iLocus.com Announces India to Make its IP Telephony Debut.

Business Editors

LONDON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 8, 2001

iLocus.com announced today that it is hosting the first IP telephony trade show in India to be held in April 2001.

The event, iLocus.com Show (India 2001), will be held at Le Meridian, Bangalore, from April 17th to the 19th.

http://www.ilocus.com/india.htm

In a major policy decision, the government of India recently decided to scrap the old Telegraph Act and replace it with a new Convergence Act. Under the existing 1885 Telegraph Act, there were separate rules for the delivery of voice and data and hence Internet telephony was not permissible. Convergence Act will have uniform laws regarding the delivery system of voice and data.

In August last year, the Indian government also opened the long distance market for private participation. Some of the main players competing in the long-distance market include Delhi-based Bharti Enterprises, BPL Group, Bangalore, Reliance Telecom, Mumbai, the Zee Group, Mumbai and the government-owned international calls carrier, Videsh Sanchar Nigam Ltd. (VSNL).

India is keen to end VSNL's monopoly in international long-distance services market before 2004, which was the earlier date for deregulation as per the commitment made by India to the World Trade Organization (WTO). The government has recommended that VSNL's monopoly in voice traffic should end by 2002.

India also has a booming telecom software industry. Although it has mostly been involved in off-shore outsourcing projects so far, there are several startups shipping off-the-shelf products. Telecom software revenues of Indian companies will reach $3 billion in the next couple of years and $15 billion by 2008, according to New Delhi-based National Association for Software and Service Companies (NASSCOM).

India's Silicon Valley, Bangalore - where the event will be held - has just under 100 companies working in telecoms software, mostly concentrating on convergence and wireless technologies.

iLocus.com Show (India) will be an annual industry event in India to be repeated each year. The event will be a mix of exhibition and conference devoted entirely to IP telephony, providing the opportunity to meet the right people. Apart from the exhibition, there will be two parallel tracks for the conference, bringing together a total of over 40 speakers for the three-day event.

iLocus.com Show (India 2001). http://www.ilocus.com/india.htm

Queries regarding the Show should be directed to Dalo Sran. Email: Tel: [phone].

About iLocus.com

iLocus.com is a market research group dedicated to IP telephony industry. Through open publications and regular surveys the company aids next generation companies in important business decisions. iLocus.com website provides quality information and also covers IP telephony news on daily basis.

iLocus.com has so far organised two successful IP telephony trade shows in Hong Kong and London. Sponsors of these past events include Concert, VocalTec (Nasdaq: VOCL), Clarent (Nasdaq: CLRN), ITXC (Nasdaq: ITXC), Cirillium, iBasis (Nasdaq: IBAS), GRIC (Nasdaq: GRIC), Nx Networks (Nasdaq: NXWX), Wherever.net (Nasdaq: WNET), Nuera, Cisco (Nasdaq: CSCO), Rapid Link, NTT Communications, and oCen Communications.