Tremendous demand from both major and emerging telecommunications industry participants will result in a bigger-than-ever trade-show floor for SUPERCOMM 2000 (www.supercomm2000.com), June 4-8, at the Georgia World Congress Center in Atlanta. Organizers are expanding exhibit floor space to a record 450,000 sq ft to accommodate nearly 700 exhibitors.
To make the layout more manageable for participants, the floor will feature dedicated technology zones and areas reflecting an ever-changing industry. In the Enterprise Communi-cations Zone, attendees will learn the latest in voice, video, and data applications and can visit companies who are harnessing the power of next-generation public networks. The Carrier/ Service Provider Area will feature service offerings from both traditional and new providers, while the Information Technology Zone will be highlighted by telecommunications software and information-technology (IT) solutions for network management as well as next-generation communications solutions. Both terrestrial and satellite network technologies and products will be featured in the Wireless Technology Zone.
Sponsored by the Telecommunica-tions Industry Association (TIA-Arlington, VA) and the United States Telecom Association (USTA-Washington, DC), SUPERCOMM 2000 will debut its SuperDemo series that will feature the DSL Forum's interoperability showcase-the first public demonstration of any-to-any asymmetric digital-subscriber-line interoperability-and the Tele-Management Forum's operations solution center, where attendees will see what's possible when existing and prototype products are linked to deliver an automated management solution.
Keynote speakers will include AT&T president John Zeglis, Telcordia Technologies vice president Robert Lucky, and EDS chairman and CEO Dick Brown. In his Sunday night address, Brown will offer insights on competing in the global information industry. "The year 2000 will be a 'virtual reality check' for e-business as we see who can deliver on their service promise," Brown says. "The engines driving e-business are the 'e-enabling' technologies-the behind-the-scenes infrastructure that moves e-business from marketing hype to a true discipline."
AT&T's Zeglis will open the Tuesday morning session by examining the ramifications of convergence of communications and IT. "This convergence will not just enhance existing industries," Zeglis says. "It will create new ones. In the next 10 years, there will be more changes in communications and information technologies than there have been in the previous 100."
A 20-year telecom industry veteran, Telcordia's Lucky will peer into the possibilities of the future. "Watching the merger of the telephone network and the Internet is like seeing the collision of two giant galaxies," he says. "We all can see and feel the light and energy being thrown off in their evolution of becoming something both unpredictable and different."
Beyond the trade show itself and the special sessions, SUPERCOMM 2000's conference program will feature 240 workshops and nearly 800 guest speakers.
- Steve Smith
