Co-Located Penton Media Events - ISPCON, ASPCON, Last Mile Fall 2001 - To Convene in Las Vegas October 9-11

Business Wire, Oct 1, 2001

Business Editors

ISPCON Fall 2001

ASPCON Fall 2001

Last Mile Fall 2001

GOLDEN, Colo.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct. 1, 2001

Penton VP Says Attack on America Increases

Significance of Service Provider Industry

When thousands of Internet Service Providers converge on Las Vegas' Sand's Expo & Convention Center October 9 - 11 for Penton Media's (NYSE: PME)(www.penton.com) leading service provider event - the co-located ISPCON, ASPCON and Last Mile conferences - it will be an industry gathering like no other, according to Jon Price, vice president of Penton's Service Provider Events Group.

"The terrorist acts against our country have affected every aspect of American life," said Price, "and how people and businesses relate to the Internet is no exception. The issues facing service providers have taken on a whole new meaning in light of September 11."

Price said industry forums represent an opportunity to debate and influence public policy stemming from terrorist attacks - especially policies related to service provider operations and the public they serve. "It's crucial that key players help develop thoughtful, reasonable solutions that preserve civil liberties as well as serve national security interests," he said.

"Several of these timely educational sessions slated for ISPCON, ASPCON and Last Mile were on conference agendas long before the terrorist attacks," said ISPCON Group Show Director Denise Miller. "But due to these recent events, their relevance and the importance of having this kind of dialogue is critical," said Miller.

Price emphasized that, aside from debating public policy issues, service providers have an opportunity to help individuals and businesses alike embrace new solutions that address increased demand for expanded communication options and requirements in the wake of curtailed travel and the need to continue driving business forward.

"Laurie McCabe, one of our conference leaders, authored an excellent column this week about the opportunity for service providers who offer travel alternatives, such as video conferencing and web-based collaboration solutions," said Price. "Laurie feels our industry should take the lead on this to help reduce business-travel expenses and add available services to their portfolio."

"It's this kind of critical strategic thinking that will vastly increase the value of service providers and move them towards increased profitability. That's what our Las Vegas conference will be about."

McCabe is vice president and practice director of Summit Strategies, a leading provider of research and information about emerging markets, technologies and strategies in the technology industry.

More than 140 educational sessions for the co-located Penton conferences are organized around Application Service Providers (ASPs), Internet Service Providers (ISPs) and solutions for the Last Mile.

Highlights of the ISPCON conference sessions, chaired by Price, include:

-- The true cost of dial-up access: An exploration of financial techniques to
explain how to cost dial-up services, determine profit margins and justify
dial-up access

-- A discussion of Multi-Protocol Label Switching (MPLS): An analysis of MPLS
capabilities that push IP deeper into the network, replacing costly ATM
installations

-- ISP Survivor's Guide: A discussion of how ISPs can leverage the power of
their subscriber bases to target new opportunities through innovative service
models

-- Getting to the core: How to secure full value from non-core functions by
outsourcing non-critical SP business functions, while receiving overhead and
staffing requirements, plus how to build on and maintain such value

-- Guerrilla Politics - Top 10 Strategies for the ISP: How to positively impact
public policy and regulatory issues that effect SP business practices at local,
regional and national levels

The ASPCON conference, chaired by McCabe, includes sessions on:

-- Value-based Pricing and Billing - Survivor Strategy: Focusing

on how pricing and billing become a competitive advantage for

ASPs

-- Security is the Cornerstone of Any ASP Offering: A critical

look at why protecting your network and customer data must be

a top priority

-- ASP Business Models - Where is the Profit?: Exploring how ASP

business models impact profitability, plus a review of

tried-and-proved business designs and steps to reduce

profitability risks

-- Verticalization - How Ready Software Gets You There: An

examination of how using an ASP ready software platform, to

add back office functionality to your vertical market

expertise, gets you in the game quickly

Todd Erickson, managing editor of Boardwatch Magazine and conference chair addresses key issues facing this dilemma head-on with several Last Mile sessions. Among them:

-- Future of DSL: A panel of industry leaders will discuss the

remaining prospects for medium-sized ISPs to leverage emerging

and existing DSL technologies for profitability

-- Service Provider Valuation and Financing Trends: Find out how

service providers successfully navigate today's choppy market