RCA’s 2015 Technical Symposium in Cupertino, California

This year we have another very interesting Technical Symposium, with some “Wireless Wow”, found

only with RCA!

Our big Wireless Wow for this year’s Technical Symposium is a special presentation by Professor Frank

Drake. Professor Drake has spent his professional career searching for extra-terrestrial intelligence in

other galaxies, using radio telescopes and other means. He is the inventor of the famous “Drake

Equation” for estimating the likelihood of signals from intelligent life forms. He founded the SETI

Institute, and they recently received $100 million in funding from an entrepreneur to continue their

research efforts! At the Annual Awards Dinner in the evening, which we urge you all to attend,

Professor Drake will receive RCA’s Lifetime Achievement Award.

Our agenda for this year is an exciting one, with unique topics that you will only find in RCA’s Tech

Symposium, such as dynamic spectrum arbitrage, a new technology for remote monitoring of wireless

towers, and a look into the complex challenges faced by the hardware and software of mobile devices

that must choose from multiple bands and technologies on the fly. This year we will revisit what has

happened to our youth presenters from past years, including a visit from our 2014 Tech Symposium

youth presenter, who won second place in the best presenter category as voted by the audience.

Unique for this year, we have three panels of experts discussing timely wireless topics including trends

in wireless test equipment, 5G , and technical, economic, and political issues for in-building wireless.

For those that are registered professional engineers, or others who require CEUs (Continuing Education

Units), attendees can obtain a certificate from a recognized university attesting to the CEUs they have

received, for a modest fee (note that RCA makes no money on this endeavor-this is for the convenience

of our members who are PEs).

The agenda is below, followed by abstracts on the presentations, and then detailed bios on the speakers

or panelists.

2015 Technical Symposium Agenda

7:30 8:30 Continental Breakfast 8:00 8:15 Welcome & Introductions John Facella, P.E.

8:15 9:00 Dynamic Spectrum Arbitrage, Rivada Networks Clint Smith, P.E.

9:00 9:45 "Tower Structural Health Monitoring for the 21st Century", Smart Tower Mark Allen

9:45 10:00 Break

10:00 10:45 Panel #1, "New Trends in Wireless Test Equipment"

John Facella moderator; Rob Barden of Cobham; Tom Boyle of Bird Tech; Mike Tolaio of Deviser Inst.

10:45 11:30 Youth presentation Galen Asphaug KK6NNP

11:30 12:15 Progress Report on RCA's Youth Initiative Carole Perry; Rohan Agrawal

12:15 1:15 Lunch

1:15 2:00

“Breakthrough Listen: The search for Extra Terrestrial Intelligence’s (SETI) New Initiative using Radio Telescopes” Prof. Frank Drake, Ph.D.

2:00 2:45 Panel #2: "Battle for 5G: LTE vs. WiFi" David Witkowski of WCA, moderator, others TBD

2:45 3:00 Break

3:00 3:45 “RF and Microwave Challenges for Future Radio Spectrum Access”

Dean Lawrence Larson Ph.D., Brown Univ.

3:45 4:30

Panel #3: "In-Building Wireless for cellular and Public Safety: Technology, Monetary, and Political Issues"

John Facella moderator; Greg Glenn of SOLiD; Rob Lopez P.E. of Black & Veatch; others TBD

4:30 4:45 Wrap-up John Facella

Notes:

* Breakfast and lunch are available to attendees at extra cost; please pay when you arrange for your

Tech Symposium tickets via the Web site or by mail.

** Coffee break refreshments available to all attendees at no cost.

2015 Technical Symposium Presentation Abstracts

8:15 – 9:00 “Dynamic Spectrum Arbitrage”

Spectrum is presently made available for use in both the frequency and space domains. Dynamic Spectrum Arbitrage (DSA) however enables spectrum to be made available in the frequency, space and time domains dynamically. Clint Smith of Rivada networks will explain how DSA provides a more flexible spectrum management method versus the current single-purpose command and control method for spectrum allocation.

