SUPERCOMM 2000 offers the width and breadth of today's telecommunications

TechnologyBy ROBERT PEASE

Just when you think you've seen everything fiber-optic telecommunications technology has to offer, along comes SUPERCOMM 2000-and with it, the introduction of yet another host of innovative products and mind-boggling technical accomplishments from both leading and startup optical-networking companies. As the world's largest annual international communications technology exhibition and conference touches down once again at the Georgia World Congress Center in Atlanta June 4-8, attendees will be treated not only to what's hot in telecommunications today, but they'll also "see what will be" around the next technology corner.

"Fiber-optic technologies will once again have a strong presence on the SUPERCOMM exhibit floor and throughout the show's extensive programming," says Jack Chalden, general manager of SUPERCOMM. "Some of the industry's major and emerging players will be showcasing some of the latest technology solutions, including passive optical networking, optical switching, and much more."

This year's conference is the third of five consecutive annual shows to take place in Atlanta. About 800 exhibitors are expected to converge into 450,000 square feet of exhibition floor to literally provide attendees with a "map of the industry." Last year's event recorded more than 50,000 registrants and brought 778 exhibiting companies into the city, and SUPERCOMM 2000 will likely set new records again this year.

SUPERCOMM offers more than 240 educational sessions with a curriculum that encompasses communications basics, industry updates, and advanced technical sessions. The sessions are conducted by industry experts from every arena of communications technology and business. More than 700 speakers will offer insights on issues of immediate interest to registrants in Atlanta this year.

Concurrently with SUPERCOMM, the International Engineering Consortium (IEC) sponsors its Communications Forums and Executive Forum. The International Communications Association (ICA) also offers its annual conference program. The Global Telecom Market (GTM) Forum comprises a series of 14 special workshops, coupled with plenary and keynote presentations focusing on global telecommunications technologies, markets, and related business issues.

SUPERCOMM's free Industry Update sessions provide insight and technological expertise on a variety of topics, including optical networking, broadband networking, cable TV, and enterprise networking. If you're interested in fiber-optic technologies, you'll want to check out "Advances in Optics" (M02A), a session dedicated to the optical local loop, the role of Synchronous Optical Network/Synchron ous Digital Hierarchy (SONET/ SDH) in con verged data communications, and the evolution of optical transport.

Also included in the free sessions is the Minority- and Women-Owned Business Enterprise (MWBE) Program. The MWBE Program covers issues key to companies committed to do business with MWBE firms as well as for MWBE firms seeking to do business in the converging information industry.

The 2nd Annual Telecom Investor Forum (TIF) is slated to be interactie, bringing institutional investment executives, venture capitalists, analysts, and the financial press together with the telecommunications companies they follow. Last year's inaugural event attracted more than 250 attendees from the financial community who heard presentations from 48 presenting companies.

"This forum will bring together 54 top-level leaders of pre-initial purchase offering and public companies and put them face-to-face with senior analysts, institutional investors, venture capitalists, and the financial press," says Chalden. "Unlike road shows or analyst reports, the TIF will allow industry professionals to track the direction of industry transformations by putting them in touch with hundreds of key players and technologies."

A unique feature of the TIF is that both public and private companies will participate, so that investors get a complete view of the industry and some of the hottest companies within it. Presenting companies will include many that are conference exhibitors, along with international startups and incubator organizations.

On the convention floor, attendees can easily locate specific topics of interest by visiting the different technology zones. SUPERCOMM will include the following zones:

Enterprise Communications Zone. This zone is dedicated to enterprise-wide communications solutions, in clud ing voice, video, and data applications. Many innovative companies will offer enterprise-wide communications solutions for harnessing the power of next-generation public networks.
Information Technology Zone. Featuring telecommunications software and information-technology solutions, this zone will also include standards-based applications development and the provisioning of new communications services. Showcased technologies will enable support of critical business processes and allow service providers to implement a new generation of voice, video, and data solutions.
Wireless Technology Zone. With breakthroughs in local-loop technology and mobile and global satellite communications, a selection of vendors will offer terrestrial and satellite network infrastructure and broadband applications.
Carrier/Service Provider Area. This area will explore the latest service offerings from traditional and new providers, including Asynchronous Transfer Mode, frame relay, Internet protocol, and international carrier services.

