather, the only other difference was that this time, they moved the press room outside the main floor, which meant we had to scan our press badges every time we went in and out. Oh well. At least there's the booth babes. But more on that later. µ