One-Day Disaster Communications Workshop to Kick Off PTC'06.

HONOLULU, Hawaii -- For the first time in its history, the Pacific Telecommunications Council will offer a one-day disaster communications workshop to kick off its 28th annual conference, PTC'06, on Sunday, January 15 at the Hilton Hawaiian Village Beach Resort and Spa in Honolulu, Hawaii. "Global Telecommunications in Times of Crises and Turmoil" will examine the impact of recent major disasters on communication technology systems and lessons learned from 9/11, the U.S. Gulf Coast hurricanes, the Indonesian tsunami of Dec. 2004, and the Pakistan earthquake of Oct. 2005. It will also address technology planning, processes, applications and tools for disaster preparation, mitigation, management and recovery.

The cost for the standalone workshop and lunch is $175 per person, or free for attendees registered for the full PTC'06 conference. Registration information is available online at: www.ptc06.org.

The workshop's opening session, "When Disaster Strikes," will be moderated by Carl P. Staton, Chief Information Officer, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) USA. Among the panelists are:

--George Burnett, Civil Defense Telecommunications Officer, State of Hawaii, USA

--Richard Hipa, Managing Director, Telecom Niue, Niue

--Paul Trotter, Meteorologist-in-charge, New Orleans/Baton Rouge Weather Forecast Office, Louisiana, USA

--Mark Wood, Honorary Secretary of the Cellular Emergency Alert Service Association(CEASA) and Advisor to the UN Working Group on Emergency Telecommunications (WGET); and Telecommunications Project Officer of the British Red Cross, UK.

"Natural and man-made disasters of the past few years remind us that in spite of the tremendous achievements in communications technology for disaster mitigation, mother nature and mankind are capable of tremendous disruption," says Stephen Tom, executive director, Pacific Telecommunications Council.

"Our global reliance on electronic communications presents us with both solutions and challenges. This one-day workshop will present a real-world perspective of the scope and complexity of the impact of disasters on communications systems, and will explore specific solutions that can prepare us to deal with future disasters."

The entire PTC'06 conference will be held January 15-18, 2006 at the Hilton Hawaiian Village Beach Resort & Spa.

PTC'06 is the longest running international telecommunications event of its kind in the Pacific region. It attracts thousands of executives from the U.S. and the international telecommunications and information and communication technology (ICT) communities from more than 40 countries.

For the latest conference announcements, current news releases, and downloadable photos and documents, visit www.ptc06news.org. PTC'06 is presented by Pacific Telecommunications Council and co-hosted by Verizon, Telus and SES AMERICOM.

Founded in 1980, Pacific Telecommunications Council is an international, non-profit, non-governmental, membership organization based in Honolulu, Hawaii, USA. Its mission is to promote the development, understanding, and beneficial use of telecommunications and information technology throughout the Pacific region. PTC creates opportunities for networking and the sharing of ideas and information through its annual telecommunications conference, regional seminars, and various activities and task groups.