DSA allows wireless operators to lease their excess capacity to other wireless operators and MVNOs using a real time market environment. DSA Technology enables the establishment of a dynamic bandwidth marketplace where the commoditization of wireless spectrum and other telecommunication assets becomes possible. Existing wireless networks and virtual network operators utilizing fixed spectrum bands can be capacity enhanced with on-demand services, by using geographically targeted short term leases.

Because DSA is policy based, it offers a paradigm shift in how spectrum and capacity management is achieved. Some of the results of DSA include replacing the present licensing process used by regulators (FCC); decoupling Spectrum ownership and wireless service; monetizing underutilized resources; and foster innovations in wireless technology adoption.

9:00 – 9:45 "Tower Structural Health Monitoring for the 21st Century"

This presentation is a technical discussion of a radically new approach to making tower structures

“smart.” By introducing self-aware intelligence onto the structure, the owner/operator gains the

advantage of proactively monitoring the structural performance of the tower with such parameters as

displacement, sway, twist, slack guy wires, and vibrations under varying conditions from a static state to

dynamic storm conditions. Undesirable behaviors, such as vortex shedding, are detectable with this

technology. Advances in sensor technology, and knowledge learned from other guidance systems such

as the Hubble Telescope and unmanned aerial vehicles, have made this technology possible. Discussed

will be leading edge applications of this technology in the tower industry, by one of the co-inventors,

Mark Allen of Rohn.

10:00 – 10:45 Panel #1, "New Trends in Wireless Test Equipment"

Test equipment is a vital component in the installation and acceptance of any wireless system, be it

macro outdoor or in-building, and regardless of whether it uses 3G, 4G, 5G, WiFi, land mobile radio, or

any other wireless technology. This panel of experts will discuss several of the current trends in

wireless system test equipment, including the general trend to make instruments smaller and more

portable and full featured; increasingly automated testing; increased accuracy; and the increasing use of

PIM (passive intermodulation) testing for cellular systems both macro and in-building. This panel is

moderated by John Facella.

10:45 – 11:30 Youth Presentation on Wireless

The heat is on to pick from several outstanding youth at recent amateur forums, so we are saving the

final decision as a surprise treat. In past years youth presenters from the Dayton Hamfest and other

forums have wowed us with fractal antennas, pole climbing robots for emergency antenna placement,

balloons in space, and using smartphones as an interface to an amateur packet switched network. You’ll

have to wait to see what this year’s presentation will be.

11:30 – 12:15 Progress Report on RCA's Youth Initiative

All of us in wireless realize that our industry is going through a ‘graying phase’, and the industry is in

desperate need for a new generation of technicians, engineers, scientists, and other wireless savvy

professionals to lead the next wave of wireless progress. Carole Perry, an RCA Director, and Chair of

our youth program, will update us on the progress of several of our past youth presenters, and where

they are today and what they are up to. A special feature will be the attendance of Rohan Agrawal,

who is from the Silicon Valley area, and last year won second place at our Tech Symposium in New York

City.

1:15 – 2:00 “Breakthrough Listen: The search for Extra Terrestrial Intelligence’s (SETI) New

Initiative using Radio Telescopes”

While the search for intelligent life began 55 years ago, progress has been limited by the technology at

hand and the resources to execute the search. The problem is daunting: while the nearest stars may be

a few light years away, the small probability of detecting extra-terrestrial intelligence (ETI) requires that

many star systems be searched, perhaps 10’s of millions, with distances that can produce path losses in

excess of 500 dB. Thus any signals will be feeble and will require concerted efforts with the largest radio

telescopes, and massive data storage and computational analysis.