A SUPERCOMM original, the Explor ation Theater, will also be located on the exhibit floor in Hall A. This 120-seat venue enables attendees to witness new-product demonstrations and presentations by leading exhibitors. A complete schedule will be included in the conference materials. Also, this year's SUPERDemo, presented by SUPERCOMM and the IEC, features the DSL Forum Interoperability Showcase and the TeleManagement Forum's Operations Solution Center.

SUPERCOMM will feature several free keynotes, plenaries, and addresses from industry experts. Sunday, June 4, 5 to 5:45 pm, Richard H. Brown, chairman and CEO for EDS, will deliver the keynote address for the Global Industry Directions Plenary Session. Based on more than 30 years of experience in communications, Brown will share his insights into the competitive global-information industry.

Monday, June 5, 8 to 9:15 am, a SUPERCOMM plenary panel will focus on issues concerning competitive local-exchange carriers. Panel members include Royce Holland, chairman and CEO at Allegiance Telecom; Robert Knowling, president and CEO at Covad Communications; and Michael Sternberg, president and CEO at KMC Telecom.

Tuesday, June 6, 8 to 8:45 am, John D. Zeglis, president of AT&T, will deliver the SUPERCOMM opening keynote address. Wednesday morning, June 7, a SUPERCOMM plenary panel chaired by Bo Hedfors, corporate vice president and president of Motorola's network solutions division, will discuss wireless networks for the future.

Wednesday evening, 5:15 to 6 pm, an evening key note address will be presented by Edward J. Zander, president and chief operations officer at Sun Micro systems. SUPERCOMM's closing ad dress will be delivered by Robert W. Lucky, corp orate vice president at Telcordia Technologies, Thursday at 8 am.

SUPERCOMM will also provide a special paid plenary program that kicks off Monday at 1 pm with a GTM/IEC luncheon keynote from John W. Sidgmore, vice chairman of MCI WorldCom. Tuesday, 9:30 to 11:30 am, Roger L. Plummer will moderate an IEC Executive Forum panel to discuss the industry and network landscape for 2002.

The IEC Information Industry Lunch eon presentation is also Tuesday, 12:15 to 2 pm, with a keynote address by F. Duane Ackerman, president and CEO at BellSouth. Immediately following, a second IEC Executive Forum panel, moderated by Dana Rasmussen, vice president of Unisphere Solutions, will discuss the future of the Internet. An IEC luncheon presentation will be Wednesday at 12:30 pm; at press time, the speaker for this event had not been announced.

As traditional industry roles blur and new players step forward, SUPERCOMM offers an efficient way to keep up with changes in the telecommunications industry. The scope of events affords opportunities for a wide variety of businesses to explore solutions. A traditional carrier may find new suppliers to expand its services. An emerging carrier may gain resources for building its internal functions. An Internet service provider may realize the next steps in its evolution. A corporate executive may learn how a virtual private network can save money and improve productivity.

SUPERCOMM is an ideal opportunity to find timely answers to thousands of questions, offering a full range of choices available to the telecommunications professional. No one can predict the shifting landscape of communications, but SUPERCOMM is an assembly of resources that can enable participants a far-reaching view of the future to determine an appropriate course of action.

Lightwave's "Fiber Picks" from the IEC, ICA & GTM Programs

Tutorial 9 am to 5 pm
T1 - The Last Mile Workshop
9 am to 12:30 pm
W1 - Managing Multinational Communications
Session 1:30 to 3 pm
S1 - Managing Sourcing Strategies
Session 3:30 to 5 pm
S2 - Assessing New Technology for the Enterprise
GTM Forum 2:15 to 3:15 pm
GTM01 - Global Markets, Directions & Trends
GTM Forum 3:30 to 4:45 pm
GTM02 - Integrated Services: Voice, Data & Video

Washington DC Public Policy Update 9:30 to 10:30 am
Tutorial (9 am to 5 pm)
T3 - Broadband Backbone Technologies
Workshop 9 am to 12:30 pm
W8 - Managing the Technical Professional
Workshop 1:30 to 5 pm
W10 - Achieving Cost Savings While Transforming Telecom & IT as a Strategic Competitive Weapon
Session 11 am to 12:30 pm
S3 - Designing Scalable Network Applications
Session 1:30 to 3 pm
S4 - Transitioning Legacy to Net Centric
GTM Forum 9:45 to 11:15 am
GTM03 - Asia Pacific Telecom Market Opportunities or
GTM04 - Global VPN Services or
GTM05 - Broadband Access
GTM Forum 11:30 am to 1 pm
GTM06 - Europe/Middle East/Africa Opportunities or
GTM07 - How to Profit from Growing
Global Wholesale Markets or
GTM08 - Intelligent Optical Networking
GTM12 - North America Market Opportunities
IEC TecForum 9:30 am to 5 pm
TF1 - IP Telephony Architectures &
Next-Generation Networks or
TF2 - Optical Networking Advances

