2015 Technical Symposium
The RCA Technical Symposium is
famous for its “Wireless Wows”
and this year is no exception!
Our big Wireless Wow this year is a special presentation by Professor Frank Drake, who founded the Search
for Extra Terrestrial Intelligence (SETI) Institute and who
has spent his career searching for extraterrestrial intelligence in other galaxies, using radio telescopes and
other means. He is the source of the famous “Drake
Equation” used to estimate the likelihood of finding
signals from intelligent life forms. SETI recently received $100 million in funding for the Breakthrough
Initiative, which will be the focus of Dr. Drake’s presentation. Professor Drake will also receive the Lifetime
Achievement Award at this year’s Awards Banquet.
Other topics on the agenda include dynamic spectrum arbitrage, a new technology for remote monitoring of wireless towers, and a look into the complex
challenges faced in developing mobile devices that
must dynamically choose from multiple bands and
technologies. We will also catch up with our youth
presenters from previous years including 2014 Technical Symposium youth presenter, Rohan Agrawal,
who won second place in the best presenter category
as voted by the audience. Our youth presenter this
year, 15 year old Galen Asphaug, KK6NNP, will share
his thoughts on why technology is not really that hard.
In a departure from prior years, we will have three panels of
experts discussing timely wireless topics, including trends
in wireless test equipment, 5G, and the technical, economic, and political issues affecting in-building wireless.
2015 Technical Symposium Agenda
7:30 - 8:30
Continental Breakfast
8:00 - 8:15
Welcome & Introductions
8:15 - 9:00
Dynamic Spectrum Arbitrage
9:00 - 9:45
Tower Structural Health Monitoring for the 21st
Century
John Facella, Panther Pines Consulting
Clint Smith, Rivada Networks
Mark Allen, ROHN
9:45 - 10:00
Break
10:00 - 10:45 Panel 1: New Trends in Wireless Test Equipment
John Facella, Panther Pines Consulting, moderator; Rob
Barden, Cobham AvComm; Tom Boyle, Bird Technologies; Mike Tolaio, Deviser Instruments
10:45- 11:30
“Technology is Easier Than You Think”
Galen Asphaug, KK6NNP, 2015 Youth Presenter
11:30 - 12:15 Progress Report on RCA’s Youth Initiative
Carole Perry and 2014 Youth Presenter, Rohan Agrawal
12:15 - 1:15
Lunch
1:15 - 2:00
Breakthrough Listen: The Search for Extra Terrestrial Intelligence (SETI) – New Initiatives Using Radio
Telescopes
Prof. Frank Drake, Ph.D.
2:00 - 2:45
Panel 2: LTE-U vs Wi-Fi - The Battle for 5 GHz
David Witkowski, Wireless Communications Initiative,
Joint Venture Silicon Valley; Clint Brown, Broadcom; Amit
Jain, SpiderCloud Wireless; Jack Unger, WISPA
2:45 - 3:00
Break
3:00 - 3:45
RF and Microwave Challenges for Future Radio
Spectrum Access
Lawrence Larson, Brown University
For those who are registered professional engineers, or who require continuing education units
(CEUs), we have certifications available this year.
For a modest fee, attendees can obtain a certificate from a recognized university attesting to the
CEUs. RCA makes no money on the CEU certification, it is presented as a service to our PE members.
3:45 - 4:30
The agenda is shown as of October 22 and is subject to change as we finalize our arrangements. Abstracts for the presentations also are included.
Please note Breakfast and lunch are available to attendees at extra cost;
please pay when you register on line or through the mail. Coffee break
refreshments included in the cost of the Symposium
Panel 3: In-Building Wireless for Cellular and Public
Safety: Technology, Monetary, and Political Issues
John Facella, Panther Pines Consulting, moderator; Greg
Glenn, SOLiD Technologies; Rob Lopez, Black & Veatch;
Ahsan Baig, City of Oakland, CA
4:30 - 4:45
Wrap-up
John Facella, Panther Pines Consulting
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2015 Technical Symposium
Presentation Abstracts
8:15 – 9:00
Dynamic Spectrum Arbitrage (DSA)
Spectrum presently is 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 mobile virtual network operators (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 telecommunications 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 fostering innovations in wireless technology adoption.