Silicon Valley entrepreneur Yuri Milner has provided generous resources, under the title of

BREAKTHROUGH LISTEN, to undertake this latest and very powerful search effort. Over the next 10

years, the GBT Telescope in West Virginia, the Parkes Telescope in Australia, and other very large radio

telescopes will be used in a comprehensive search to detect and (if found) decode any ETI signals, either

from within our galaxy or in several nearby galaxies. Professor Frank Drake will describe the

BREAKTHROUGH LISTEN project and how this state of the art radio search gives us the best chance (to

date) to detect ETI, or place constraints on how many ETI may exist. Most importantly, this search allows

us to ask the important question: are we alone?

In addition to the radio search, BREAKTHROUGH LISTEN will conduct searches for optical signals, using

two telescopes at the Lick Observatory near San Jose. There will also be an ancillary program called

BREAKTHROUGH MESSAGE which will conduct a contest, with major prizes, to entice the public at large

to produce a plausible and powerful hypothetical message that we might send to other planetary

systems.

Following his 35 minute presentation there will be a 10 minute opportunity for the Technical

Symposium audience to ask questions of Dr. Drake.

2:00 – 2:45 Panel #2: "Battle for 5G: LTE vs. WiFi"

In 1997 the FCC made available spectrum in the 5 GHz band, known as the Unlicensed National

Information Infrastructure or "U-NII", for unlicensed use by wideband digital systems. For the

most part, the only standards which have made use of these bands are in the 802.11 "Wi-Fi"

family. However, this is about to change, and a battle for 5 GHz is looming...

Mobile telephone operators, seeking more spectrum to serve increasing demand for wireless data

on portable devices, have begun looking at 5 GHz as an alternative to purchasing licensed

spectrum via increasingly expensive auctions. Technologies such as LTE Unlicensed (LTE-U)

and Licensed Assisted Access (LAA) will put LTE signals into the 5 GHz band. Modifications in

3GPP Release 13 will seek to help LTE co-exist in 5 GHz bands with 802.11 signals. At the

same time, the rise of new mobile operator models known as "Wi-Fi First" and "Wi-Fi Only"

will drive up demand for unlicensed spectrum. Roaming agreements between Wi-Fi network

operators will allow Wi-Fi First and Wi-Fi Only subscribers to easily access 5 GHz networks,

further placing pressure on this spectrum.

The battleground is laid out, and forces are massing on both sides. Who will win? Who will lose?

What will the 5 GHz band look like after all is said and done? Join us and learn from a panel of

experts representing both sides of the conflict as they address these and other questions. The panel is moderated by David Witkowski of the Wireless Communications Alliance.

3:00 – 3:45 “RF and Microwave Challenges for Future Radio Spectrum Access”

Future wireless devices will require agile access to the spectrum, varying center frequency, and

bandwidth and modulation on an opportunistic basis. The recent evolution of the cellular telephone to

a multi-band smart phone is just one example of this trend, which will only accelerate in the coming

years. Dean Lawrence Larson of Brown University will present the application drivers and hardware

requirements and innovations required to address these exciting new opportunities.

3:45 – 4:30 Panel #3: "In-Building Wireless for cellular and Public Safety: Technology, Monetary,

and Political Issues"

As smart phones proliferate, the increasing demand for “data everywhere” is driving the cellular carriers

to continue to build out their networks, especially in buildings where capacity demands can be offloaded

to another system in-building. Additionally, the public expects first responders (police, EMS, fire) to go

into any building and provide immediate aid regardless of how difficult that location may be from an RF

propagation standpoint. In recent years, the major venues such as sports stadiums have been built out

by either the cellular carriers or the venue owners. But now a ‘middle tier’ of office buildings,

apartment complexes, and smaller entertainment venues are expected to follow suit-but who will pay

for this, and when will it be accomplished? Our panel of experts will examine these difficult issues

occuring in the next stage of buildout, and provide some insights. This panel is moderated by John

Facella.

2015 Technical Symposium Speakers / Moderators Biographies

Mark Allen, Rohn Tower:

Mr. Allen (W6PC) began his radio career in 1966, in Texas with an early interest in amateur radio,

broadcasting and land mobile communications; in the years following he received his 1st Class

Radiotelephone license from the FCC and a Bachelor of Science in communications and electrical

engineering.

