Leaders of Carrier Ethernet Industry to Gather at Ethernet Expo Europe in London

LONDON - Key speakers from telecom leaders BT, Colt, and Tata will join with top Enterprise CIOs and key vendors such as Alcatel-Lucent and Cisco in Europe’s major event focused on the red-hot Carrier Ethernet market

Hundreds of telecom service provider executives and enterprise information technology managers are expected to attend Ethernet Expo: Europe 2009, May 13-14 at the ExCel Conference Centre in London, to hear leading carriers and enterprise CIOs explain how they are optimizing the red-hot Carrier Ethernet technology, which is a crucial driver of growth in an otherwise tepid global communications marketplace.

Ethernet Expo features a number of firsts, including the industry’s first live Global Interconnect demonstration, in which multiple carriers and the leading equipment vendors that serve them demonstrate how a multi-vendor Carrier Ethernet service can be ordered and managed around the world. In addition, Ethernet Expo will have a strong voice from the customers of these services, including enterprise CIOs such as Dr. Bhaskar Dasgupta, from HSBC Holdings, and senior managers from Reuters, IPSOS, and local government who will describe how they are using and buying these services.

Finally, key speakers from the regulatory environment and industry organizations focused on Ethernet-related standards development - Ofcom (Office of Communications), MEF (MetroEthernet Forum), and MSF (MultiService Forum) - will authoritatively describe the latest developments and trends. The Conference is chaired by Stan Hubbard, Senior Analyst at Heavy Reading, and recognized to be a leading authority on the Carrier Ethernet market.

“This is the one place in Europe where the entire Ethernet ecosystem of service providers, vendors, and enterprise execs are getting together to advance the Carrier Ethernet industry,” says Joseph Braue, Group Director/Senior Vice President, Light Reading. “At the same time, providers can find out in detail what their customers and prospects are thinking, learn from best-practice experience of other carriers, and gain real insight into some of the difficult issues being tackled right now by the regulators. Ethernet Expo Europe is right at the forefront of the Carrier Ethernet revolution.”

The world’s first Global Interconnect demo will be demonstrating how MEF-certified services perform under realistic conditions from London to USA to Asia and back again in a single interconnected broadband network. The demonstration, led by Bob Mandeville and his team at Iometrix, the leading telecom testing company, will allow attendees to see worldwide carrier Ethernet in real-time on the big screen, then have them stroll over to the Vendor Showcase to get the detailed business case, how the services are delivered to the organization, and how the customer will benefit. The participating service providers include: COLT, ntl:Telewest, and Tata Communications. Equipment manufacturers participating in the interconnect vendor showcase include Alcatel-Lucent, Anda, Cisco, Creanord, Matisse, Omnitron, and Spirent.

Keynotes from leading telecom carriers include: Dr. Alireza Mahmoodshahi, CTO of Colt; Matthew Finnie, CTO of Interoute; and Dr. Kamran Sistanizadeh, CTO of Reliance Globalcomm. Key executives from BT, Verizon, Telefonica, XO Communications, and ntl:Telewest will also be speaking.

Among enterprise IT speakers, Dr. Bhaskar Dasgupta, Global Head, Programme Management Office for Global Finance, HSBC Holdings, is on Wednesday’s enterprise panel, together with John Jackson, Assistant Director, Corporate ICT, Camden Borough Council; John Lyons, Global Head of Network Architecture and Design, Sales & Trading, Thomson Reuters; and Dimitri Koveos from IPSOS. Also on Wednesday, the Enterprise Workshop provides an introduction to Carrier Ethernet services and the importance of MEF certification for enterprise professionals.

Thursday’s Ethernet Standards workshop features Craig Easley, Marketing Committee Co-Chair, MEF; and Roger Ward, President, MultiService Forum; with Chinyelu Onwurah, Head of Telecoms Technology, Ofcom also featuring in the day’s program that includes debates, success stories, and “Think Tank” presentations. All presentations are open to questions from the audience and a valuable opportunity to tap the experience and creativity of the industry’s best brains.

Ethernet Expo: Europe 2009 is one conference you cannot afford to miss! The full program and demonstration details can be found on Light Reading’s Ethernet Expo: Europe 2009 Website: www.ethernetexpoeurope.com. Registration for press and analysts is free.

Contact: Amy Averbook Director of Corporate Marketing Light Reading averbook@lightreading.com +1-212-925-0020 x112

About Light Reading

Founded in 2000, Light Reading (www.lightreading.com) is the leading online media, research, and focused event company serving the $3 trillion worldwide communications market. Lightreading.com is the ultimate source for technology and financial analysis of the communications industry, leading the media sector in terms of traffic, content, and reputation. Light Reading’s research arms, Heavy Reading and Pyramid Research, provide the most comprehensive communications research, market data, and technology analysis in close to 100 markets around the world. Light Reading produces nearly 20 targeted communications events including TelcoTV, Ethernet Expo New York and Ethernet Expo London, The Tower Summit @ CTIA, and Optical Expo, as well as focused one-day events tailored for cable, mobile, and wireline executives. Light Reading was acquired by United Business Media in August 2005 and operates as a unit of TechWeb.

About TechWeb

TechWeb (techweb.com/aboutus), the global leader in business technology media, is an innovative business focused on serving the needs of technology decision-makers and marketers worldwide. TechWeb produces the most respected and consumed media brands in the business technology market. Today, more than 13.3 million* business technology professionals actively engage in our communities created around our global face-to-face events, Interop, Web 2.0, Black Hat, and VoiceCon; online resources such as the TechWeb Network, Light Reading, Intelligent Enterprise, InformationWeek.com, bMighty.com, and The Financial Technology Network; and the market leading, award-winning InformationWeek, TechNet Magazine, MSDN Magazine, and Wall Street & Technology magazines. TechWeb also provides end-to-end services including next-generation performance marketing, integrated media, research, and analyst services. TechWeb is a division of United Business Media, a global provider of news distribution and specialist information services with a market capitalization of more than $2.5 billion.

*13.3 million business decision-makers: based on number of monthly connections

About United Business Media Limited

UBM (UBM.L) focuses on two principal activities: worldwide information distribution, targeting and monitoring; and, the development and monetisation of B2B communities and markets. UBM’s businesses inform markets and serve professional commercial communities - from doctors to game developers, from journalists to jewelry traders, from farmers to pharmacists - with integrated events, online, print and business information products. Our 6,500 staff in more than 30 countries are organised into specialist teams that serve these communities, bringing buyers and sellers together, helping them to do business and their markets to work effectively and efficiently. For more information, go to www.unitedbusinessmedia.com

Source: Light Reading

Amy Averbook, Director of Corporate Marketing, Light Reading, +1-212-925-0020 x112, averbook at lightreading.com