9:00 – 9:45
Tower Structural Health Monitoring for the
21st Century
10:45 – 11:30
Youth Presentation: “Technology is Easier
Than You Think”
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, considering 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.
Galen Asphaug is a 15 year old high school student and amateur
radio operator. He will share his experiences with electronics
and technology over the past 9 years, and what it has taught
him, including many of the false assumptions people have about
technology, how he has progressed in learning about technology, and will discuss his past and present
projects.
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, Wi-Fi,
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, yet full featured; increasingly automated testing; increased accuracy; and the increasing
use of PIM (passive intermodulation) testing for cellular systems,
both macro and in-building.
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
the Youth Program, will update us on the progress of several
of our past youth presenters. Rohan Agrawal, a past Youth
Presenter who won second place at our 2014 Technical Symposium in New York City will join Carole in the presentation.
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2015 Technical Symposium
Presentation Abstracts
1:15 – 2:00
Breakthrough Listen: The Search for Extra
Terrestrial Intelligence (SETI) – New Initiatives
Using Radio Telescopes
While the search for intelligent life on other planets 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 extraterrestrial intelligence (ETI)
requires that many star systems be searched, perhaps tens of
millions, with distances that can produce path losses in excess
of 500 decibels (dB). Thus, any signals will be feeble and will
require concerted efforts using the largest radio telescopes,
as well as massive data storage and computational analysis.
Silicon Valley entrepreneur Yuri Milner has provided $100 million over the next ten years to fund the Breakthrough Listen
project, to undertake this search. Over the next decade, 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 decode any ETI signals, either from within our galaxy or in several nearby galaxies. Professor Frank Drake will describe the Breakthrough
Listen project and why 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, the Breakthrough Listen project will conduct searches for optical signals, using two telescopes at the Lick Observatory near San Jose. There also
will 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 Dr. Drake’s 35-minute presentation, there will be a
10-minute Q&A.
2:00 – 2:45
Panel 2: LTE-U vs Wi-Fi - The Battle for 5 GHz
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.
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.
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, fire and EMS) 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, 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 occurring in the next stage of buildout, and provide some insights.
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2015 Technical Symposium
Presenter Biographies
Mark Allen, Vice President, ROHN™ Tower
Mr. Allen (W6PC) began his radio career in Texas in 1966, 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 oversaw development of dozens of product developments for the land
mobile, military and government marketplace. He has several U.S. 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 and a 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.
Ahsan Baig, Division Manager, Public Safety Service and Business Applications, ITD, City of
Oakland California
Mr. Baig has more than 21 years of management and leadership experience in both the private and public sectors in project management, management strategies, solutions architecture, systems integration,
applications development, communication network design and technical support. Under his leadership,
the City of Oakland acquired and successfully deployed many technology programs, including an integrated computer aided dispatch (CAD) system, a mission critical public safety P25 radio network for regional interoperability, a citywide microwave backbone, a NextGen 911 system, a ShotSpotter network,
a License Plate Recognition System, a Crime Datawarehouse, an Early Warning System, and a Situation
Awareness System. Mr. Baig works with police and fire agencies in developing innovative solutions and
deploying the latest technologies to bring efficiencies, cost-savings, and improved public safety to the
City of Oakland, CA.
Mr. Baig is a Board Member of Bay Area Regional Interoperable Communications System (BayRICS); a member of the Communications Technology Working Group (TWG) in the National Institute of Justice (NIJ); a member of the IACP Communication and
Technology Committee; and Vice Chair of the Technical Advisory Committee of BayRICS. Mr. Baig’s previous service includes
membership in the FCC’s Emergency Response Interoperability Committee (ERIC). He is an active member of APCO, IEEE, and
IACP. He has published research and technical papers in various journals and magazines. Mr. Baig holds a bachelor’s degree in
Physics from Karachi University, Pakistan and a master’s degree in Electrical Engineering from City College New York.