With his roots in land mobile radio, Mr. Allen was the Vice President of Engineering and Chief Engineer

at E.F. Johnson Company in Waseca, MN, Vice President & Chief Engineer of Titan / Datron World

Communications, now part of L3 Communications, San Diego, CA, Executive Vice President and

subsequently President of SUNAIR Electronics, Fort Lauderdale, FL. He developed and overseen

development of dozens of product developments for the land mobile, military and government

marketplace. He has several US patent applications in process.

Today, Mr. Allen is Vice President of ROHN™ Tower Company in Peoria, IL., a Senior Member of IEEE and

a Senior Member of SBE for more than 35 years, Life Member of ARRL. Additionally Mr. Allen is a Fellow

in The Radio Club of America and is currently serving on the Board of Directors.

Rob Barden, Director of Marketing, Cobham AvComm:

Mr. Barden is the Director of Product Marketing for Cobham AvComm (Aeroflex), and has been with the

company for over 17 years in various roles in marketing and sales. Rob has an EET degree from DeVry

Institute of Technology in Kansas City Missouri. Rob has over 32 years of experience in the test and

measurement industry and has written numerous articles on technologies used in the Land Mobile

Radio industry.

Tom Boyle, National Sales Manager, Bird Technologies:

Mr. Boyle began working in the wireless industry in 1984 as an electronic/radio technician with

Maryland DOT. His responsibility was to support the communications systems of the Metro, Light Rail,

MARC railroads and the Baltimore City commuter bus systems.

In 2000 he became the Test Equipment Product Manager for TESSCO, managing the product portfolio

from major companies like Agilent, Anritsu, Bird, Fluke, Megger, Rohde & Schwarz, TTC and Tektronix.

In 2006 he went to work for Bird Technologies. In his current capacity he manages sales for multiple

divisions (Bird, TXRX & DeltaNode) into multiple markets (Cellular, Distribution, Land Mobile Radio &

Semiconductor) within Central, North & South America.

Professor Frank Drake, Ph.D., Chairman Emeritus of the SETI Institute:

Professor Frank Drake, Ph.D., who conducted the first modern SETI search over 50 years ago, continues his life-long interest in the detection of extraterrestrial sentient life. He participates in an on-going search for optical signals of intelligent origin, carried out with colleagues from Lick Observatory and the University of California at Berkeley, using the 40-inch Nickel telescope at Lick.

Prof. Drake has a Bachelor’s degree in Engineering Physics with honors from Cornell University, and Masters and Ph.D degrees in astronomy from Harvard University. He was the Chairman of the Astronomy Department at Cornell, the Director of the Arecibo Observatory at Arecibo, Puerto Rico, and later the Director of the National Astronomy and Ionosphere Center. At the University of California, Santa Cruz, he is Professor Emeritusin the Astronomy and Astrophysics Department. He was the first president of the SETI Institute (www.seti.org ), and is now Chairman Emeritus of the Institute.

Prof. Drake conducted the first SETI experiment in 1960. He developed the famous “Drake Equation” for estimating the likelihood of signals from intelligent life forms (see www.astrosociety.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/ab2010-46.pdf)

In 1974, he sent out the so-called “Arecibo Message”, a binary coded message describing human features like DNA structure and our location in the solar system. Despite millions of dollars invested in the search for ET intelligence, no credible evidence has yet been discovered of intelligent life forms outside of earth.

Prof. Drake also continues to investigate radio telescope designs that optimize the chances of success for SETI (he proposed the plan used in the design of the Allen Telescope Array, based on some of his work of more than forty years ago.)

