CTME now has a fully established Integrated Networks team, who are on hand to deliver specialist event communications across a wide range of projects. The department, which is headed up by Rob Turner, has some of the Middle East’s well known and respected Integrated Network professionals. Turner has been working alongside Middle East Managing Director, Andy Reardon to develop this new division strategically.
“It was important we had the right people to set up and run this new division, and I am pleased to announce we now have a team of highly experienced and established Integrated Network professionals,” Reardon explained. “The team consists of several key players who have a long history of working together after originally working at Delta Sound before the company was taken over last year.”
The team have years of experience in event communications across various sectors such as corporate, entertainment, sporting events, virtual events and much more. Their experience across multiple events in the region has given them an excellent understanding of a number of venues in and around the GCC. Turner added: “This knowledge is really valuable, especially when helping clients during site visits and in the planning prepping stages with the other departments.”
Integrated Networks has never been considered the most exciting part of an event and can often be overlooked in the quoting stages. Still, with ever-advancing technology, it offers clients so many added benefits and can facilitate a more seamless event approach than ever before. “With our Riedel (MediorNet) approach, all different departments can prep and interface their various disciplines with the whole event in mind, not just their area of expertise,” Turner commented.
“This, in turn, makes the whole setup and on-site testing a more fluid affair. Communications has become a lot more complex over the years, and now incorporates the distribution of timecode to video, audio and technical element control systems, along with timecode displays for clients and technicians. Having all these elements prepped prior to site makes a vast improvement technically on-site, as well as to the client. The comms system is the gel that holds an event together and is often the only element of technology that the client physically handles or utilises on an event.”
Over the past five months, CT has been investing in the latest communications technology from two-way radios, event networks, signal distribution and much more. The company now houses a variety of leading communication brands such as Riedel, ClearCom, Luminex, and GlenSound, to name a few.
“We wanted to ensure we invested in the best communication technology available in the market while also ensuring the equipment would work within the infrastructure of venues, broadcast and event spaces around the MENA region,” Turner explained.
Reardon highlighted the importance of CT’s ability to purchase as part of a wider group. “Purchasing as a group ensures our clients get the same products and services across all our regions,” he said. “We pride ourselves on consistency.”
From a few Riedel Bolero belt packs in stand-alone mode to a fully incorporated matrix system, CT’s communication system is tailored to the client’s needs and easily scalable.
Turner explained: “This allows us to send out a system that we can easily add equipment to without having to rewire/program the setup again. Most of the larger events in the Middle East require a fair amount of radios and wireless communication, due to the size of the sites. With the radio channels often being interfaced into the communications, we can then easily scale up the footprint that the communications can cover, and in turn, increase the area that the show call/stage management teams can communicate in. The radios also give us the ability to increase the personnel count on a communications group/channel.”
Turner concluded: “I am very much looking forward to seeing this new division of CT flourish. I think we can bring something new and exciting to the Comms/Network market.”
