VoiceCon Fall to Analyze Future of the Phone and Impact of Carrier Consolidation

SAN FRANCISCO, Aug. 9 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Leading thinkers in enterprise communications will gather at VoiceCon® Fall 2006 to assess the new opportunities that have been created by converged, IP-based networks, as well as the future of the phone in the enterprise and the impact of carrier consolidation. VoiceCon Fall 2006 (http://www.voiceconfall.com/), produced by CMP Technology, will take place August 21-24 at the Moscone North Convention Center in San Francisco.

The VoiceCon Summits will feature enterprise executives from Avaya, Cisco, Microsoft, Motorola, Nokia, Nortel, Siemens, Verizon and Levine, Blaszak, Block & Boothby, LLP for two spontaneous roundtable discussions: "The Future of the Phone in the Enterprise" and "What Carrier Consolidation Means to You." Both VoiceCon Summits will address the unprecedented changes taking place in the carrier marketplace caused by changing business models, regulation and the spread of VoIP into both carrier and enterprise networks, providing analysis and perspective that no other event provides.

"VoiceCon Fall takes place at a pivotal juncture in the migration to IP Telephony and converged networks," said Fred Knight, VoiceCon General Manager. "IP accounts for more than 50% of the station shipments going into U.S. enterprises, and everyone recognizes that world of communications has forever changed. New entrants -- and new ideas -- are coming into the market.

"The migration to converged IP-based communications, when coupled with emerging wireless devices and systems, creates a whole new set of options for what we now call 'telephones,'" continued Knight. "Because softphones are catching on and cellular/PDA devices can now handle a range of voice, data and video applications, we've assembled a special Summit at VoiceCon Fall called the 'Future of the Phone in the Enterprise.'"

The descriptions and speaker rosters for both VoiceCon Summits are as follows:

VoiceCon Summit: Future of the Phone

The once-familiar office phone is going through enormous changes as IP Telephony and related technologies like SIP and wireless become widespread, and voice becomes embedded into enterprise applications. Moreover, new voice architectures will require phones to evolve into more intelligent, multifunction devices. This VoiceCon Summit will ask technical leaders from equipment and service suppliers to describe the future of enterprise telephones, and what it means for enterprise customers, users and vendors.

-- Lawrence Byrd, Director of Mobility and IP Telephony, Avaya
-- Jim Coffman, PhD, Director, Engineering, Cisco Systems
-- Ed Wadbrook, Director of Industry Initiatives, Microsoft Unified
Communications Group, Microsoft
-- John DeFeo, Corporate VP, Enterprise Mobility Solutions, Motorola
-- Phil Edholm, VP & CTO Network Architecture, Nortel
-- Stephan Grinzinger, Vice President Product Management Devices & Access,
Siemens Communications Enterprise Systems
VoiceCon Summit: What Carrier Consolidation Means To You

We're down to just two choices when large enterprises go out to bid for major telecom services. Those two carriers are bigger than anything we've seen since the days of the Bell System, but are they any better? A leading market analyst and an attorney who negotiates contracts for the biggest U.S. enterprises will help sort out the implications. They'll give their take on what's happening and what's to come.

-- Lorena McCalister, Director -- VOIP Marketing, Verizon
-- Hank Levine, Partner, Levine, Blaszak, Block & Boothby

VoiceCon is also proud to continue its status as the only venue to feature all of the leading vendors and suppliers in enterprise IP Telephony and converged communications, providing attendees with an unmatched opportunity to see and experience a wide range of IP Telephony solutions. Among the companies exhibiting at VoiceCon Fall 2006 include: 3Com, Aastra Intecom, Adomo, AT&T, Avaya, Cisco, Citrix, Ericsson, Extreme Networks, Foundry Networks, IBM, Inter-Tel, Microsoft, Motorola, NEC Unified Solutions, Nortel, SecureLogix, ShoreTel, Siemens, Sprint and Toshiba.

About VoiceCon®

VoiceCon®, now in its 16th year, is the leading conference and exhibition for enterprise voice, IP Telephony and convergence in North America. VoiceCon® brings decision makers together with the industry's pioneering end users, vendors, and consultants to focus on the issues central to enterprise voice networks and the migration to IP telephony and convergence. As the momentum toward IP telephony and convergence has grown, VoiceCon has expanded to include two yearly shows: VoiceCon Fall 2006, taking place August 21-24 at the Moscone Convention Center in San Francisco, and VoiceCon Spring 2007, taking place March 5-8 in Orlando. The VoiceCon portfolio also includes the VoiceCon Implementation Tour, which take place in Fall 2006. VoiceCon also serves the community with a weekly email newsletter that is circulated to approximately 28,000 subscribers -- VoiceCon eNews (http://www.voicecon.com/enews/); VoIP Loop (http://www.voiploop.com/), a news, information and opinion site that features thought leaders in VoIP and enterprise IP Telephony and convergence; and the VoiceCon Webinar Series. For more information, visit http://www.voicecon.com/.

About CMP Technology (http://www.cmp.com/)

CMP Technology is a marketing solutions company serving the technology industry. Through its market-leading portfolio of trusted information brands, CMP has earned the confidence of more technology professionals than any other media company. As a result, CMP is the premier provider of access, insight and actionable programs designed to connect sellers and buyers in ways that yield superior return on investment. CMP Technology is a subsidiary of United Business Media (http://www.unitedbusinessmedia.com/), a global provider of news distribution and specialist information services with a market capitalization of more than $3 billion.

SOURCE: CMP Technology

CONTACT: Ben Stricker, PR Director of CMP Technology, +1-415-905-2464 or
bstricker@cmp.com

Web site: http://www.cmp.com/