Mr. Pedro Cerisola y Weber, Secretary of Communications and Transport, indicated during the opening ceremony that, "EXPO COMM MEXICO is a matchless forum that allows companies and business people to become closer to Mexico and discover the opportunities that this country offers."

EXPO COMM MÉXICO was host to every relevant spokesperson from the sector, and the inauguration ceremony was complimented with personalities such as Jorge Alvarez Hoth, Sub secretary of Communications and Transport; Jorge Arredondo, President of the Federal Telecommunications Commission (Cofetel); Julio César Margáin, General Coordinator of the National System known as e-Mexico; Jesús Orozco, President of the Communications and Transport Commission of the Chamber of Deputies; Raúl Lucido, Executive VP for the National Association of Telecommunications (Anatel); Ma. Teresa Carrillo, President of the Central South Headquarters of the National Chamber of the Electronic, Telecommunications and Informatics Industry (Canieti).

"EXPO COMM MEXICO 2003 is a business building forum. Its relevance was reflected in the high levels of involvement of every participating exhibitor and country, as well as in the introduction of the latest solutions and technologies. We believe the event gathered every voice from the sector, from the private industry to the government, chambers, associations and researchers", added Paul St. Amour, General Director at E.J. Krause de Mexico.

The number of visitors during the four days of EXPO COMM MEXICO 2003 reached a total of 29,752, including exhibitors. The early resale of exhibit space onsite for next year's show resulted in signed contracts of 54% of the available exhibit space at the 2004 edition.

In its 12th edition, visitors at EXPO COMM MEXICO 2003 saw the latest wireless technologies, solutions that have had the most success in the market including, satellite technologies, IP-based tools, WiFi solutions and 3G applications for mobile telephony, mobile portals and voice and data transmission solutions from leading companies from 19 participating countries.

The United States Department of Commerce, the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade Canada were among the many distinguished participants in EXPO COMM MEXICO 2003.

Julio César Margáin, General Coordinator of e-Mexico, mentioned his prediction that new contacts and new agreements would develop among the exhibiting companies and their representing systems during EXPO COMM MEXICO.

Ricardo Zermeño, General Director of Select consulting company commented that, "EXPO COMM is the ideal forum to visualize and generate business opportunities with the intention of taking advantage of the existing resources addressed to the communications infrastructure".

"EXPO COMM MEXICO is the most important telecommunications forum, where the most important companies of the market are gathered", stated Claudio Bortoluz, President of the National Chamber of the Electronic, Telecommunications and Informatics Industry (CANIETI).

Raúl Lucido, Executive VP of the National Telecommunications Association (Anatel), expressed that "EXPO COMM MEXICO is an event which gathers those companies that still believe in the country and that are committed to it, since it is a forum that attracts the most important clients, as well as a forum where the future directors of the companies attend in order to decide, when the time comes, which is the best technology for their business."

Sergio Moraleda, Internationalization Director of the Spanish Electronic and Informatics Exporters Association (SECARTYS), said that EXPO COMM is the leading event in Mexico concerning telecommunications technology, and it is one of the industry's main expositions in Latin America because of the high-level of participation from companies and their organizations.

EXPO COMM MEXICO was very pleased to welcome Spain as a first-time participant in the exhibition, with over 10 companies offering a wide array of solutions in the Spanish Pavilion.

"EXPO COMM MEXICO 2003 represents an excellent opportunity for business people, high-level executives and Mexican analysts to interact with well-known experts in the telecommunications field, to directly learn about the main trends of this area and to identify which technologies they can use in order to make their business more competitive", said Laurent Pruvost, Director General of Avaya, Mexico.

Don Peterson, President and Executive Director of Avaya, Inc. stated at EXPO COMM that, "Mexico is a potential market for technological development, since it is the strongest economy of the region."

Scott Durchslag, Corporate VP and Director of Motorola's Personal Communications Business Strategy Development, mentioned that, "In the next five years, the services of data in mobile phones will spread, and therefore a 3G scenario must be started in Mexico. EXPO COMM is a very complete and astonishing technology exhibition."

Mr. Zhou Hui, President of ZTE Corporation, Latin America stated, "The special presence granted to ZTE during the EXPO COMM event translates into the opportunity to open the doors to potential clients, who will be of great importance when entering the markets niches that we are looking into within the Mexican territory".

Jorge Oliva, Institutional Relations Division, Telefónica Móviles México, had this to say, "This is our first participation in EXPO COMM MEXICO, the greatest telecommunications event in the country. Our presence at EXPO COMM is essential."

With the support of the EXPO COMM MEXICO advisory board, the educational program presented at the TELEFORUM 2003 conference offered 42 informative sessions on the most relevant topics of today such as, Future Challenges for Mexican Businesses, Strategies for 2.5 and 3G Networks and Services and Trends in Public Networking, the Internet and Mobile Data. Each session included a panel of representatives from the governmental, economic and technological sectors.

The TELEFORUM conference has become a telecommunications industry standard in Mexico. The conference featured presentations by top executives such as Don Peterson, President and Executive Director at Avaya; Karl-Henrik Sundström, Global VP for the Business and Global Services unit at Ericsson and Scott Durchslag, Corporate VP and Director of Personal Communications Business Strategy Development at Motorola.

Pär Ström, Strategic Advisor and Futurologist at Atomer Och Bitar AB, offered a presentation on Vision of the Future. During his lecture, he stated that, by the year 2010, two thirds of his mobile clients will not be human, but machines: automobiles, elevators, toys, refrigerators, thermostats and robotic pets, among many others. The digital future we are headed towards is characterized by M2M (Machine to Machine), and IT is extending beyond the core of computers and is entering the many technology sets that surround our lives. "When all things become connected, people's everyday lives will change, as well as every company's business condition", he affirmed.

The EXPO COMM MEXICO Editorial Board is made up of prominent editors and columnists from the journalism community in Mexico. The Editorial Board granted awards to the following companies for their outstanding participation in the event. The elements taken into account were quality of service to visitors and knowledge on the part of the staff, technology and solutions, creativity to attract business and corporate image.

EXPO COMM MÉXICO 2004 will be held at Centro Banamex, from February 10 - 13, 2004 in Mexico City.

Founded in 1984, E.J. Krause & Associates, Inc. (EJK) (http://www.ejkrause.com) is one of the largest privately owned exhibition management companies in the United States. EJK is recognized worldwide as a major organizer of exhibitions and conferences. EXPO COMM is the market-leading series of trade shows and exhibitions servicing the telecommunications, wireless/broadband and networking industries. The EXPO COMM series is comprised of 16 international events in 13 countries that attract more than 1 million telecom professionals. With a total of 14 international offices, EJK produces events in the United States, Asia, Latin America and Europe. The global EXPO COMM series is managed by EXPOCOMM EVENTS LLC, which is co-owned by E.J. Krause & Associates, Inc. and Reed Exhibitions. Reed is one of the world's leading organizers of trade and public shows with a current portfolio of events in 24 countries. Over 100,000 exhibiting companies take advantage of Reed Exhibitions' marketing opportunities, which attract more than 5.5 million buyers annually.