FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

ComNet/San Francisco Announces Keynote Lineup

AT&T’s Gewirtz and Cabletron’s Benson to Detail Future
of Networking & Communications Industries

SAN FRANCISCO, SEPT. 9, 1998 IDG Expo Management Company, premium
producers of U.S. IT trade shows, today announced AT&Ts William Gewirtz
and Cabletron Systems Craig Benson will lead keynote sessions at the
premiere of ComNet/San Francisco, Sept. 30 Oct. 2 at the Moscone
Convention Center here.

Two of the communications industrys most prominent leaders, Gewirtz, the
vice president of Global Business IP Services for AT&T, and Benson, the CEO
and Co-founder of Cabletron Systems, will detail their vision for the
converging communications and networking industries. In addition, two
other visionaries Stewart Alsop, a partner with New Enterprise
Associates, and John Gallant, the Editor-in-Chief of Network World will
conduct Super Sessions at ComNet/San Francisco.

ComNet/San Francisco is uniquely situated near Silicon Valley, the heart of
the nations networking and enterprise-wide telecommunications industries.
The show leverages the strength of ComNet/Washington, D.C., the largest
technology conference and exposition dedicated to global networking
utilizing wide-area telecommunications, data communications networking and
Internet technologies.

The explosive growth within and the convergence of the networking and
communications industries leaves people begging for reliable information
sources that can help them sift through the mergers, acquisitions and
strategic partnering and show where the industry is heading, said ComNet
San Francisco Show Director Michael D. Munn. ComNet/San Francisco fills
that need as the premiere event in the enterprise telecommunications and
networking business.

Keynotes and Super Sessions are free to all registered attendees.
Interested parties can register by phone at 800-545-EXPO or through the web
site at www.comnetexpo.com until September 23, 1998.

The schedule for Keynotes and Super Sessions is as follows:

On Wednesday, Sept. 30, Craig Benson, CEO and Co-Founder of Cabletron
Systems, kicks off ComNet/San Francisco with his keynote, Tomorrows
Network/Todays Reality at 11:45 a.m. Benson will address network
designers and network managers questions as we enter the network of
tomorrow.

On Thursday, Oct. 1, John Gallant, Editor-in-Chief of Network World, leads
a Super Session on The Silicon Valleys Digital Warriors Want the Baby
Bells Blood at 11:00 a.m. Gallant will moderate this debate and
discussion as users and network managers clamor for more bandwidth and are
demanding faster network access from carriers, the carriers offer their
story.

Also on Thursday, Stewart Alsop, Partner, New Enterprise Associates, leads
a Super Session entitled A Penny for Your Thoughts, but $20 Million for
First Round Financing at 1:00 p.m. This high-level panel will discuss the
direction money is flowing to enhance the future of investments and network
technologies.

William L. Gewirtz, Vice President of Global Business IP Services, AT&T,
will wrap up ComNet/San Francisco on Friday, Oct. 2nd with his keynote,
The 21st Century Network at 11:00 a.m. Gewirtz will address fast
approaching issues for network providers and network managers for this
supernetwork of the 21st Century.

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.

CONTACT:
K.Michelle Lifton, Public Relations Coordinator
IDG Expo Management Company, v:781-440-2827, fx:781-440-0357
mlifton@idgexpos.com

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