Around 27 British companies at the cutting-edge of wireless technology are to attend the largest trade fair for wireless technology firms in North America.

The companies, which represent a range of British skills and talent, are going to CTIA 08 in Las Vegas to hammer out commercial partnerships with leading American companies.

The show takes place in Las Vegas between April 1 – 3.

British companies are attracted to the US market because of its size and a similar regulatory structure as well as the language.

British companies are among the most innovative in the world when it comes to ICT. More than a million people work in the sector and it is one of the fastest growing. UK universities are among the most innovative in Europe. Many technology companies, including firms from the USA, have set up research and development labs in the UK, clustered around universities.

Among British firms exhibiting at the show are Antix Labs, Martin Dawes Systems, The Technology Partnership, and S3 Interactive. A full list of companies at the show is on the UKTI CTIA website at www.ukctia.com. They cover the full range of applications from mobile payment services, wireless networks, games software to speech recognition.

Andrew Cahn, Chief Executive, of UK Trade & Investment, said: “The US market is of vital importance to the UK ICT sector. The US is the single biggest investor in the UK and the UK is the single biggest investor in the US. It makes great sense to deepen our relationship and increase our business ties.

“The US is an important market for UK companies in the sector, which is demonstrated by the size of the UK group at CTIA.  UK companies have leading-edge technology and products that are complementary to the US market and I look forward to hearing about these firms success when they return.”