0 KNOW ABOUT UK ICT

THE UK is home to three of Europe’s top fi ve technology universities: Cambridge University; Imperial College London; and Oxford University

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SECTOR FOCUS

TECHWORLD 2010 FACTS AND FIGURES

• 1,284 ATTENDEES • 413 UK COMPANIES • 224 OVERSEAS COMPANIES • 45 COUNTRIES REPRESENTED • 124 UK EXHIBITORS • 1,500+ ONE-TO-ONE BUSINESS MEETINGS

• £48.5M-WORTH OF BUSINESS GENERATED FOR UK FIRMS

GLOBAL RADAR

Attending a UK Trade & Investment-supported exhibition has helped a Winchester-based company win new overseas contracts. Plasma Antennas, which

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THE UK is Europe’s biggest market for IT services, mobile phones and consumer electronics

THE UK excels in the development of radio frequency (RF) and antenna design, digital radio and hybrid (mixed signal) design, embedded systems and systems on chip (SoC) technology

He continues: “An increasing number of countries are keen to develop their ICT infrastructure, providing opportunities for UK expertise. In South Africa, for example, they are looking at next- generation solutions, while IT-ambitious Australia is constructing a national broadband network. The US also remains a major attraction; almost 50 per cent of UK ICT fi rms look at the States as one of their fi rst markets. “At UK Trade & Investment, we’re also encouraging UK companies to look east, to countries such as China and India. We’re trying to develop a framework to get them to look at the Asia region – from Australia to Singapore and Malaysia, and all points in between. Brazil is another

provides smart, integrated, multibeam antennas for the wireless and defence industries, has always had a strong export trade, primarily in Canada and France. In August 2010, UK Trade & Investment invited it to go on a trade mission to Chicago, which would also include attending the 4G World exhibition at a subsidised cost. At the exhibition, Plasma Antennas met face-to-face with a US company it had only previously spoken to by telephone, leading to it securing a lucrative order. Ian Russell, vice-president of sales & business development at Plasma Antennas, comments: “The mission was a great success for us. Attending 4G World with UK Trade & Investment was our fi rst opportunity to feature our technology at an international exhibition. We knew lots of potential customers would also be exhibiting, but without UK Trade & Investment’s support it’s doubtful that we would have attended. “Our limited budget would have only bought us a small [exhibiting] space, which wouldn’t really have got us noticed. Instead, we were exhibiting with kindred spirits, under UK Trade & Investment’s umbrella, a combination that attracted a fair amount of attention. I would say that compared to going alone, by exhibiting with UK Trade & Investment we paid a fraction of the cost.” plasmaantennas.com

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