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In this column we discuss the early history of power line voice communication, beginning in 1918 and continuing until the early 1930s. We note that these developments were based on the 1910 demonstration by Major George Squier of the United States Army Signal Corps of his "wired wireless" technique for transmitting multiple telephone channels over one pair of wires. Power companies world-wide picked up on this carrier-wave telephony technique for use over power lines, with electrical manufacturing companies such as GE and Westinghouse in the United States and Telefunken in Germany, among others, then developing a variety of systems for this purpose. By 1930, the technique had reached a period of maturity, with 1000 systems installed throughout Europe and the United States. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The author reflects on the choice of data and communication switching fabrics as included in the decisions made by embedded computer system vendors in the U.S. He explained that original equipment manufacturers (OEM), most especially the systems designers, must consider the features of a certain product before making critical decisions on its platforms. Among the enumerated choices of technologies were the propriety, legacy and emerging standard technologies.

Identifies national information infrastructure (NII) issues and concerns to Committee on Communications and Information Policy (CCIP) to indicate how they relate to the global information infrastructure (GII). National information infrastructure/next-generation Internet (NGI) issues and the GII.

The article profiles Nelson Fonseca, candidate for member-at-large of the Institute of Electrical & Electronics Engineers Inc. (IEEE) Communications Society. Fonseca received his doctorate degree in computer engineering from the University of Southern California in 1994. He is an associate professor at the State University of Campinas in Brazil and he has supervised almost 30 graduate students and has published almost 150 refereed papers. He used to be the director of the Online Services on the Board of Governors from 2002-2003 and is the chairman of the Multimedia Communications TC. Among his position statement notes that he will form channels to motivate members for the increase of their participation in the society.

The article offers the author's insight on the controversies regarding the contributions of Samuel Morse, Alfred Vail, and Joseph Henry in the invention and early history of telegraphy in the U.S. She notes that Morse has succeeded in reducing the invention of telegraphy to practice and has developed the Morse code by himself. However, it states that Morse relied on the scientific discoveries in electromagnetism of Henry and mechanical skills of Vail for the commercialization of the telegraph.

In January, 2004 Communications Society's first IEEE Consumer Communications and Networking Conference (CCNC '04), took place in Nevada. By all measures the venue was a complete success. CCNC '04 attracted over 340 registrants to hear 12 technical papers and 35 poster presentations, see 20 technical demos and experience eight panels including one Distinguished Expert Panel. And those presenting their work came from 31 countries. To help make the program possible, 17 volunteers served on the Organizing and Steering Committees, 64 on the Technical Program Committee, and 120 received submissions. By society norms, of the approximately 50 meetings and conferences sponsored by the society each year, CCNC is not the largest, and there are quite a few that are smaller, especially their more intimate workshops. If the CCNC statistics for volunteer support is to be considered and scaled to encompass all such conferences, the number become very impressive. Furthermore, like the proverbial iceberg where so much is not visible to the casual viewer, this count does not include the many volunteers who are busily engaged in facilitating the society's educational programs and noteworthy publications.

The article focuses on the several sponsored conferences by the Communications Society (ComSoc), the second largest Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) society in the U.S. It describes what does the IEEE society does in supporting those conferences of interests to its members. Moreover, it notes that the events were organized by engineers Fred Bauer, Merrily Hartmann and Raouf Boutaba.

George O. Squier, the inventor of the Muzak system, was the inventor as well, in 1910, of telephone carrier multiplexing, the forerunner of microwave frequency multiplexing after World War II, and its current incarnation as optical wavelength multiplexing. Squier was a Major in the United States Army Signal Corps at the time, later becoming Major General and Chief Signal Officer. His invention was initially rejected by AT&T engineers as not being commercially viable. This view was not shared by others in the engineering community, including John Stone Stone, a distinguished independent telephone engineer. After prodding by Stone, AT&T officials began a reappraisal of the "wired wireless" system, as Squier chose to call it, and by 1914 development of a commercial system, was underway. By 1918, however, when the AT&T system went into service, AT&T was claiming that Squier's's work had only been "suggestive" and that its system was based on inventions of its own engineers. We describe the sequence of events, beginning with Squier's invention, that led to the AT&T commercial rollout of carrier multiplexing. We also offer some possible reasons, based on archival documents, as to why AT&T downplayed Squier's invention. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents a calendar of events of the International Electrical and Electronic Engineering (IEEE) worldwide from 2006 to 2008. San Francisco, California is the venue of the IEEE GLOBECOM 2006: IEEE Global Communications Conference to be held from November 27-December 1, 2006. RWS 2007: IEEE Radio and Wireless Symposium will be held in Long Beach, California from January 9-11, 2007. IEEE International Conference on Communications will be held in Beijing, China from May 19-23, 2008.

