For the fifteen organisations that make up the Executive Committee, and our host organisation Alcatel, the answer was a very welcome surprise . . . it worked, and all of you who attended and contributed produced a great result during the deepest and most prolonged slump in the industry’s history. The spirit of SubOptic lives on and the 2004 Conference not only proved that the objectives and constitution are sustainable, but that the event is truly embedded in the culture of our industry. At the end of the event, we all had to pinch ourselves to think back to the previous year when cancellation was a very real option. In particular, the EC and Alcatel took a very brave decision, which in hindsight seems obvious, but in reality was difficult and risky. In the end, over 600 registrants passed through the turnstiles and, barring some well understood difficulties with hotels, the majority of you seem to have got a lot of value and pleasure out of the conference programme and social events. Now, Wayne Nielsen has asked John Horne and myself to reflect upon some of the key themes during the four days. As committee bureaucrats, we shall probably have a biased view but, please, letters to the Editor, not SubOptic. I am sure Wayne will welcome the debate.
So how was SubOptic 2004 for you? Reflections on the Monaco event from Alan Robinson and John Horne
As administrators, we certainly never got down to the Irish Bar, which is where the real SubOptic took place, but we were able to enjoy some of the splendid hospitality laid on by the Monaco Government, the SubOptic EC and hosts of a number of private parties, all unfortunately packed into too short a time scale. And I suppose our first theme that we shall be working on for 2007 is that a number of you have indicated that the conference is expensive. On the surface, the registration fee is higher than some of our commercial competitors, but please remember that SubOptic is inclusive of a number of extras, including the social programme, which many other conferences do not even bother to organise, let alone fund. The programme is more broad and varied, and the speakers more informed on specialist subjects, which are unlikely to even get a booking at other events. And, of course, it is non-profit making. Key themes in the conference followed a familiar line - geographical regions were in different states of development, so there is not a “one model fits all”. There is over supply in manufacturing and, in particular, Atlantic capacity. Pricing has been irrational and unpredictable, leading to a loss of confidence and an unwillingness to take risks. Everybody wants and
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