It's rare that I share a TMC press release. Actually, come to think of it, I don't think I ever have. Well, this press release is certainly worthy of a blog entry. Digium's Mark Spencer is going to keynote at Internet Telephony Conference & Expo. Probably best known as the founder of the popular open-source Asterisk IP-PBX platform, Mark will no doubt share some interesting insights on "open source telephony". If you are attending the show, do not MISS his keynote! Consider yourself forewarned...

Here's the news release:

Digium’s Mark Spencer to Keynote INTERNET TELEPHONY Conference & EXPO
Founder of Asterisk, The Open Source PBX, To Headline Leading VoIP Conference Next Week in Miami
Norwalk, CT, [February 14, 2005] —Mark Spencer, president of Digium and founder of Asterisk, the open source PBX, has accepted an invitation to deliver a keynote address at INTERNET TELEPHONY® Conference & EXPO Miami 2005 (www.itexpo.com).

The conference takes place next week, February 22-25, 2005, at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Miami, Florida. Mr. Spencer will speak Thursday, February 24, 2005 at 10:15 am. His address is open to all registered attendees.

“We are so excited to have Mark Spencer speaking at INTERNET TELEPHONY Conference & EXPO. He is perhaps the foremost expert on open source telephony and its greatest visionary. Linux telephony is an area of VoIP that is growing very quickly and we expect record crowds of enterprise, reseller and service provider decision makers from around the globe to come hear Mr. Spencer speak,” said TMC President and Conference Chairman, Rich Tehrani.

"Open Source Software is making tremendous head way in the telecommunications market,” said Spencer.

"I Hope to inform the audience about how Open Source can be used to not only meet their traditional TDM needs but also allow new innovative products and services."

INTERNET TELEPHONY Conference & EXPO is the world’s largest VoIP marketplace, and the theme of this year’s event is, “Witness the Evolution of IP Telephony: VoIP 2.0”. The conference and exposition will feature the most comprehensive education available for both the individual and enterprise interested in selecting and deploying VoIP solutions.

In addition to Mr. Spencer’s keynote address, the show features four days of conferences, a week full of great networking opportunities, and an Exhibit Hall featuring all of the latest IP telephony solutions. Keynote speakers from AT&T, Lucent Technologies, Nortel, NEC, Bay Packets and Time Warner Telecom are also scheduled to appear at the conference.

Registration for the show is now open. Anyone interested may register by visiting http://www.tmcnet.com/voip/conference/. Booth space is completely sold out.