ABOUT BOSTON

ABOUT BOSTON

Boston is the favorite conference venue in the Northeast US and one of the most popular conference cities in the US. Historic Boston is the center of attention for its rich cultural environment that hosts 70 college and universities and is often referred to as the "Athens of Modern Times". This intellectually and historically rich environment is supported by the finest restaurants and shopping areas, all in very close proximity in the downtown area. Boston is as its best in early autumn when the foliage is turning and students are coming back to their colleges. The city is absolutely beautiful and alive. We are sure that the charm and attractions of historic Boston will create an enjoyable environment to support a world class conference.

TELECOMMUNICATIONS IN MASSACHUSETTS

There are more than 560 telecommunication companies in Massachussetts as reported in the 1994 directory of the Massachusetts Telecommunications Council (MTC). Many of these companies are leaders in their markets and are enjoying tremendous growth. Others are innovative start-ups with leading-edge telecommunications technologies. This industry is growing and changing rapidly, and wireless information technology is playing a major role in this fast growth and change.

Boston has a fully operational IEEE office, to accommodate the continually high interest in organizing conferences in this area. The MTC is another non-profit organization supported by local industry and the state government to promote conferences in the Boston area. We are planning to involve both organizations in the conference. In particular we drawing upon the expertise of the these organizations to arrange a successful exhibit, which is vital for the continuing success of the conference. With their cooperation we will also build participation by local industry. The MTC alone draws funding from 170 different organization and major political figures in the state, such as Governor Weld and Senator Kennedy, have regularly supported and attended meetings organized by them. Given this background, we expect strong local support for the conference.

ABOUT THE IEEE BOSTON SECTION

IEEE Boston Section has considerable experience in managing and supporting technical meetings, seminars, lectures and conferences. Organizing large IEEE sponsored industrial fairs and exhibitions is the specialty of the IEEE Boston Section. Electro, one of the most popular IEEE exhibits, is organized by the Boston Section every year. The section maintains a full time business office (there is only one other IEEE section in the US, LA, that has a full time business office). This office has a full time manager, Mr. Bob Alongi, and a full time secretary. The office publishes its own monthly newspaper, Reflector, a circulation of 17,000 covering the entire Northeastern US. One of the major reasons for the success of PIMRC'92 was this vehicle. We have received a letter of support from the IEEE Boston Section for the PIMRC’98.

ABOUT THE MASSACHUSETTS TELECOMMUNICATION COUNCIL

The MTC is a non-profit organization formed to promote the Commonwealth of Massachusetts as a world center for telecommunications and to help Massachusetts-based telecommunications businesses to succeed. To support this mission MTC organizes an annual policy conference, an annual investor conference, quarterly meetings with guest speakers, and a telecommunication trade mission. They also conduct research to define and measure the telecommunication industry. MTC recently announced a major project launched by the Council and a group of their members allowing businesses to efficiently and quickly collaborate on ideas, share information, recruit personnel, and eventually conduct business over Internet. MTC members include telecommunications equipment manufacturers, service providers, consultants, universities, and a variety of other organizations with connections to the telecommunications industry.

ABOUT THE CENTER FOR WIRELESS INFORMATION NETWORK STUDIES, WPI

The research program in modern wireless information networks at the Worcester Polytechnic Institute, started in 1985, is the oldest research program in the US involved in this area. The reputation of the center will be instrumental in attracting further cooperation from other research institutions. The Center has also been involved in organization of several innovative and successful conferences such as PIMRC'92. This experience is necessary for the implementation of the ambitious plan that we are proposing for PIMRC'98. Numerous companies such as DEC, Raytheon, NYNEX Mobile, GTE Laboratories, Apple Computer, Motorola, HP, WINDATA, Telexon, Persoft, Cushcraft, BBN, Codex, Rockwell International, Steinbrecher, PCSI, Analog Devices,  have been technical collaborators with the Center and this will provide a strong link to industry for gaining support of the technical program and the exhibits.