Provides a preview of the Globecom 2001 telecommunication conference to be held in San Antonio, Texas on November 25-29, 2001. Description of San Antonio; Topics to be discussed in the conference; Overview of the technical papers submitted for the conference.

The article profiles Mehmet Ulema, candidate for member-at-large of the Institute of Electrical & Electronics Engineers Inc. (IEEE) Communications Society (ComSoc). Ulema teaches at Manhattan College in New York and has held technical and management positions in Bellcore, Daewoo, Hazeltine and Bell Labs. He used to be the chair of the Information Infrastructure and Radio Communications Technical Committees. He has also served on various ComSoc committees such as the GITC, Meeting & Conferences Board, and On-Line Content Board. Among his position statements notes that he aims to maximize the value of services to the members of ComSoc.

The article profiles Costas Georghiades, candidate for member-at-large of the Institute of Electrical & Electronics Engineers Inc. (IEEE) Communications Society. Georghiades obtained all his degrees in electrical engineering from Washington University in 1985. He is the department head and bearer of the Delbert A. Whitaker Endowed Chair. He has worked as editor of several journals of the IEEE and has been involved in organizing various conferences such as the ICC and GLOBECOM. He notes that he will focus on further opening processes to make it easier for the students and members to participate.

The article profiles Robert S. Fish, candidate for member-at-large of the Institute of Electrical & Electronics Engineers Inc. (IEEE) Communications Society. Fish received his doctorate degree from Stanford Unversity. He is the chief product officer and SVP at Mformation Inc. and a former vice president of Panasonic Technologies U.S. R&D laboratories from 1997-2007. He used to be an executive director of Multimedia Communications Research at Bellcore. His position statement notes that he will work with the ComSoc and the rest of the Board of Governors, along with technical committees in order to reach goals.

The author reflects on the Institute of Electrical & Electronics Engineers (IEEE) International Conference on Communications (ICC) and Global Telecommunications Conference (GLOBECOM) 2007 in the U.S. He emphasized that the two conferences are the largest annual Communications Society (ComSoc) conferences in the country. Furthermore, he added that the two conferences are good opportunities to see the latest research activities and exchange ideas with other researchers.

The IEEE current membership priority is China, Japan, USA and India. In this issue of our magazine, I would like to highlight what our society is doing for its members in China. Of course we already have long-standing Sister Society agreements with the China Institute of Communications (CIC) and the China Institutes of Electronics (CIE). [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The article reports developments within the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) Inc. Communications Society (ComSoc) in the U.S. It offers information on a wide range publications and online services of ComSoc. Furthermore, it profiles Len Cimini, vice president-publications of ComSoc for 2010-2011.

The article discusses various resources and approaches used for Internet security by several computer companies in the computer industry in the U.S. CounterStorm company utilizes a combination of behavioral attack recognition and anomaly detection for the prevention of zero-day attacks, which takes advantage of software vulnerabilities with no known signature, patch or workaround. Meanwhile, eEye Digital Security installs an agent on computers, workstations, and servers as a placeholder until a patch is developed by software vendors. In addition, not-for-profit organization MITRE Corp. offers an online library of technical papers published in their Web site as well as an up-to-date list of common vulnerabilities and exposures.

