By Robert Pease
TechnologyUsers, suppliers, and manufacturers of leading-edge telecommunications technologies will gather in San Diego on July 16-20, Sunday through Thursday, to share innovative ideas and knowledge at this year's Annual Multiplexed Telephony Conference (AMTC). AMTC 2000 will be held at the Sheraton Harbor Island Hotel, where, during the product exhibits, tele communications enthusiasts can witness first-hand new developments in the industry. The product exhibit hours are 4:30 to 6:30 pm on Monday and Tuesday, and 2:30 to 4:30 pm on Wednesday."We're expecting around 500 attendees this year," says Burl Simons, AMTC's technical program coordinator. "Our purpose is to further facilitate interoperability and promote the exchange of knowledge and key learnings among users, suppliers, and manufacturers of the multiplexed technologies, such as dense wavelength-division multiplexing (DWDM), SONET, and others that are the backbone of telecommunications networks. This year, broadband technology issues are a key area, particularly broadband in the local loop."
The conference kicks off with the opportunity to socialize with old friends and meet new faces at a Sunday evening welcome reception from 6 to 8 pm. On Monday, Dr. Krishna Bala, chief technical officer at Tellium Inc. (Oceanport, NJ), will provide a tutorial from 8 am to 11:30 am entitled "Multiwavelength Optical Networks." The plenary program begins after lunch. Ronald Durando, president and chief executive officer at mPhase Technologies Inc. (Norwalk, CT), will deliver the keynote address at 1 pm Durando's remarks will be geared toward meeting the opportunities for broadband communications.
Invited speakers include Chrie Kiser, a partner with Mintz, Levin, Cohn, Ferris, Glovsky & Popeo, PC (Washington, DC); William Walker, lead engineer at Tellabs (Lisle, IL); and Steve Korn, vice president of marketing for Chromatis Networks (Bethesda, MD). A special guest speaker, Bruce Crevier, will follow the invited speakers. Crevier is a world champion basketball handler and a Guinness world record holder.
AMTC 2000's technical program will run from Tuesday through Thursday, with parallel sessions in 90-minute increments. Several optical-related topics will be discussed during this portion of the conference. Since the sessions are held before the product exhibits open, attendees can check out the latest technical advancements presented in the sessions without missing out on anything planned during the exhibits.
For those interested in fiber and optical technologies, check out the following:
- Session 3, Optical Switching, 8 to 9:30 am.
- Session 6, Optical Network Evolution, 10 to 11:30 am.
- Session 8, DWDM Performance, 1 to 2:30 pm.
- Session 12, Optical Access, 3 to 4:30 pm.
- Session 15, Network Management, 8 to 9:30 am.
- Session 18, SONET Optimization, 10 to 11:30 am.
- Session 22, Optical Infrastructure, 1 to 2:30 pm.
- Session 24, Metro Networks, 8 to 9:30 am.
- Session 27, ATM, 10 to 11:30 am.
There will also be a social event, "Margaritaville," on Wed nesday evening for all attendees. Individual companies will host hospitality suites and private parties throughout the AMTC 2000 conference. Each conference registrant is entitled to a copy of the conference proceedings. The conference adjourns at 11:30 am on Thursday.