BCD Forum Hosts International Meeting to Speed Broadband Delivery; Stockholm Keynote Presented by David Traub, New Media Mogul.

Business Editors and High-Tech Writers

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--June 28, 2001

Companies interested in collaborating to speed broadband delivery are invited to attend the Broadband Content Delivery Forum (BCD Forum) summer meeting July 17-19 at the Grand Hotel in Stockholm, Sweden.

This meeting of broadband leaders will focus on the worldwide business and technology issues affecting delivery of broadband content as it impacts every member of the value chain, from content developer through networks to the end-user. The Stockholm meeting will feature a keynote presentation by new media mogul David Traub.

In addition, there will be three tutorials, three panel discussions, joint and breakout sessions of the forum's technology and business working groups, and social events.

"Our Stockholm meeting is intended to cull valuable insights about both the business and technology needs of the broadband industry from some of the most successful companies in North America and in northern Europe -- where broadband deployment is widespread," said Will Biedron, chairman of the board and director of product management for Storigen Systems (www.storigen.com).

"The Forum will be eager to share learnings from this meeting to help speed industry growth and profits."

The full Stockholm meeting agenda commences with a keynote presentation by Traub, worldwide lecturer and author on the future of broadband, new media, digital TV, IT, entrepreneurship, venture capital, education, human brilliance, and the creation of "miniature Silicon Valleys."

Traub, who earned a master's in education from Harvard University with associated graduate work at the MIT Media Lab, will reveal how to make broadband more lucrative and compelling using new entertainment and information technologies.

The Stockholm meeting includes three in-depth tutorials, presented by representatives from Bertelsmann/RTL (www.bertelsmann.com), the British Broadcasting Co. (BBC via www.bbc.co.uk) and Broadjump Inc. (www.broadjump.com). Topics consist of the aspects and chances for creating attractive business models; interactive TV, U.K.-style; and intelligent fulfillment of premium broadband services, respectively.

The BCD Forum will also host three panels at the Stockholm meeting, entitled "The Standards Game," "Business Models from a European Perspective," and "Access Technologies: Last-mile Strategies." The first panel's moderator is Michael Condry, director of Network Edge Technology at Intel Corp. (www.intel.com).

The moderator of panel two is Dr. Nabil Akrout, the BCD Forum's European Group co-chairman, who is the director, standards and technology, for the Fantastic Corp. (www.fantastic.com). The final panel is moderated by Greg Crosby, assistant vice president, consumer broadband products and services for Sprint Corp. (www.sprint.com).

The panels include, for example, a representative from the Alcatel CTO Office (www.alcatel.com); secretary general of the ECMA; the head of ETSI standards-making support department; Global Crossing Media & Entertainment (www.globalcrossing.com); Nokia (www.nokia.com); Fantastic Corp. (www.fantastic.com); Guardian IT (www.guardianit.com/se) and other European-based companies.

The BCD Forum's Stockholm meeting will also offer joint and breakout sessions of the business and technology working groups, in addition to European and North American meetings to discuss key deployment bottlenecks.

All Stockholm meeting attendees are invited to participate in two events that provide opportunities to socialize with industry leaders and to forge new business partnerships. Socials consist of a Midsummer's Eve celebration and an archipelago cruise to Vaxholm.

To pre-register for the BCD Forum's Stockholm meeting, logon to http://bcdf.netline.com/reg no later than Tuesday, July 3. Reserved room reservations at the Grand Hotel are available through July 2 via http://www.hgmp.com/bcdf.html. For more detailed information about the Stockholm meeting or the BCD Forum, visit www.bcdforum.org or call the administrative office at 650/949-6730.

The Broadband Content Delivery Forum (BCD Forum) is an independent, non-profit trade association that addresses both the technology and business affecting the end-to-end delivery of broadband content and services to consumers and businesses.

Members, which include some of the most important names in broadband, work collaboratively to gain consensus on technology and business requirements, document collective thinking and share findings with standard bodies. For more information about the BCD Forum or its summer meeting in Stockholm, visit www.bcdforum.org.