ASCENT Expo Energy Points to Better Times Ahead

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.