Many standards development organizations ask participants who hold patents that may be essential to practice a standard to agree to license those patents under "reasonable and non-discriminatory (RAND)" terms. But what exactly are RAND terms? This article discusses the policy of RAND obligations, explains how disputes can arise about whether a proposed license to a standard-essential patent includes RAND terms, and explains how a particular dispute over RAND terms was resolved in a United States district court. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Wireless communications play a critical role in national security and disaster relief and are extensively utilized by first responder teams, such as police officers, firefighters, and ambulances. The first responders in emergency situations need to always be connected with one another and with the remote service centers for effective cooperation and coordination. However, the existing public safety (PS) services fail to satisfy the PS user requirements in many emergency scenarios, which usually leads to exceptionally high traffic loads. As a result, increasing the network capacity is one of the primary concerns, and spectrum sharing has been deemed the key solution. With appropriate spectrum sharing partnerships among PS agencies and commercial networks, PS users can access licensed PS spectrum, shared spectrum, as well as commercial networks when the need arises. In this article we present different initiatives undertaken by Wireless @ Virginia Tech toward the next generation PS network. We also discuss our vision of a flexible, rapidly deployable, and reconfigurable PS system to meet imminent and future demands on critical communications infrastructure and discuss the value of spectrum sharing for supporting this long-term vision. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Next-generation public safety communications (PSC) systems must sustain high-speed, ultra reliable wireless data transmissions. Moving toward this next generation of PSCs warrants a new perspective of increased heterogeneity in emerging wireless architectures and increased multiplexing of wireless spectrum. To realize this vision, models that incentivize users to opportunistically share their spectrum as substrates over possibly multiple hops, and decentralized and open techniques that seamlessly exploit these substrates for public safety applications are much needed. The value of such multihop and multi-technology pervasive spectrum sharing (PSS) is more pronounced for application scenarios in which the need for spectrum access is vital, and infrastructure-less operation is necessary. This article introduces PSS as a new architecture where sharing is the norm, and outlines its vision, principles, and technical challenges. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fourth generation LTE has been selected by U.S. federal and EU authorities to be the technology for public safety networks that would allow first responders to seamlessly communicate between agencies and across geographical locations in tactical and emergency scenarios. From Release 11 on, 3GPP has been developing and specifying dedicated nationwide public safety broadband networks that will be scalable, robust, and resilient, and can address the specific communication needs of emergency services. In this realm, the requirements and scenarios for isolated E-UTRAN with no or limited backhaul access to the core network are still in progress. In this article, we survey possible public safety use cases with the induced network topologies, discuss the current status of the 3GPP standards, and highlight future challenges. We further elaborate on the need to support mobile backhauling in moving-cell scenarios and describe two LTEbased solutions to enable dynamic meshing among the base stations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Editorial. Focuses on the implementation of the United States of the Next Generation Internet and Internet 2. Benefit of the programs; Challenges faced by the National Information Infrastructure for developing the Digital Library Initiative; How the initiative help the implementation of Internet 2.

Twice a year they assemble, regular as clockwork. They come from every continent, and they have met on every continent, save one (Antarctica). Their gatherings are thousands strong. They come to talk and listen, to argue and debate, to teach and learn. They represent every discipline and sub-discipline of their profession, and the excellence of their meetings is beyond dispute. No disaster, man-made or natural, has ever kept these meetings from happening (and we hope none ever will). Of whom do we speak? Of course, we speak of the members of the IEEE Communications Society (ComSoc) and others in our profession who attend the two flagship conferences of Com- Soc, the IEEE Global Communications Conference (GLOBECOM) and the IEEE International Conference on Communications (ICC). [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The article presents an overview of the article by Irwin Dorros on issues of divestiture during the negotiations between AT&T and the U.S. government. It relates that the divestiture of AT&T, which went officially into effect January 1, 1984, has changed the state of telecommunications in the U.S. and throughout the world, as country after country privatized their previously government-owned telecommunication systems.

The article focuses on the Internet connection services which was committed to Internet security, offered by the Sysadmin, Audit, Network, Security (SANS) Institute in the U.S. There were several resources contributed by SANS Institute in the security and information technology industry including SANS NewsBites, SANS Internet Storm Center and SANS Webcasts. These resources were first limited to the SANS alumni, however, it was made available to everyone because of its security measures. The NewsBites resource updates everyone on email newsletters and other information developments. SANS Internet Storm Center served as the warning system of the Internet. SANS Webcasts enable users to choose for different security products.

