Wi-Fi Planet Conference & Expo, Toronto, Canada

Agenda*
Thursday, March 18, 2004
Exhibit Hall Hours: 10:00am-3:00pm

Track A: Wi-Fi Business Perspectives Track B: Technology Topics

8:00am - 3:00pm

Registration

9:00am - 9:50am

Morning Keynote
Bernard Herscovich, President and CEO, BelAir Networks

TRACK A
Wi-Fi Business Perspectives

10:00am - 11:00am

WLANs Take to the Rails
It's arguable that no one will benefit more from wireless Internet access than commuters going to and from their places of work. The trick is bringing a stable Wi-Fi connection to a moving space filled with people and laptops. Experiments are already underway in Canada, the U.S. and Europe however that hitch a moving train to the signals needed to get online. Here's a look at what's been tried, where, and how it's working.
Moderator:
Gerry Blackwell, Contributing Editor, Wi-Fi Planet.com
Speakers:
Guy Faulkner, Product Manager Corridor Services, VIA Rail Canada
Warren Gallagher, CTO, PointShot Wireless
Brian Pilsworth, Assoc. Director, Bell Mobility Investments
Mark Wolinsky, Co-Founder, Co-CEO, Spotnik Mobile

11:00am - 11:30am

Morning Break

11:30am - 12:30pm

Wi-Fi Strategies for Telcos
Observers have long speculated about the policies that mobile carriers would adopt with respect to Wi-Fi. In Canada, mobile carriers have charted a unique course, partnering among themselves for roaming, and adopting different deployment plans. So what are the main characteristics of the Canadian mobile carrier's approach to Wi-Fi? How will their Wi-Fi offerings jibe with their mobile data services? With their fixed-line siblings? What challenges do they face, and what new opportunities? How will WISPs fit into the market? Come to this session for a deeper look into the future of Wi-Fi, Canadian Telco style.
Moderator:
Derek Kerton, Principal, The Kerton Group
Speakers:
Sean O'Mahony, President & CEO, FatPort Corp.
Pankaj Patel, Director, Mediation, Roaming, and Settlement Development, Convergys Corp.
Shawn Winter, Sr Associate Dir of Wireless LAN Solutions, Bell Canada

12:30pm - 1:30pm

Lunch Break

1:30pm - 2:30pm

VC Investment Roundtable
To an almost miraculous degree Wi-Fi has been spared the drought of capital under which most high-tech industries suffered for the past three years. It has been the bright star of technology funding—the place where VCs were willing, even eager, to invest. In this session a panel of leading technology venture capitalists discuss today's hot investments in 802.11 and related wireless technologies.
Moderator:
Craig J. Mathias, Principal, Farpoint Group
Speakers:
Ted Anderson, Sr. Vice-President, Ventures West Management Inc.
Graham Matthews, General Partner, VenGrowth Capital Partners, Inc.
John Piercy, Managing Director, BCE Capital
Derek Pilling, Senior Associate, Meritage Private Equity Funds

2:30pm - 3:00pm

Afternoon Break

3:00pm - 4:00pm

The Promise of WiMAX
Chances are good you've heard about an emerging Broadband Wireless Access technology dubbed WiMAX—a trade association brand for the IEEE 802.16 Wireless Metropolitan Area Network standard. While it's gotten lots of press, understanding of how this long-range, high-throughput technology will fit into the overall broadband wireless networking picture is pretty slim. Join our panel of WiMAX experts for an exploration of what the real-world role of 802.16 is likely to be—when it becomes a reality, a year or so from now.
Moderator:
Chris Kozup, Program Director, Technology Research Services, META Group, Inc.
Speakers:
Jim Colthart, President, Winova Wireless, Inc.
Patrick Leary, AVP of Marketing, Alvarion, Ltd.
Lynn Lucas, Director of Product Marketing, Proxim Corporation

TRACK B
Technology Topics

10:00am - 11:00am

VoWLAN: In Search of New Protocols
Voice over wireless LAN has been around for a number of years, but in a kind of standards limbo. The elusive Holy Grail for the industry – the 802.11e extensions – have long promised a standardized solution to the problems of traffic prioritization, session handoff, and other issues crucial to 'carrier-grade' voice quality. Yet, not only has work on this standard dragged on and on without resolution, recent noises from within the VoWLAN community suggest that, as originally conceived, 11e may not cut the mustard, that new protocols are needed. And, just to make things a little more interesting, other extant software technologies, such as SIP (session initiation protocol) are being put forward as solutions for voice over Wi-Fi's ongoing standards woes. Come hear our panel of industry experts explain where we are, where we're going, and when we might expect to get there.
Moderator:
Ted Stevenson, Executive Editor, Wireless Internet Channel, internet.com
Speakers:
Alain Mouttham, CEO, SIPquest Inc.
Chris Thorson, Senior Product Manager, SpectraLink Corp.
Joel Vincent, Director of Product Marketing, Meru Networks

