FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contacts:
Michelle Lifton
IDG Expo Management Company
781-440-2827
mlifton@idgexpos.com

Matt Hutchison
Brodeur Porter Novelli
202-973-1374
mhutchison@brodeur.com

ComNet/San Francisco to Cater to Fast-Growing Remote Access/Telecommuting
Segment of Networking Industry

Remote Access and Telecommuting Pavilion to Provide Attendees Critical
Look at Technological and Managerial Strategies

SAN FRANCISCO, SEPT. 17, 1998 To mirror the rapidly growing needs of the
telecommuting market, ComNet/San Francisco will feature a Remote Access and
Telecommuting Pavilion that will serve as the definitive resource for
corporations and individuals establishing remote businesses, field networks
and home offices.

ComNet/San Francisco, to be held Sept. 30 through Oct. 2 at the Moscone
Convention Center, is produced by IDG Expo Management Company and is an
extension of the worldwide ComNet brand, which has served as the global
information resource for networking professionals for more than 20 years.
Uniquely situated near Silicon Valley, the heart of the nations networking
and enterprise-wide telecommunications industries, ComNet/San Francisco
leverages the strength of ComNet/Washington, D.C., the countrys largest
technology expo dedicated to global networking utilizing wide-area
telecommunications, data communications networking and Internet
technologies.

The remote access market is increasingly critical to the evolving
networking and communications industries, says Michael Munn, ComNet/San
Francisco show director.

Remote access is one of the fastest growing segments of enterprise network
computing, Munn says. Attendees to ComNet San Franciscos Remote Access
and Telecommuting Pavilion will see first-hand the latest hardware and
software products and solutions that bring the remote worker closer to
colleagues, customers and business partners. At the same time,
participating exhibitors will benefit from the increased exposure provided
by the broader ComNet platform.

By the turn of the century, there will be an estimated 40 million
Americans who work on a regular if not full-time basis in a remote office
setting, said Bill Laberis, conference chairman for ComNet/San Francisco.
The care and feeding of the networking needs of this group will be a vital
job undertaken in just about every corporation. I think ComNet San
Francisco with its Remote Access and Telecommuting Pavilion is a great
place to be for those trying to get their arms around these critical
business issues.

In addition to the Remote Access and Telecommuting Pavilion, ComNet/San
Francisco will feature a conference track devoted exclusively to remote
access/telecommuting. Technologies and Applications in Remote Access will
provide in-depth knowledge about the state-of-the-art technologies from
xDSL to virtual private networks and management strategies critical to
building and maintaining remote access programs.

The general conference track theme compliments two additional conference
programs announced earlier ComNet/Pro and ComNet/Business Essentials.
ComNet/Pro is geared to MIS professionals and addresses the technical
challenges associated with the diversity of technology products in many
organizations. ComNet/Business Essentials, on the other hand, caters to
management, addressing the needs of organizations to strike a balance
between new technology and ensuring it ties into a companys overall
strategic mission and bottom line.

Among the notable companies exhibiting in the Remote Access
Telecommunications Pavilion are: Ariel Corp., Extended Systems, IBM,
Nortel, Onebox Networks, Inc., Rhythms Net Connections, Symantec Corp.,
Teltone, Inc. and WorldCom Advanced Networks.

The Remote Access Pavilion is located on the west side of Hall A on the
exhibit floor and will be open during ComNet/San Francisco's regular show
hours, 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 30 and Thursday, Oct. 1 and 10
a.m. to 4 p.m. Friday, Oct. 2.

About ComNet Conference & Exposition
ComNet/ Washington, D.C. and ComNet/ San Francisco produced by IDG Expo
Management Company, is the largest technology conference and exposition
dedicated to global networking utilizing wide-area telecommunications, data
communications networking and Internet technologies. Each year more than
800 manufacturers and suppliers of computer networking hardware, software,
services, and solutions participate in ComNet. Founded in 1977, ComNet
Washington, D.C. has served the IT market for two decades as the premiere
information source for networking professionals. ComNet has captured the
imagination of IT buyers, information seekers and network professionals
responsible for designing, building, facilitating and managing global
networks. ComNet has won such support from IT product marketers that IDG
Expo Management was compelled to add a new, second ComNet. ComNet San
Francisco will debut at the Moscone Convention Center Sept. 30-Oct. 2,
1998. The success of ComNet impacts over 80 countries around the world and
more than a dozen other ComNet branded events in Europe, Asia and South
America. For more information on ComNet Conferences and Expositions, call
800-545-EXPO or visit our Web site at www.comnetexpo.com

About IDG Expo Management Company
Headquartered in Norwood, Massachusetts, IDG Expo Management Company is a
premium producer and manager of exposition and conference events that shape
the U.S. IT marketplace. IDG Expo Management Company is an affiliate of the
IDG World Expo Corporation family of companies; together, the two companies
produce the broadest array of conferences and expositions related to
information technology around the world. IDG Expo-produced events include
the MACWORLD Expos in Boston and San Francisco; ComNet in Washington, D.C.
and San Francisco and E3 -the Electronic Entertainment Expo produced for
the Interactive Digital Software Association (IDSA). Each year, more than
2,000 exhibiting companies and more than 250,000 IT professionals attend
IDG's U.S. events to buy, sell, learn about and influence the IT purchasing
agenda. IDG Expo Management Company was founded in 1979 as Mitch Hall
Associates. For more information, please call 781-551-9800 or visit the
company's Web site at www.idgexpos.com.

About International Data Group (IDG) Headquartered in Boston, International
Data Group (IDG) informs more people worldwide about information technology
than any other company in the world. With annual revenues of $2.05 billion,
IDG is the leading global provider of IT media, research, conferences and
expositions. IDG publishes more than 290 computer newspapers and magazines
and 700 book titles in 75 countries, led by the Computerworld/InfoWorld,
Macworld, Network World, PC World, Channel World, and ...For Dummies global
product lines. IDG offers online users the largest network of
technology-specific sites around the world through IDG.net
(http://www.idg.net), which comprises more than 225 targeted Web sites in
55 countries. IDG is also a leading producer of 168 computer-related
expositions in 35 countries, and research arm International Data
Corporation (IDC) provides computer industry research and analysis through
49 offices in 41 countries worldwide.Company information is available at
www.idg.com