By some measures, access to electronic media in rural areas of the United States is on par with the rest of the nation. Statewide data for Montana regarding high-speed Internet penetration is comparable to the national penetration level, and Montana's citizens have other means of information access including wireless hot spots, schools and libraries equipped with Internet and municipal websites. However, statewide averages are misleading. The data presented here are specific to Montana and the United States, but the challenges are global, and the investigation and conclusions should be of general interest to those engaged in designing telecommunications infrastructure and delivering services. A more careful examination of the data, using countywide and local information where available, reveals several significant patterns and gaps. Montana's more metropolitan areas are experiencing significant population and economic growth, and much of the growth in information access and online services is centered in these areas. The rural and remote regions of the state are underserved and falling behind. Online services in Montana are uneven. While about two thirds of the counties have websites, the local services offered in the rural areas are not comparable to those available in the metro areas, and well behind national levels. Services that would offer alternatives to costly travel, such as streaming video, document retrieval, filings, and registrations are available in Montana on an extremely limited basis. With energy and travel costs rising, expanded e-government services could be a valuable investment. Policy changes and strategies to stimulate infrastructure investments, following a more in-depth examination of coverage and service inequities, could have a significant impact on closing the gaps. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article offers anecdotes about the development of Aloha System. It notes that the system used a very-high frequency transponder in an experimental National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) satellite to demonstrate an international satellite data network, connecting NASA in California and five universities in the U.S. Moreover, the goal of the system is to investigate the use of radio communications as an alternative to the telephone system for computer communications.

The article discusses the history of communications and the life of Edouard Branly in the U.S. It notes that Branly constantly denied being the inventor of radio and claims that as a scientist should be discovered an effect allowing others to develop wireless transmission. He was the first to publish the effect of a spark or of the electromagnetic wave. It points out that the Branly effect refers to a set of phenomena.

The article focuses on the changes in the state of telecommunications in the U.S., after the divestiture of AT&T went officially into effect on January 1, 1984. It notes that the AT&T broke itself apart by spinning off separate regional telecommunications operating companies, as well as their owned research and development organization. It says that the AT&T breakup was more of a symbolic milestone than the key event that enabled the competitive telecommunications marketplace. It relates that the enabler of competition, prior to 1982 technology, was being tested and the company resisted inroads opposing its monopoly business model. Moreover, it states that the Department of Justice and the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) recognized the value of competition.

After 9/11 and the accidental failure of the power grid in North America in 2003, storage area network (SAN) extension has emerged as critical to ensuring business continuity. However, SAN extension encounters challenges in the access network, including scalability problems, cost challenges, bandwidth bottlenecks and low throughput. In this article, we propose a new solution to address these problems: SAN extension over passive optical networks (S-PONs). To tackle the scalability problems and cost challenges, we designed the S-PON architecture based on the existing point-to-multiple-point (P2MP) PON infrastructure. To address the bandwidth bottlenecks in SAN extension, we propose three solutions for carrying storage signals with gigabit-level transmission. We also introduce a new device, XtenOLT, for implementing buffer pools by a new buffer-management scheme to improve SAN extension throughput and utility. Our experimental results show that, in the physical layer, the proposed S-PON transmission technologies successfully deliver SAN traffic to the long-haul at the rate of 2.5 Gb/s; in the network layer, S-PON with XtenOLT dramatically enhances deliverable throughput and utility over long-distance transmission. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Editorial. Comments on the digital communications industry OFC '03 conference and exhibition held in March 2003 in Atlanta, Georgia. Decrease in number of exhibitors; Increase in the number of technical paper submissions; Proceedings.

