26 November 2002 -- After a difficult year, the organisers of Lightspeed Europe 2002 are hoping that the global communications industry will be starting 2003 on a strong note.
In the UK, recently, Prime Minister Tony Blair has promised significant government investment in broadband infrastructure. Elsewhere in the world, technologies such as metropolitan networking and 10GB Ethernet, once the mainstay of the visionary minority, are set to become the compelling communications technologies of the coming year.
This year's Lightspeed Europe 2002 event (Earls Court, London, 3-5 December), will explore the key technologies of today and tomorrow, placing a special focus on the business case for their adoption.
Looking further ahead, the conference aims to examine the future developments which will fundamentally alter network economics. The speaker roster includes some of the most recognisable names in optical networking alongside some of Europe's most compelling start-ups: -
- Mick Reeve, CTO of BTexact, discussing next generation network architectures
- Duncan Lewis, former CEO of Ebone and GTS, covering the future of Europe's alternative carriers
- Nick White, deputy chairman of the International Telecommunications Users Group, presenting the multinational corporate perspective on telecommunications ? what they want from carriers, and how that differs to what they get
- Memscap, Essient Photonics, Cube Optics and Bytex Corp ? four of the hottest start-ups in Europe share the stage at the dedicated start-ups forum
"We're thrilled with the level of interest in this year's event," says Sarah Nobles, show manager for Lightspeed Europe. "The conference programme reads like a who's who of next generation networking, and some of the biggest names in the business are participating in the exhibition.
"The interest we've had from delegates and the media alike suggests that the comms market is on the brink of a revival - and we're delighted to take such an important role in shaping tomorrow's marketplace."
View the full conference programme on www.lightspeedeurope.com. Conference passes start at just £95.
The Lightspeed exhibition area at Earls Court will boast "high-calibre" equipment vendors. Siemens, Cisco, Agilent Technologies, Nortel Networks, Ericsson, Lightscape, Hamamatsu Photonics, Infineon, Krone, Avici and BTexact will all be displaying their latest wares at the event.
Entry to the exhibition is free ? visitor passes also afford free entry to Lightspeed's co-located events: Service Provider Europe, Enterprise Content Management and Streaming Media Europe ? a huge variety of technologies and vendors under one roof.
Registrations can be completed online at www.lightspeedeurope.com