(Photo by Ramin Rahimian/raminphoto.com)

John Facella, P.E., C.Eng., Panther Pines Consulting

John Facella, P.E., C.Eng., is a Principal at Panther Pines Consulting, specializing in public safety

communications consulting, and general management consulting. He has over 30 years in the wireless

industry, including 28 years working for both Motorola and Harris, and over 2 years as a senior vice president

with a national consulting company. He has held positions including product management, systems

engineering management, and Director of Public Safety markets. He has also held general management

positions in a number of high tech startup companies. Mr. Facella has been a frequent presenter at wireless

industry trade shows, and written numerous articles. He was a 10 year member of the International Assoc. of

Chiefs of Police Communications Committee, is a member of the International Assoc. of Fire Chiefs

Communications Committee, the NPSTC Broadband EMS Working Group, and the National Fire Protection

Association 1221 and 1802 committees. He has a BSEE from Georgia Tech, an MBA in marketing from Georgia

State University, is a registered professional engineer in the U.S., and a Chartered Engineer in the UK. Mr.

Facella served in the U.S. Army Signal Corps as a platoon leader. He is a life member of the IEEE, and is a

Fellow, Life Member, and on the Board of Directors of the Radio Club of America, and received the President’s

award in 2014. He also has 30 years of experience as a part-time fire fighter and EMT, and has numerous

certifications. He is also a life member of the ARRL, the QCWA, and the Antique Wireless Association.

Greg Glenn, Senior Director of RF Engineering at SOLiD:

Gregory Glenn is Senior Director of RF Engineering at SOLiD and an APCO International member. Mr.

Glenn possesses more than 30 years of RF system design experience and is widely recognized as an

expert on in-building signal enhancement for cellular and public-safety communications services. His

extensive history in enabling indoor public-safety communications and deploying Distributed Antenna

Systems in harsh environments contributed to the innovation of the SOLiD ALLIANCE DAS, a multi-

service platform that provides capacity and coverage for commercial wireless, public-safety radio,

private two-way radio and paging on a code-compliant, single-fiber architecture. Mr. Glenn frequently

writes and presents on emerging RF and public-safety technology trends. He holds a patent for work

within mobile RF, a General Class Radio Telephone license, as well as an amateur extra license.

Dean Lawrence Larson, Ph.D., Brown University:

Larry Larson received the BS in Electrical Engineering from Cornell University, Ithaca, and a PhD from

UCLA.

From 1980 to 1996 he was at Hughes Research Laboratories in Malibu, CA, where he directed the

development of high-frequency microelectronics in GaAs, InP and Si/SiGe and MEMS technologies. He

joined the faculty at the University of California - San Diego, in 1996, where he held the Communications

Industry Chair. He was Director of the UCSD Center for Wireless Communications from 2001-2006 and

was Chair of the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering from 2007-2011. He moved to

Brown University in 2011, where he is Founding Dean of the School of Engineering. He has published

over 300 papers, received over 40 US patents, co-authored three books, and is a Fellow of the IEEE.

Robert Lopez, P.E, Director of Cellular and Public Safety DAS Markets, Black and Veatch:

Carole Perry:

Carole Perry, WB2MGP, worked as an executive secretary in an electronics manufacturing company,

Rapidcircuit inc. for 16 years. In 1980, she returned to Intermediate School 72 in Staten Island, NY

where she worked until her retirement in 2004, teaching “Introduction to Amateur Radio” to 6th, 7th,

and 8th graders for 30 years. Carole wrote the curriculum for “Introduction to Amateur Radio” a very

successful program which had 950 students a year coming through it.

Carole Perry is the recipient of the prestigious 1987 Dayton Ham of The Year Award, the 1987 ARRL

Instructor of The Year Award, the 1991 Marconi Wireless Memorial Award, the 1993 QCWA President’s

Award, the 1996 RCA Barry Goldwater Amateur Radio Award, and the 2009 RCA President’s Award, the

2012 RCA President’s Award, and will be receiving the RCA’s new Vivian Carr Award for women who

have contributed to the wireless industry.

