UTC presents Telecom 2001 in Milwaukee
Home of Harley-Davidson and many famous breweries, Milwaukee served as the host of UTC Telecom 2001 presented by the United Telecom Council from June 24 to June 27 at the Midwest Express Center.
More than 150 exhibitors displayed products and services for utility applications, and about 815 attendees were pre-registered. Representatives from utilities and technology partners from all over the world attended the conference and expo.
The opening general session on June 25 included UTC Chairman Stephen L. Carrico’s state-of-the-council address along with a special welcome from Larry Weyers, chairman of WPS Resources, Green Bay, WI, and a witty special address from Mark Shields, syndicated columnist, author, radio commentator and political correspondent.
Carrico grabbed the audience’s attention by arriving at the podium on a Harley-Davidson. In his address, he said that the industry was going through a lot of changes. “We have energy- and utility-industry deregulation, reregulation, restructuring, rebuilding and consolidating. Telecommunications and technology are evolving at light speed.”
Carrico said that it was a unique time to “add unprecedented value to our customers, our communities and our shareholders.” He also mentioned that managers could not take advantage of opportunities by themselves and that telecommunications was important to utilities’ heritage and future.
“Ours is a different business. We’re about empowering people and communities, driving economic growth and enlightening lives,” Carrico said. “Telecom supports every core mission.” Carrico also encouraged utilities to use UTC as a partner.
More than 20 educational sessions covered topics such as voice-over-packet technologies, regulatory issues and wireless standards. A session on land mobile spectrum planning included presentations from Art Brannon, Pacific Wireless; Bob Dawson, Southern LINC; and Al Ittner, Motorola. Dawson offered Southern LINC’s IDEN system as an example of how utilities could plan systems. He warned that there was no cookie-cutter approach, however, and that utilities should look for the least-expensive route. Ittner introduced a new technology Motorola is developing, which was spurred by the wideband spectrum in 746MHz. Called “scalable advanced modulation,” the technology brings higher speed data applications to customers, with throughput traded for range.
UTC also presented product awards to exhibitors for innovative products. Companies such as Andrew, Comverge Technologies, Granger Telecom, Harris, World Wide Packets, Comsearch, Keller and Heckman LLP and Alltec won product awards.
UTC Telecom 2002 will be held June 23-26 at the MGM Grand Hotel in Las Vegas. Log on to www.utctelecom2002.org for more information.
