WASHINGTON, D.C. - Top executives from the telecommunications industry will highlight the upcoming Aspen Summit sponsored by The Progress & Freedom Foundation. Richard Notebaert, chairman and CEO of Qwest Communications International, William Daley, president of SBC Communications, Denny Strigl, president & CEO of Verizon Wireless, Charlie Hoffman, president & CEO of Covad, and Royce Holland, chairman and CEO of Allegiance Telecom, have each confirmed their participation at the Aspen Summit. Additional high-level Aspen Summit participants from the technology sector, government and regulatory agencies will be announced soon.

An annual gathering of some of the digital world’s most prominent business leaders, probing thinkers and influential policymakers, this year’s Summit will be held August 17-19 at the St. Regis Hotel in Aspen , Colorado .

Debuting in 1995, the Aspen Summit soon became the most prominent event of its kind. Recent speakers include industry leaders Jeff Bezos, Carly Fiorina, Peter Chernin, Ivan Seidenberg and Les Vadasz. Top government officials, regulators and academics also attend. Reflecting the forward-looking nature of the three-day gathering, such ‘thinkers’ as Esther Dyson, George Gilder and Alvin Toffler also join the discussion. Attendees, who have included such luminaries as Michael Eisner and John Doerr, are no less distinguished. Perhaps that is why Wired News favorably compared the Aspen Summit to the Davos summit in Switzerland and the Renaissance Weekend at Hilton Head.

Further details about the 2003 Aspen Summit will be announced soon. Registration and other information can be found at http://www.pff.org/aspen2003/aspen03.htm.

The Progress & Freedom Foundation is a market-oriented think tank that studies the impact of the digital revolution and its implications for public policy. It is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization founded in 1993