The International Engineering Consortium (IEC--Chicago, IL) will focus its attention on high-bandwidth services and the obstacles, both technical and economic, that carriers face in providing them to their residential and business customers when it presents its All-Optical Networks (AON) ComForum 2000 and Broadband Local Loop (BLL) ComForums 2000 next month in Phoenix, AZ.

AON 2000 will provide communication industry managers and executives an opportunity to explore the latest advancements in optical technology and fiber-optic deployment strategies, as they consider the challenges and solutions involved with the transition to a fiber-rich or all-optical network. BLL 2000 will explore the challenges of providing broadband services and address the realities of new broadband technologies that will allow service providers to offer the high-bandwidth services demanded by today's Internet and e-commerce applications.

AON 2000 will feature a keynote address by Don Smith, president of optical Internet at Nortel Networks, and a plenary panel discussion called, "The All-optical Network: Myth or Reality." BLL 2000's keynote speaker will be William Kirkner, chief technology officer at Prodigy Services. Its plenary panel is entitled, "Delivering Integrated, Multiservice Networks in the Competitive Local Loop."

More information on the All-Optical Networks ComForum 2000 and the Broadband Local Loop ComForum 2000 may be obtained by calling (312) 559-4600 or visiting www.iec.org.