Industry Leaders Explore The Future Of Networked Communications At IEEE GLOBECOM 2008
Nearly 2,000 industry leaders, researchers, academics and business professionals recently convened at IEEE GLOBECOM 2008, the flagship conference of the IEEE Communications Society (ComSoc), to discuss the worldwide growth and potential of the latest networking technologies as well as the continued convergence of voice, data, image and multimedia into wireless, seamless and widely-accessible applications.
Under the theme of "Building A Better World Through Communications," more than 300 symposia, technical sessions, workshops and tutorials highlighted the next wave of technologies that is likely to "solve the challenges of time and space." According to several industry experts, this also includes the creation of wireless telecommunications ecosystems that will soon merge consumer and business communications into one seamless multimedia, interactive experience that integrates nearly every phase of life.
During his keynote address at IEEE GLOBECOM 2008 in New Orleans, John Donovan, chief technology officer at AT&T, noted that, "We are all witnesses to the most profound changes in the history of communications. Tomorrow's integrated IP applications will make life a lot easier as service providers like AT&T partner with a range of other companies to combine network connectivity with the right devices and applications. This will deliver not only more connectivity, but the power to get more from and do more with that connectivity. More functionality … delivered more intuitively … with less complexity."
Dr. Flavio Bonomi, head of research at Cisco Systems, furthered this concept when he described the inevitability of "flat mobility access" and the industry's continued dedication to "learning the language of applications," which will "bridge the gap" toward "cloud computing."
"Soon partnerships will extend across academia, government and industry to create a perfect storm of inter-connectivity," said Bonomi. "Billions of new users and millions of new applications will be available though the Internet over the next decade. In a short time, TV will become a mobile device and the car will become a center for mission-critical activities, business and entertainment. A new platform of computing is emerging there, which will merge infotainment with business to create mobile offices that will also provide interactive entertainment capabilities anytime, anywhere."
Pankaj Asundi, vice president of media and content of Ericsson, Inc., punctuated his presentation by stating that the "consumer multimedia market will be worth $149B in 2011." According to Asundi, "Multi-device interaction across the globe will become a reality in the very near future as the online experience continually shifts from mass media to ‘me' media and consumption becomes a totally ‘on demand' process. We are on the verge of an integrated communications experience that will spin 360 degrees to offer rich, compelling and interactive opportunities provided through the convergence of TV, print, mobile, voice and data."
Throughout IEEE GLOBECOM 2008, hundreds of industry experts and researchers exemplified the overall conference theme of convergence and inter-connectivity with demonstrations and presentations exploring the latest innovations in telemedicine, disaster recovery, cognitive radio, seamless mobility, optical switching and wireless multimedia communications, among others.
Additional IEEE GLOBECOM 2008 events also served to provide premier networking and meeting opportunities for the profession's top researchers, academics and applications specialists. This included a "Gold Panel" of business and industry leaders discussing the continued growth of opportunities for qualified professionals within the wireless field, as well as numerous informational presentations dedicated to topics such as "The History of Communications."
Researchers, academics, engineers and business professionals interested in speaking at the next IEEE GLOBECOM event are urged to submit proposals to conference planners by March 15, 2009. Themed of "Riding the Wave to Global Connectivity," IEEE GLOBECOM 2009 will be held November 30th – December 4th at the Hilton Hawaiian Village in Honolulu, Hawaii.
For more information ,visit: www.ieee-globecom.org/2009.
About IEEE
The IEEE Communications Society has nearly 40,000 members and is the second largest of IEEE's 37 technical societies. Founded in 1952, it has become the major international forum for the exchange of ideas on communications and information networking.
SOURCE: IEEE GLOBECOM 2008