Cognitive radios have been advanced as a technology for the opportunistic use of underutilized spectrum wherein secondary devices sense the presence of the primary user and use the spectrum only if it is deemed empty. Spectral cognition of this form can also be used by regulators to facilitate the dynamic coexistence of different service types. An example of this is the operation of ultra-wideband devices in WiMAX bands: UWB devices must detect and avoid WiMAX devices in certain regulatory domains. In this article we start by discussing various options for detection and avoidance. We then describe the obstacles faced in achieving robust detection and avoidance with an on-chip implementation of basic DAA functionality. Finally, we present measurement results for operation of a single UWB device with a WiMAX system. This interaction also highlights the problem of dealing with listen before speak primaries where secondary transmission could interfere by blocking the primary's access to the medium. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Increasing demands are being placed on spectrum access, both domestic and abroad, as a result of current demands for global mobility, electromagnetic spectrum requirements of both outdated and future defense systems, and loss of military access to certain frequency bands due to spectrum legislation. Consequently, the DoD should identify shared spectrum access opportunities and explore dynamic spectrum access technologies to help meet the growing spectrum requirements of the military. This article discusses a few cases of current and future shared spectrum access environments to highlight the circumstances for spectrum sharing and utilization of military and commercial frequency bands. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We developed hardware and software to perform exposure studies of the effects of certain RF electromagnetic fields on solid and liquid pharmaceuticals and biologics. The RF fields generated by our systems are similar to those emitted by RFID readers operating in the U.S. licensed HF and UHF bands (13.56 and 915 MHz, respectively). Our systems can expose drug samples (pharmaceuticals and biologics) to uniform electric (E) and/or magnetic (H) fields at levels that are much higher than those experienced by drugs near ‘worst-case’ readers at a distance of 20 cm. Worst-case readers are defined as those that emit the highest allowable field strengths. Maximum field strengths near these readers were identified by measurements and computations of fields from commercial readers, and are extrapolated to the maximum allowable effective isotropic radiated power or field strength dictated by the U.S. Federal Communications Commission. The UHF system we developed included a commercially available circularly polarized antenna, a microwave generator with pulse modulation, a high-power amplifier, a plastic foam enclosure, and fiber optic temperature monitoring probes placed in the drugs and the surrounding air. The HF system we developed included a specially designed Helmholtz coil pair, an HF signal generator with pulse modulation, an HF amplifier, an RF impedance matching device, and the same enclosure, and thermometry system as in the UHF system. Exposures can be performed for each drug in both its retail primary package (the smallest container produced with an RFID tag on it, e.g., bottle) and in 54 mm diameter culture dishes. The containers are suitable for exposing a wide variety of formulations of drugs (tablets, liquids, powers, capsules, creams, etc.). Exposures of drugs in culture dishes ensure uniform induced electric fields and currents. In contrast, exposures in the primary containers (e.g., vials) allow studies that account for the interactions of RF fields with the packaging materials and container geometry. In our UHF system we can expose drugs to over 20 W effective isotropic radiated power, over five times the FCC limits. We evaluated H fields emitted by commercially available RFID readers. In our HF system we can expose drugs to at least five times the H field they produce at 20 cm from the reader. We can expose samples to 5 A/m in primary packaging or in special organ culture dishes with an outer concentric ring. The ring has inner and outer diameters of 32 mm and 55 mm, respectively. Computer monitoring of power, drug temperature, and air temperature can be performed continuously during exposure. Surrounding air temperature is monitored at all times while in our laboratory (storage and exposure) and while shipped to drug laboratories for analysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Presents information on the fifth International Enterprise Distributed Object Computing Conference 2001 held in Seattle, Washington from September 4 to 7, 2001, which addressed issues related to the design, management and evolution of enterprise systems. Presentation of technical papers on the architectural and modeling aspects of component-based enterprise software; Topics of debates in three panel discussions.

Mobile Ad Hoc Networks (MANETs) are considered by many as fundamental to realizing the Global Information Grid (GIG) and the vision of network-centric warfare. Indeed, a fully realized MANET would be powerful in enabling highly mobile, highly responsive, and quickly deployable tactical forces. However, significant technical challenges remain before this realization is viable. Addressing these deficiencies is a significant task that will require the invention and adoption of new technology. The goal of this article is not to declare these capabilities impossible to achieve. Rather, it is to manage the expectation of the capabilities achievable in the foreseeable future through edification on the technical difficulties standing between current technology and the desired capabilities. This article provides an overview of the military MANET problem space, describing the ideal military MANET solution. Several deficiencies are highlighted that exist between MANET technologies and the desired capability. Identified technical issues include system-level architecture, routing (both interior and exterior), management, security, and medium access control (MAC), with an emphasis on the former two areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Reports on the 2001 International Electrical and Electronic Engineering Workshop on High Performance Switching and Routing in May 2001 in Dallas, Texas. Number of registrants; Papers presented in the workshop; Lecturers.

Discusses the changes in patent law which have resulted in the controversy and spotlight on the patent system in the United States. Patent acquisition rules governing software and business method inventions; Electronic commerce patents that have a closer nexus to business and the generation of wealth; Concern over electronic commerce patents.

Deals with the issuance of patents on propagated data signals that embody computer programs by the United States Patent Office. Details on the occurrence of patent infringement; Implications of the extension of patent law to computer data signals; Information on some patent infringement cases.

Describes a broadband fixed two-way wireless field experiment conducted by AT&T Laboratories Research in Monmouth County, New Jersey. Objectives of the experiment; Overview of the system; Experimental system architecture; Highlights of some observations on weather-related radio channel impairments, modem performance in wireless systems and user application performance.

