ASCENT Expo Energy Points to Better Times Ahead

By Khali Henderson

Posted: 1/2003

ASCENT Expo Energy Points to
Better Times Ahead

By Josh Long and Khali Henderson

THE TELECOMMUNICATIONS INDUSTRY has
been pounded with bankruptcy filings and scandals over the last few years, but
attendees at the Association of Communications Enterprises (ASCENT) Fall
Conference & Networking Center, held on Orlando, Fla. in mid-November 2002,
said things are looking up a bit.

"I see positive energy and
optimism in the marketplace, and hopefully that will make [for] a strong
turnaround in 2003," said Joseph Leuci, senior vice president of sales and
marketing at FiberNet Telecom Group Inc.

That cautious optimism was reflected
on the show floor as sales executives garnered leads.

"It’s not the go-go days of the
late ’90s. It’s not the doom and gloom it was a year ago either," says
Bruce Ogden, director of sales in the telecom services division of Transaction
Network Services Inc.

Indeed, the show registered a nearly
25 percent increase in attendance compared to last spring’s conference in Las
Vegas, Nev. More than 1,600 communications professionals attended the three-day
show that included 100 exhibitors. An unbundled network element-platform (UNE-P)
workshop attracted 240 attendees on the final day.

"At a time when some
conferences are declining, we are gratified by the support of our member
companies and the competitive carrier industry in general that made this
conference an overwhelming success," says Walter Blackwell, president of
ASCENT. "A positive, upbeat attitude permeated the show, which was
reflected in contacts made and renewed, deals struck and a general feeling of an
industry on the rebound."

As part of that resurgence,
Blackwell reports about 40 percent of the exhibit space is sold for upcoming
ASCENT shows — to be held May 19-22 in Anaheim and Nov. 17-21 in Dallas.

Blackwell also notes ASCENT has
gained about 50 members since the spring 2002 conference, where 1,300 people
attended and about 80 companies exhibited. Today, ASCENT has about 360 members.

During the Orlando show, the group
also celebrated its 10th anniversary. While the cake-cutting ceremony certainly
commemorated past achievements, it also was a fitting kickoff for ASCENT’s new
approach to supporting members’ business and advocacy needs.

"The association format is to
give companies a voice bigger than their own, to represent them and to find
resources to make their businesses better, to leverage knowledge of the larger
group," Blackwell says.

Among the new programs Blackwell
cites is the Business Academy online training program, a business-and-government
initiative that includes monthly roundtable meetings on issues of concern to
members and a weekly electronic newsletter, ASCENTial News. Another initiative
planned for 2003 extends the business-and-government program. In its meeting
during the fall conference, ASCENT’s board of directors approved the creation of
seven Regional Advisory Councils — each representing a U.S. geographic region.
It also extended voting rights to suppliers and expanded the board from nine to
11 members to include one supplier and one regional council representative.