CONTENTS:	February 2005
• Report on the PTC'05 Conference	• News and Headlines from PTC Members
• PTC to Participate in USTDA Conference	• Publications
• Membership Update	• PTC Members' Bulletin

It is with great pleasure and personal satisfaction that I write to you as your new Executive Director. It is an honor and privilege to work with this dynamic organization and the very capable team I have at the Secretariat in Honolulu.

Value and Potential

PTC was founded upon principles and goals that have been important to its members throughout 28 years of existence. We were created out of a desire to come together as communications professionals from a range of organizations and disciplines. The common purpose was to help one another accomplish commercial, educational and humanitarian objectives in the Asia-Pacific region. Although many of our members are physically located throughout the Asia-Pacific Hemisphere, a large number of our constituents, who consider the Asia-Pacific an important focal point for their business and professional activities, are based in other regions of the world. Wherever they reside, our members have always seen the potential to leverage social and financial capital into accomplishments that contribute to commercial success and improving the human condition.

Priorities

As I indicated to your Board of Governors (BG), my early priorities are to familiarize myself with the operating and strategic aspects of PTC by speaking with staff and meeting with as many of our members as possible. During this period, I am the “student”, and will be listening to hear your priorities, concerns and ideas.

Concurrent with my orientation period, I am taking steps to support and direct the development of our Mid-Year 2005 conference and the initial planning of our annual conference, PTC’06. After only three weeks on the job, I have enjoyed working with our BG Chairman, Bruce Drake, on the completion of documents that will launch our presence in China through the creation of a local chapter. We are also evaluating new partnering opportunities that hold promise for establishing relationships that will benefit the entire membership of PTC.

Some Background

I come to PTC with over 30 years of management experience in the communications and customer service sector. For the past 7 years, I have run my own consulting practice, Teleport Consulting Group International, L.L.C. with telecommunications-related clients around the world. Prior to that, I was the President and Chief Executive Officer of Washington International Teleport, the largest satellite and fiber communications hub in Washington, DC (now part of SES Americom’s Verestar unit). Earlier in my communications industry career, I focused on business development, marketing and sales in the satellite common carrier arena. In every case, my goal was to identify and develop the hidden or underutilized potential of the organization that was my employer or client. My career has taken my family from Hollywood to Manhattan; from Washington, DC to Cape Cod, Massachusetts; and now to beautiful Honolulu, Hawaii.

The Days Ahead

As I survey the opportunity I have as Executive Director of PTC, I see a vast set of opportunities to serve our members, our industry and the communities of the Asia-Pacific Hemisphere. Once again, I now seek to help PTC uncover ways in which it can realize its vision, mission and purpose in new and dynamic ways. With respect to our for-profit members, I am here to contribute to your business success in the region. For our non-profit and academic members, I am here to facilitate the integration of your work into commercial, governmental and social environments throughout the hemisphere. It is a challenge that I approach with great excitement and enthusiasm.

I look forward to meeting many of you in the course of my future travels. Meanwhile, please visit us at the Secretariat in Honolulu if you come to Hawaii. You are always welcome here!

Aloha,

Stephen G. Tom
Executive Director

Report on the PTC’05 Conference
Broadband and Content: From Wires to Wireless

16-19 January 2005
Hilton Hawaiian Village Beach Resort & Spa
Honolulu, Hawaii USA

PTC’s annual conference that took place at the Hilton Hawaiian Village Beach Resort & Spa in Honolulu, Hawaii from 16-19 January 2005 ended on an upswing. Increased attendance of information and communications technology (ICT) experts from 52 countries and 58 participating exhibitors indicated that the industry might slowly be recovering from the struggles of the past years. With a new executive director in place, PTC is looking ahead to better times.

“With a 27 year history, PTC’s conference is the longest running annual gathering in Asia for telecom and information technologies. In addition to the 917 registered attendees, an increase of 6% from PTC’04, we had more than 2000 networkers in the bars, restaurants and suites, with an estimated economic impact on Hawaii of US$7.5 to US$10 million,” says Stephen Tom, PTC’s new Executive Director. “PTC maintains Hawaii’s visibility as a premiere hub for the tech industry, offering not sun vs. business, but sun AND business to its attendees. In the future, we hope that the Hawaii tech industries will participate for the same reasons that rest of the North America and the Asia-Pacific comes. To learn and to network—without the expense of travel.”

“In addition to increased attendance, we were able to add 17 booths to our exhibition hall, for a total of 68 booths, which is a 38% increase of exhibitors from last year,” says Sharon Nakama, PTC’s Conference Director. Nakama added that the 3-day exhibit passes showed an increase of 32%, totaling 121, and the 1-day exhibit passes showed an increase of 23%, with a total of 133.

Attendees at PTC’05 were able to choose from a pool of 45 plenary sessions, roundtables, sessions and workshops presented by 167 industry specialists. For program details and speaker information, please visit http://www.ptc.org/PTC05/program.

The Pacific Telecommunications Council will participate as an official supporting organization for a U.S. conference on information and communications technologies for Southeast Asian nations. Presented by the U.S. Trade and Development Agency (USTDA), the 27-29 April event in Bangkok, Thailand, will bring government officials and private sector leaders from eight countries in the region together with representatives of U.S. telecommunications and Internet technology companies.

The Southeast Asia Connections Conference will provide participants with details on new project and export opportunities in the areas of mobile systems, wireless local loop, data networking and Internet access, fiber networks, e-government and e-commerce. The projects presented at the event will range in value from US$2 million to US$200 million with an expected implementation timeframe in the next 18 months.

The conference agenda will also address key policy issues and highlight efforts to expand telecommunications infrastructure, improve delivery of government services and support e-commerce. Speakers and observing representatives will include senior government officials and industry leaders from across Southeast Asia and the United States. Representatives from international lending institutions will also be on hand to discuss loan and insurance programs available for exports and investment in the region.

For more information or to register, visit the conference website at www.trademeetings.com or contact Kevin Craemer at +1.202.347.2725.

Membership Update
New Members since 8 December 2004

Black Hat Briefings & Training Asia 2005: The World’s Premier Technical Security Event
Witness the latest security exploits and vulnerabilities being exposed with one-on-one exposure with the experts who find them. Now in its fifth year in Singapore, The Black Hat Asia 2005 Briefings and Training Series remain devoted to presenting top-notch and in-depth topics to Information Security Practitioners in Asia. Participants will be updated with the latest in Information Security with absolutely no gimmick or product pitches—just pure knowledge. The event will take place in Singapore, from 5 – 8 April 2005. Log on to asia.blackhat.com or call +65 6899 6115 for more information. Fax: +65 6897 4897, Email: limks@blackhat.com. PTC members get $100 off when registering for Black Hat Briefings Asia 2005. Please enter “PTC” in the Coupon Code box after checkout on the main registration page.

VoIP Monitor
VoIP Monitor analyzes the business, regulatory and market developments taking place in the fast-paced world of VoIP (published weekly). A 4-week trial subscription is available at www.voip-monitor.com.

PTC's online and email bulletin to members is now distributed once a month. You should receive your next copy on, or soon after, 11 March 2005. Please send your questions or suggestions to Kim Hunter at kim@ptc.org.

If you or your company representatives wish to resume informing other PTC members of new or improved products and services, or of individual achievements via the Members' Bulletin, please express your wishes to the Board of Governors via Lorie Sugiki by emailing lorie@ptc.org. Please note that for news and headlines, we will only publish items that include a link to the cited article.

If you do not wish to receive the email version of the PTC Members' Bulletin, please forward the email to info@ptc.org with ÀUnsubscribe” in the subject line.