Carole is an RCA Fellow, and in 2007 she was elected to the RCA Board of Directors; a position she still

holds, and she created the Youth Activities Committee which she now chairs. She also created the RCA

Young Achiever’s Award, given to students in grade 12 and below who have demonstrated excellence

and creativity in wireless communications. Seventy six youngsters have received this award along with a

stipend, so far.

Under Carole’s leadership, the Youth Activities Committee goes into schools across the country to set up

radio/technology programs. Equipment, cash grants, books, and supplies are donated to the chosen

schools, museums, or youth groups. Carole also initiated the practice of bringing a talented Young

Achiever to give a presentation at the annual RCA Technical Symposium.

Carole has moderated the Dayton Hamvention Youth Forum and Instructors’ Forum for 28 years. She is

a Director of QCWA (Quarter Century Wireless Association) and chairs their Youth Activities committee;

she is a member of ARRL (American Radio Relay League); DARA (Dayton Amateur Radio Association);

AWA (Antique Wireless Association); and Brandeis Women. She is a columnist for CQ magazine.

.

Clint Smith, PE, CTO of Rivada Networks:

Clint Smith, P.E is currently the CTO for Rivada Networks and has extensive experience in all aspects related to fixed and mobile wireless telecommunications including senior management, system design, project management, budgeting, implementation, operations, and sales. He has also been awarded multiple patents and has specific design and operational experience with LTE, CDMA/1xRTT/EVDO, GSM/GPRS/EDGE, WCDMA/HSPA, TDMA, iDEN, AMPS, LMDS, WiMAX, WiFi, PtP, and PSCS. Some previous positions he has held include VP Technical Services Rivada Networks, VP Engineering for CCS, Director for Planning with Cingular, Director of Engineering for NYNEX (Verizon) and Senior Engineer with Motorola.

Current books published by McGraw Hill include Wireless Network Performance Handbook, 3G Wireless Networks (1st edition), LMDS ,Wireless Telecom FAQ, Practical Cellular and PCS Design, Cellular System Design and Optimization, 3G Wireless with WiMAX and Wi-Fi, and 3G Wireless Networks (2nd edition). Wireless Networks (3rd edition)

Clint holds a Masters in Business Administration from Fairleigh Dickinson University, and a Bachelor of Engineering degree from Stevens Institute of Technology. He is also a registered professional engineer in NY and NJ, sci-fi author, member of IEEE, APCO, Authors Guild, Radio Club of America (RCA), Boy Scouts of America (BSA), Volunteer Firefighter, and an adjunct professor at Stevens Institute of Technology.

Mike Tolaiois, VP of Sales & Marketing at Deviser Instruments:

Mr. Tolaiois is the Vice President of Sales & Marketing at Deviser Instruments, in the San Francisco Bay

area. Mike is a graduate of Saint Mary's College of California and has an MBA degree. He is responsible

for all aspects of company sales, revenue growth, strategic marketing and product line management.

David Witkowski, Founder, Oku Solutions and CEO of the Wireless Communications Alliance (WCA):

David Witkowski, a longtime wireless telecommunications industry expert and leader, has held

positions of leadership at companies ranging from Fortune 500 multi-nationals to early-stage

startups. He is the Founder and Principal of Oku Solutions and Director of the Wireless

Communications Initiative at Joint Venture Silicon Valley.

A noted author and public speaker, David has written feature articles for CIO Review,

MissionCritical Communications, EETimes, Make:Magazine, QST, Urgent Communications,

and RCR Wireless and was co-author of "Carrier & Public Wi-Fi" (Mobile Experts LLC, 2015).

David has spoken and moderated panels at numerous industry events including DAC, APCO,

CTIA, IWCE, Pacificon, IIT Bombay Heritage Fund, MIT Club, Alberta Wireless Connections,

and ConnectivityWeek.

David serves as an adviser to the Carnegie Institute of Technology Dean's Council, as a member

of UC Davis Industrial Affiliates Council, and as a member of CTIA Innovation Council. He is a

senior member of both the IEEE and the Radio Club of America. David earned his BSEE from

University of California at Davis.