EVENT: Technology Solutions to the Spectrum Crisis

Helping to get the word out on behalf of WCA. Looks to be an interesting topic.

Wireless Communications Alliance
Cognitive Radio SIG presents Technology Solutions to the Spectrum Crisis

Reg Link: http://tinyurl.com/wca-cradio-feb2010

• Moderator: Lloyd Nirenberg, CEO, Shannon-Bayes Venture Corp.
• Michael J. Marcus Sc.D., Director, Marcus Spectrum Solutions
• Joe Hamilla, COO & Co-Founder, Spectrum Bridge
• Dewayne Hendricks, CEO, Tetherless Access
• Jeff Stern, SVP and GM for Government Solutions, TerreStar Corp.

In 2009 the FCC began talking about the potential of a “spectrum crisis” which threatens to impact the ability to support projected growth of mobile wireless and even puts some elements of the National Broadband Plan at risk. At the same time Congress introduced bills in both the House and Senate which if enacted would set in motion a spectrum inventory effort intended to determine current usage. Clearly the question of how to use spectrum more efficiently is going to become an important topic in the near future. A proposed solution is the use of “cognitive radio” which intelligently senses its operating spectrum and adapts its own parameters to best use the spectrum resource at that time and place. For companies seeking opportunity in the emerging market numerous questions abound:

• In what sense is there a “tragedy of the commons” or even a “spectrum crisis”? Are these mostly politically driven ideas?
• Just what is cognitive radio?
• Who are the current players in corporate, academia, and government?
• Is this all new, or there existing radio technologies which can be studied and perhaps augmented to suit?
• How might “white spaces” be best used, and could real-time spectrum auctions be useful?
• What are the current economic, social, and political constraints which will guide the cognitive radio market?
• What legislative and policy changes might affect these constraints over the next few years?

To help provide insight and guidance WCA has formed the Cognitive Radio SIG. Their first event will be moderated by Lloyd Nirenberg, Ph.D. and will have a panel of experts with experience in the technical, economic, and political elements of cognitive radio.

Our featured panelist will be Michael J. Marcus Sc.D., Director, Marcus Spectrum Solutions. He was formerly a policy maker with the FCC. At the FCC, Dr. Marcus was leader of cognitive radio initiative, Docket 03-108, proposing several unprecedented applications of “smart radios” to allow more intense use of spectrum and new types of radio services. He also was Senior Technical Advisor and key player in FCC Spectrum Policy Task Force, and chair of its working group on Unlicensed Systems and Experimental Licenses resulting in a wide variety of proposals to change spectrum policy.

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