Program: 2008 UTC Region 4 Meeting

The presentation will address existing private trunking platforms available on different frequency bands and their relative attributes in the areas of function, cost, product life, etc. Trends and emerging products will also be discussed. Finally, some high-level focus will be put on private wireless data and the degree to which it may be integrated with the various trunking platforms.

Tom Hoyne, Director- Utilities Market, Tyco Electronics, M/A-COM

Utilities can’t create Smart Grids without smart telecom – and UTC members know it better than anyone! This session will provide a wide variety of information about the integral role of telecom in building and shaping the next–generation utility. Part of this session will focus on what it means to move toward next–generation infrastructure. What is the vision of the future that society, regulators and the market have in mind for utilities? This session will focus on key regulation and legislation that will impact how your utility creates a smart grid. As the demand for sustainable energy and conservation grows, many regulators are coupling utility spending to consumer empowerment, creating mandates that will impact your day–to–day business. Find out what is happening right now and what is on the horizon that we believe will significantly impact your services.

Charles Hill, Regional General Manager, Black & Veatch

What is the FCC planning for the frequency bands in which you operate? What is the status of the proceedings you’re worried about? What are Congress and Federal agencies doing to help critical infrastructure communications? In this always-popular session, get an overview of what the UTC Legal/Regulatory staff is doing and how we read the landscape for your communications systems, including the status of legislative work and the drive toward a critical infrastructure spectrum allocation.

Brett Kilbourne, Director- Regulatory Services & Associate Counsel, Utilities Telecom Council

Utilities are at the crossroads of significant transformation in every segment of their services. As communications turns increasingly to IP, utilities are among those seeking to use these technologies to improve their own operations. This presentation will cover the changing landscape of wireless technologies including market trends, drivers and key technology players in the deployment of WiMax. Learn how WiMax will touch every segment within utilities starting with their metering infrastructure to mass automation of fixed assets to support smart grid initiatives.

Al King, Applications Engineer, GE MDS

This workshop provides a pivotal look at utility compliance with CIP 002–009, the NERC Cyber Security standards. With fines that can hit up to $1 million, per instance, PER DAY, any potential problems can translate to huge liabilities for your utility. Mitigating risk before any surprise NERC audit is essential. This session will go over what you need to know in regards to NERC compliance no matter where you are in the process.

Renee Schaefer, Regional Sales Manager, GarrettCom, Inc.
Kris Jarrett, Senior Solutions Architect, Alcatel-Lucent

Come hear from a member of UTC’s leadership team what’s going on with UTC. This is a great time for members and non-members alike to find out what UTC is doing and what is being planned. This presentation gives attendees a chance to ask questions and provide suggestions about the direction of UTC.

Kenneth Campbell, Utility Business Development Coordinator, AEP- Indiana Michigan Power Company

Media reports say that utility SCADA systems are under cyber attack now more than ever – and that’s just what becomes public. This presentation summarizes major technological requirements and illustrates solutions to control networks and equipment, SCADA data and communications that are foundation for conformance to the regulatory security requirements and industry standards for the control network operation (like NERC CIP, IEC, NIST). It also includes the newly developed IEC 62351 security mechanisms for SCADA data and communications. It reaches beyond the current standards and recommendations, in that it also includes guidelines for and requirements for the secure network equipment that is a technological foundation for the secure for the SCADA system and network equipment planning, as well as sound basis for network security management.

Rene Midence, Utility Market Manager, RuggedCom, Inc.

Utilities continue to invest in private, wide–area, mission–critical voice and data networks, recognizing that full reliance on commercial service offerings just doesn’t work to meet most utilities’ coverage and reliability needs. But private doesn’t have to mean out–of–date. Utilities are considering and implementing new wireless technologies that support a variety of applications, while at the same time simplifying network and application integration. Using UTC’s research paper, New Wireless Technologies for Utilities, this session looks at three advanced wireless technologies –– WiMAX, Radio over IP, and mesh networking – and how utilities can implement them effectively. Come and hear how these options for communications systems do more at a lower cost, while using limited spectrum more efficiently.

Robert Burke, TESSCO Training, TESSCO Technologies