11 am to 12:30 pm
I CA Telecom Industry Public Policy Roundtable
Session 1:30 to 3 pm
S6 - Broadband ATM or
S7 - Access Technologies
Session 3:30 to 5 pm
S11 - Advanced VPNs or
S12 - Voice over X or
S14 - Taking Your Net Global
IEC Session 9 to 10:30 am
T03A - Fundamentals of Fiber-Optic Technology or
T07A - Broadband Access Technologies or
T10A - Next-Generation Network Convergence
IEC Session 10:45 am to 12:15 pm
T18B - ATM in the Network or
T19B - Fiber-Optic Support of Broadband Access or
T22B - Packet-Telephony Fundamentals or
T24B - IP Network Access Technologies or
T25B - Making Packet Telephony Carrier Class
IEC Session 2 to 3:30 pm
T34C - Technologies Shaping Service Provider Transport Networks or
T36C - The Disappearing CLEC: The Emerging ICP or
T38C - Migrating to IP Telephony
IEC Executive Forum Private Executive Welcoming Reception 9 to 9:30 am
Workshop: The Communication Industry: Launching the New Millenium
9:30 to 11:30 am
11:30 am to 12:15 pm
Private Executive Reception
12:15 to 2 pm
Luncheon & Keynote Speaker .
2 to 3:30 pm
Workshop: The Future of the Internet

9 to 10:30 am
ICA Telecommunications Public Policy Committee Report
Session 9 to 10:30 am
S19 - Voice as a Killer Application or
S20 - Mergers & Acquisitions Survivors
Session 11 am to 12:30 pm
S21 - Network Design & Capacity Planning
Session 1:30 to 3 pm
S27 - View from Wall Street & Sandhill Road
Session 3:30 to 5 pm
S29 - Broadband Optical (Carrier Side) or
S30 - Building Real IP Telephony or
S31 - Technology Convergence
IEC Session 9:15 to 10:45 am
W42D - The Present & Future of Broadband Access or
W49D - Service Provider of the Future or
W52D - IP Telephony: Strategic & Business Issues
IEC Session 11 am to 12:30 pm
W58E - The New Optical Network for Data Centric Services or
W61E - Metropolitan Access Networking or
W65E - Broadband IP Access IEC Session 2 to 3:30 pm
W72F - The Future of Global Competition or
W79F - Next-Generation IP Network Backbone 8 to 9 am
IEC Executive Forum IEC Executive Workshop
9:15 am to 12:30 pm
SUPERCOMM Panel
12:30 to 2 pm
Communications Forums Session Program
2 to 3:30 pm
Luncheon & Keynote Speaker 5:15 to 6 pm
Communications Forums Session Program

9:45 am to 5 pm
IEC TecForum
TF5 - IP Networks & the Future of Global Communications or
TF6 - Services & Applications for Carrier IP Networks

Supercomm Free Sessions at a GlanceSunday, June 4 5 to 5:30 pm Global Industry Directions Plenary Session.5 to 5:30 pm Global Industry Directions Plenary Session .

8 to 9:15 a.m
SUPERCOMM Plenary Panel
(CLEC Focus)
10 am to 12 pm
MWBE Program
M05: MWBEs Excelling in a Convergence Environment
2 to 5 pm
MWBE Program
M10B: MWBE Executive Panel - A View from the Top - Meeting the SUPERCOMM Challenge in a Converged Environment
10 to 11:30 am
Industry Update Sessions
M01A: IP - Next Generation Networks or
M02A: Advances in Optics or
M03A: OSS - Customer Management & Billing or
M04A: New Enterprise Solutions
1 to 2:30 pm
Industry Update Sessions
M06B: Cable TV - Technologies & Applications or
M07B: Fixed Broadband Wireless Networks or
M08B: OSS - Network Management & Integration or
M09B: Computer Telephony Advances
3 to 4:30 pm
Industry Update Sessions
M11C: DSL Takes Center Stage or
M12C: Wireless Data & 3G Technologies or
M13C: Telecom Investor Opportunities or
M14C: Frame Relay & ATM Directions