Looks at some selected aspects of projects with the Vatican Library in Vatican City, the National Gallery of Art in the United States, the Klau Library of Hebrew Union College and Russia's State Hermitage Museum in Saint Petersburg. Experiences of developing digital libraries of cultural content; Factors to consider in protecting the intellectual property of owning institutions; How to produce high-quality images for Internet distribution.

Provides information on the status of wideband wireless local access (WWLA) technologies in the United States. Discussion on service scenarios and availability of the market and products for wireless local area network (WLAN) and asynchronous transfer mode (ATM) technologies; Evaluation on the standardization activities for WWLA.

Identifies reliability, privacy and security as critical issues in electronic commerce. Overview of the Internet commerce; Its advantages; Why are reliable transactions important; Properties of a reliable electronic commerce protocol.

The article offers the author's view on the U.S. Institute of Electrical & Electronics Engineers Inc. (IEEE) Board of Directors (BOD) with the election of its Division III Director Curtis Siller. He notes that BOD has 33 members, 10 of whom are Regional Directors, 10 Division Directors and 13 hold other positions. He points out that it is facilitated by six major boards. He also shares the activities during his tenure such as the consideration of feasibility of alternate membership models.

This article presents a calendar of various conferences related to telecommunication that will be held in different countries in the year 2006. The Optical Fiber Communication Conference and Exposition & National Fiber Optic Engineers Conference will be held in Anaheim, California during March 5-10, 2006. The International Symposium on Power Line Communication and Its Applications will take place during March 26-29, 2006 in Orlando, Florida. The 5th Annual Wireless Telecommunications Symposium will be held in Pomona, California during April 27-29, 2006. The 4th International Symposium on Turbo Codes and Related Topics will be held in Munich, Germany during April 3-7, 2006.

The article offers information on several conferences in the U.S. in 2009 including NGI 2009 - 5th EURO-NGI Conference on Next Generation Internet Networks in July 1-3, IEEE WiMAX 2009 - 2009 IEEE Mobile WiMAX Symposium in July 9-11, and IEEE Policy 2009 - International Symposium on Policies for Distributed Systems and Networks in July 20-22.

The article discusses the role of the chief information officer (CIO) and the Information Technology (IT) department at the Communications Society (ComSoc) in the U.S. The CIO and the IT department play an information part in leveraging information and communications technology (ICT) to keep with the demands of members. Harvey Freeman, the president of HAF Consulting Inc., is the society's CIO. He has 35 years of experience in designing and managing innovative technology-based solutions. As the CIO, Freeman aims to develop a new ComSoc web site based on content and a set of electronic community tools.

The RFID Research Center is a subunit of the Information Technology Research Institute located in the Sam M. Walton College of Business at the University of Arkansas (Fayetteville). The Center was officially formed in February 2005, and the Laboratory was opened in June 2005. The mission of the Center is to ‘to create and extend knowledge in RFID utilization and its impacts on business and society.’ It receives funding from four main sources: company sponsorships; testing and training services; research grants; and gifts in kind. A variety of companies sponsor the Center, either through monetary gifts (called Business and Strategic sponsors) or gifts in kind (i.e., equipment, software, services, etc.) (called Laboratory sponsors). Representatives from business and strategic sponsors comprise the Board of Advisors. This group meets regularly to help set the direction for the center's activities. An internal steering committee comprised of more than 15 faculty and staff from many different academic disciplines also provides advice to the center's management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the services provided by the U.S.-based Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers Communications Society for its members. The organization will be introducing unified and standardized ways to run conferences. Keynote speeches, workshops and panel sessions will be added to its online offerings. On a trial run, the online facility will feature video feeds related to conference activities. Generic educational broadcasts on industry topics will be provided to society members.

This article presents a discussion on who should control the Internet. Internet governance refers to the making and enforcement of policies for the worldwide Internet community. These policies not only have technical consequences, but also social and political consequences. Practically, much of Internet governance is related to the physically management of the Internet's system of unique identifiers, such as domain names and IP addresses. In 1998, the U.S. government subcontracted these functions to a private not-for-profit corporation with international participation: the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN). Since its establishment, ICANN has administered the DNS, introduced competition among domain name registrars, and created a dispute resolution process for trademark conflicts. Despite these successes, ICANN has to face many pressures for reform because governments wants more control over the Internet. In September 2005, the UN World Summit on the Information Society, a coalition of countries criticized the United States' unilateral control of the Internet's DNS and proposed the establishment of a multinational Council to supervise it.