Vint Cerf and Esther Dyson to Keynote NGN Policy Conference in Washington, D.C

Business Wire, March 15, 2004

Business Editors/Political Writers/High-Tech Writers

NGN Policy 2004

SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 15, 2004

Public and Private Sector Experts Will Debate Regulatory Issues

Critical to Future of Next Generation Networks

MediaLive International, Inc., producer of the world's best-known events, related media and marketing services for technology buyers and sellers, today announced that Vint Cerf and Esther Dyson will keynote the NGN Policy conference, taking place April 19-21, 2004, at the Park Hyatt Hotel in Washington, D.C.

NGN Policy is produced by the same Business Communications Review team responsible for NGN Networks -- the highly successful event that defines "where the network is going next" for the IT industry. NGN Policy will focus on the policy and regulatory issues currently shaping the industry, incorporating new perspectives from key industry players.

Vint Cerf, Senior Vice President, Technology Strategy, at MCI, and co-designer of the TCP/IP protocols and Internet Architecture, will discuss an innovative view of regulatory thinking in the telecom space. Cerf will suggest a theory that should end the disparate regulatory treatment of modern telecommunications systems as they move towards the Internet.

Esther Dyson, Chairman of EDventure Holdings and Founding Chairman of ICANN, will draw instructive parallels between the challenges facing ICANN, Russia and the U.S. as each attempts to make a transition from one system to another. She will also illustrate where the parallels fail and explain why the U.S. likely has the easiest challenge in the transition.

"The worlds of public policy and information/networking technology are on a collision course," said Fred Knight, general manager of NGN Policy. "New networking technology is making the current telecommunications regulatory framework obsolete, while at the same time raising important new legal and public policy issues. It's hard to find two speakers more qualified to comment on these issues than Vint Cerf and Esther Dyson, and our attendees look forward to their presentations with great anticipation."

NGN Policy will also feature presentations by the following industry leaders and thought leaders:

-- Chris Albinson, Principal, JP Morgan Partners

-- David Baker, VP, Law & Public Policy, Earthlink, Inc.

-- Taher Behbehani, VP Business Development, UTStarcom, Inc.

-- Ralph Brown, Senior VP, Broadband Access, Cable Television

Laboratories, Inc.

-- Jeff Chester, Executive Director, Center for Digital Democracy

-- Scott Cleland, CEO, Precursor

-- Marthin DeBeer, VP/GM, Internet Protocol Communications

Business Unit, Cisco Systems

-- Bret Fausett, Partner, Hancock, Rothert & Bunshoft

-- Matt Flanigan, President, Telecommunications Industry

Association

-- Dan Gillmor, Business & Technology Columnist, San Jose Mercury

News

-- David Gurle, Executive Global Head of Collaboration Services,

Reuters America, Inc.

-- Dale Hatfield, Adjunct Professor, Interdisciplinary

Communications Program, University of Colorado

-- Brett Kilbourne, Director of Regulatory Services and Associate

Counsel, United Powerline Council

-- John Kneuer, Acting Assistant Secretary for Communications and

Information, U.S. Department of Commerce

-- Mark Lowenstein, Managing Director, Mobile Ecosystem

-- Bryan Martin, Chairman and CEO, 8x8, Inc.

-- Elliot E. Maxwell, Fellow, Center for the Study of American

Government

-- Paul Mockapetris, Chairman and Chief Scientist, Nominum, Inc.

-- Sharon Nelson, Former Chairman, Washington Utilities and

Transportation Commission; Senior Assistant Attorney General,

Office of Attorney General

-- Stagg Newman, Senior Telecommunications Practice Expert,

McKinsey & Co.

-- Andrew Odlyzko, ADC Professor and Assistant VP for Research;

Director, Digital Technology Center, University of Minnesota

-- Dr. Robert Pepper, Chief, Office of Plans and Policy, Federal

Communications Commission

-- Brad Ramsay, General Counsel, NARUC

-- Marc Rotenberg, Executive Director, EPIC

-- John Ryan, President, Founder & Chief Analyst, RHK

-- Mike Schooler, Deputy General Counsel, National Cable and

Telecommunications Association

-- Andy Schwartzman, President and CEO, Media Access Project

-- Richard Shockey, Director, Strategic Technology Initiatives,

Neustar, Inc.

-- Dr. Peter Swire, Professor of Law, Ohio State University

-- Rajesh Vashist, President and CEO, Ikanos Communications

-- John Windolph, Senior VP, Business Development, Cellular

Telecommunications & Internet Association

-- Dr. Hui Zhang, Associate Professor, School of Computer

Science, Carnegie-Mellon University

Co-chairing the conference are David Passmore, Research Director at the Burton Group, and Jeffrey Blumenfeld, Partner, Anti-trust and Intellectual Property, Crowell & Moring LLP.

NGN Policy will bring together two communities that have not traditionally communicated well -- the network technologist "geeks" and the telecommunications and public policy "wonks." The conference will provide a forum for the open exchange of ideas to promote mutual understanding of next generation networks that will ultimately steer the direction of networking on a global scale. The conference will address issues that ultimately will determine the future direction of networking in the United States and globally.