BT To Headline Market Focus Seminars At Sold-Out ECOC 2007

Next Generation Networks and FTTx dominate developments at leading optical communications show

3rd September 2007 - At this year’s European Conference on Optical Communications (ECOC), the Market Focus Seminars will be headlined by BT, the leading player in the development of next generation networks. ECOC will take place at Europe’s biggest conference centre, the Internationales Congress Centrum, in Berlin, later this month, 16th – 20th September.

Head of Network Transformation Research for BT Group, Don Clarke, will highlight the advances in optical network technology and the delivery of high-bandwidth services. Also presenting during the free Market Focus Seminars, which will cover Next Generation Networks and FTTx and take place on the exhibition floor Tuesday 17th and Wednesday 18th, will be Hans-Martin Foisel of Deutsche Telekom and the Optical Internetworking Forum, Rodolfo Di Muro of Ericsson, Robert Keys of Bookham, Jy Bhardwaj of JDSU, and leading optical networking analyst, Heavy Reading’s Graham Finnie.

“As interest in fibre deployments accelerates around the world it is vital that network operators share their research and experience with the wider industry - ECOC is an excellent place to do that,” says Don Clarke of BT Group.

Simon Kears, Marketing Manager at event organizer, Nexus Media, said, “The fact that we can attract speakers of this calibre representing world leaders like BT is a sign of the rise in prevalence of optics in communications networks. The event will be a showcase for the very latest technologies and the views of senior executives on the issues within the industry – this year’s ECOC will be one of the biggest yet.

“The show floor and all exhibit space is already sold out and we are expecting over 5,000 attendees representing operators and telecommunications equipment manufacturers from across the world,” added Kears.

The 33rd annual ECOC will feature 360 exhibitors and a comprehensive speaker line-up, including some of the world’s leading technical developers, both commercial and academic, addressing key industry topics. Confirmed speakers at the conference include: Gregory Raybon of Alcatel-Lucent – 100 Gbit/s: ETDM generation and long haul transmission; Biswanath Mukherjee of the Dept. of Computer Science - Univ. of California Davis, USA – Optical Networks: The Road Ahead; and Russell Davey of BT – Long-reach Access and Future Broadband Network Economics.

Also, on the exhibition floor, visitors will be able to see and take part in a number of new, interactive features: the FTTx Resource centre, delivered by The Light Brigade, will be a focal point for all things FTTx; the live demonstration area, where the latest optical communications products will be showcased; a new, free training area, where the CTTS will give free, practical training courses in fusion splicing and fibre preparation tools.

The ECOC conference begins with workshops at 09:00 on Sunday 16th and concludes at 16:00 on Thursday 20th. The exhibition opens at 09:30 on Monday 17th and closes at 16:00 on Wednesday 19th.

Ends

For further information on the European Conference on Optical Communications, please visit www.ecocexhibition.com or contact Simon Kears, marketing manager at Nexus Media.