11:00am - 11:30am

Morning Break

11:30am - 12:30pm

Design of Outdoor Wireless Networks
Managing a complex RF environment outdoors is a challenge anywhere you care to try it, but Canada's severe winters make building wireless networks even more challenging. Speakers will talk about overcoming interference, ice, snow, and even landlords as you build your network.
Moderator:
Alex Goldman, Managing Editor, ISP-Planet.com
Speakers:
Robert DeMers, Vice President Business Development, mmWave Technologies Inc.
John McQuilter, Principal, Spectrum Management
Dave Park, Director of System Engineering, BelAir Networks

12:30pm - 1:30pm

Lunch Break

1:30pm - 2:30pm

Smart Antennas for Dummies
Although frequently neglected, the humble antenna one of the most cost-effective ways to improve any wireless product's performance. This is most apparent as the Wi-Fi market matures and a new breed of "smart" antennas is emerging to meet growing user expectations for better range, rate, and reliability. At the same time, smart antennas raise a galaxy of new issues concerning their interaction with the silicon they're attached to, and how best to segment system costs between chip and antenna. We've assembled a team of experts to explore different approaches to implementing phased-array, MIMO, and other antenna "smart" antenna schemes while keeping a your product's BOM costs under tight control. Be prepared for lively debates on who's got the best technology, and to join in on an in-depth Q&A period at session's end.
Moderator:
Lee Goldberg, Senior Technical Editor, analogZONE
Speakers:
Adrian Bishop, Director, Business Development, InterDigital Communications Corp.
Robert Buckley, Vice President, Engineering, Motia, Inc.
Nader Fayyaz, RFTune Inc.

2:30pm - 3:00pm

Afternoon Break

3:00pm - 4:00pm

The Great Gateway/Switch Debate
In the beginning, there was the access point. And then the EEs begat the Wi-Fi Gateway, an ingenious device for connecting and managing a whole gaggle of access points, facilitating sub-net roaming, keeping tabs on security, and other useful tasks. More recently, a new race of devices appeared, known as Wi-Fi Switches (named in memory of their wired brethren, which, in contrast to the lowly Router, made full network throughput available to each node, instead of dividing it amongst all comers.) And these Switches now seek to dominate the WLAN world, with their many specialized adaptations. Are things just getting better and better? Or are there tradeoffs for this apparent progress? Indeed, is there yet another generation of equipment that will make dinosaurs of all that went before? Come hear the vendors vouch and vilify.
Moderator:
Craig J. Mathias, Principal, Farpoint Group
Speakers:
Bob Friday, Co-founder and Chief Scientist, Airespace Inc.
Dave Juitt, CTO & Chief Security Architect, Bluesocket Inc.
Luc Roy, Senior Director of Product Management, Chantry Networks, Inc.

Solutions

Whitepapers and eBooks
Intel PDF: Virtualization Delivers Data Center Efficiency Intel eBook: Managing the Evolving Data Center Microsoft Article: BitLocker Brings Encryption to Windows Server 2008 Symantec eBook: The Guide to E-Mail Archiving and Management Microsoft Article: RODCs Transform Branch Office Security Go Parallel Article: James Reinders on the Intel Parallel Studio Beta Program		Avaya Article: Advancing the State of the Art in Customer Service Adobe Acrobat Connect Pro: Web Conferencing and eLearning Whitepapers Avaya Article: Avaya AE Services Provide Rapid Telephony Integration with Facebook Go Parallel Article: Getting Started with TBB on Windows HP eBook: Storage Networking , Part 1 MORE WHITEPAPERS, EBOOKS, AND ARTICLES

Webcasts
Intel Seminar: Efficiencies in Hardware/Software Virtualization HP Webcast: Disaster Recovery Planning Go Parallel Video: Performance and Threading Tools for Game Developers		HP Video: StorageWorks EVA4400 and Oracle HP Webcast: Storage Is Changing Fast - Be Ready or Be Left Behind MORE WEBCASTS, PODCASTS, AND VIDEOS

Downloads and eKits
IBM TCO eKIT: Your IT Budget is Under Attack, Get in Control IBM Energy Efficiency eKIT: Learn How to Reduce Costs 30-Day Trial: SPAMfighter Exchange Module		Red Gate Download: SQL Toolbelt and free High-Performance SQL Code eBook Iron Speed Designer Application Generator MORE DOWNLOADS, EKITS, AND FREE TRIALS

Tutorials and Demos
Microsoft Article: Silverlight Streaming--Free Video Hosting for All Featured Algorithm: Intel Threading Building Blocks - parallel_reduce		HP Demo: StorageWorks EVA4400 MORE TUTORIALS, DEMOS AND STEP-BY-STEP GUIDES