Once again the international community is pouring into ITEXPO. We are not only getting Tier one carriers and Fortune 1,000 companies at a rapid clip we are seeing a massive amount of international companies registering. We do expect to easily hit 7,500 attendees onsite.

I am absolutely amazed at how much activity there is in our database. I have never-ever seen so many people signing up for ITEXPO… Not even during the 2000 timeframe.

People always ask what sort of attendance breakdown we will have.

Expect about 2,000 service providers – tier 1,2,3. These are cable companies, ILECS, wireless providers, WiMAX providers, etc.

Expect 2,000 enterprise/government customers. Many of the Fortune class companies will be there along with SMBs.

Expect 2,000 resellers. These are interconnects and international resellers looking to make money selling VoIP products and services.

Expect 1,500 developers/industry/venture capitalists/financial people.

On top of this we will have easily over 100 analysts and press people at the show. This will certainly be a record for ITEXPO. We have many TV stations and major media outlets telling us they will come. These media vehicles have never to been to other industry events as far as I know. I am excited because it signals that ITEXPO has hit mainstream. This is very exciting.

I wished back in the summer of 2003 that the market would come back. I knew it would some day but I always thought it would take longer. In the summer of 2003 I envisioned having to wait till 2008 to see serious growth once again. What I am seeing now is beyond my wildest expectations. It is truly amazing. If the concept of voice communities begins to grow it will turbocharge an already amazing market.

But when you consider the financial markets and business community basically ignored VoIP from 2001 to 2003 while the technology was perfected… You can understand the pent up demand to get back into the space. One VC told me he swore off VoIP for a few years but was an idiot for doing so… He is now back in full swing looking at the various opportunities in the market.

To paraphrase Cher -- and I believe I speak for the VoIP industry when quote – “I’ve been rich and I’ve been poor… Rich is better.”