Directory Awards Contest, Speakers, and Program, Announced for European Directory Marketplace Conference (EDM06)

ROME, January 13/PRNewswire/ -- Whitaker Associates is excited to announce the first annual Global Directory Award. This award, to be made at the European Directory Marketplace Conference 2006 (EDM06), is intended to recognize product and service innovation, which is key to success in the rapidly changing global directory marketplace. Details regarding entry are available at the Whitaker Associates website. Entries will be posted for review on the Whitaker Associates website. This is a "peoples' choice" award, which allows anyone to vote -- though voting must be made via SMS text message.

Speakers at the conference include national and international industry leaders and experts. They include:

Dr. Andreas Albath, CEO, telegate
Mr. Guy Birenbaum, CEO, L'Annuaire Universel
Mr. Dario D'Aleo, Regulatory Affairs, TI Wireline, Telecom Italia
Mr. Michael E. Durance, CEO and Director, Call Genie
Mr. Ludwig Finkenzeller, Product Line Manager, varetis solutions
Mr. Alexandre Gaschard, Founder and CEO, EDA
Mr. Patrick Geiger, Legal Division, Austrian RTR
Mr. Jean Gonde, Le Numero France
Mr. Simon Grice, Founder & CEO, Midentity
Dr. Klaus Harisch, CEO, varetis
Mr. Tom Latinovich, Founder and SVP, Jingle Networks, Inc.
Ing. Vincenzo Lobianco, Italian AGCOM
Mr. Masoud Loghmani, CTO, BTSLogic
Mr. John A. McMaster, President and CEO, LSSi
Mr. Giuseppe Pane, Ammistratore Delegato, InfoCall
Ms. Luisa Piazza, Manager, SEAT PG
Avv. Marco Pierani, Public Affairs Office, Altroconsumo
Ms. Gloria Reese, President of Operator Services, BellSouth
Mr. Michael Reuter, EVP, Deutsche Telekom T-Com
Ms. Valerie Shwartz, Directrice Unite d'Affaires Voix et Services, PagesJaunes
Mr. Harjinder Singh-Heer, Managing Director, Heernet Ventures Limited
Mr. Stuart M. Whitaker, President, Whitaker Associates

Dramatic changes are underway in the information markets, driven by advances in the Internet, search engines, the transition from wired to mobile service, the deployment of smarter handsets, and other factors. Objectives for this year's conference include greater visibility from directory service providers, greater participation by senior management, and greater opportunity for personal interaction with speakers and other participants. The conference will focus on the opportunities and challenges in this changing directory and information services market.

Industry-leading conference sponsors include BTSLogic, ISX, LSSi, varetis solutions, and Call Genie.

EDM06 will be held February 6-7, 2006, in Rome, Italy. For further information or to register to attend, please visit http://www.whitaker.com.

Web site: http://www.whitaker.com
http://www.whitaker.com/conferences/edm06/awards.htm

Source: Whitaker Associates

Stuart Whitaker, +1 (703) 506-1220 of Whitaker Associates

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