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.
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Thanks to our event partner WCA
2015 Technical Symposium
Presenter Biographies
Clint Brown, Business Development Director, Mobility Wireless Connectivity at Broadcom
Mr. Brown has 30 years of sales/marketing experience, specializing in semiconductor based wireline and wireless communication technologies, including: 802.11 WLAN, BlueTooth, FM, GNSS, NFC, Wireless Charging,
Ethernet, Home Phoneline Networking (HomePNA), and Analog Modems. He is Vice Chair and Director and
former Treasurer of the Wi-Fi Alliance. Mr Brown was issued US patent No. 8,514,748 for a
Configurator Confirmation in a WLAN.
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.
Professor Frank Drake
Ph.D.
(Photo by Ramin
Rahimian/
raminphoto.com)
Prof. Drake conducted the first SETI experiment in 1960. He developed the famous “Drake Equation” for
estimating the likelihood of signals from alien intelligence.
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.
Prof. Drake also continues to investigate radio telescope designs that optimize the chances of success for SETI. The plan used in
the design of the Allen Telescope Array is based on some of Dr. Drake’s work from more than forty years ago.
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Thanks to our event partner WCA
2015 Technical Symposium
Presenter Biographies
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 RCA 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, 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 (DAS) 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.
Amit Jain, VP of Product Management and Marketing, SpiderCloud Wireless
Mr. Jain has held positions with Airvana, Qualcomm, Ericsson, Mobilesand, and McKinsey & Company. He has a
degree from MIT’s Sloan School of Management.
Dean Lawrence Larson, Ph.D., Founding Dean, School of Engineering, 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.
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Thanks to our event partner WCA
2015 Technical Symposium
Presenter Biographies
Rob Lopez, P.E., Director of Cellular and Public Safety DAS, Black & Veatch
Rob Lopez has over 30 years’ experience in wireless systems design, including over 3 years with
Motorola as a land mobile radio systems design engineer, 26 years with RCC Consultants, and
now with Black and Veatch in their consulting services group. Mr. Lopez has spent the last several years working almost exclusively on in-building communications systems utilizing distributed
antenna systems (DAS) technology. These projects were in major urban areas in the U.S. including
New York City, Chicago, the west coast, and other locations, and included venues such as sports
arenas, auditoriums, office buildings, and high rise residences. He completed Award Solutions’ LTE
RF Planning and Design training, and is iBwave certified to Level 3 (the highest level). He currently
leads a group of engineers in designing in-building systems for Black & Veatch, which he also did at
RCC. Mr. Lopez was also responsible for leading the team that developed the ComSite™ family of
propagation prediction software, which was recently updated to include the LTE air interface. Mr.
Lopez has BSEE, MSEE, and MS Engineering Management degrees from the New Jersey Institute
of Technology. He is a member of the IEEE, NSPE, RCA, and several other organizations.
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, wrote the
curriculum and taught “Introduction to Amateur Radio” to 6th, 7th, and 8th graders for 30 years, 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 the
2015 Vivian Carr Award honoree 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 and chairs the Youth Activities Committee. 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
recognition, which also includes a cash award.
Under Carole’s leadership, the Youth Activities Committee has reached 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.
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Thanks to our event partner WCA
2015 Technical Symposium
Presenter Biographies
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.
Mr. Smith’s books 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)
Mr. Smith 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 Tolaio, VP of Sales & Marketing at Deviser Instruments
Mr. Tolaio is the Vice President of Sales & Marketing at Deviser Instruments, in the San Francisco Bay area. Mr. Talaio 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 Executive Director - Wireless Communications
Initiative, Joint Venture Silicon Valley
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, is President
Emeritus of the Wireless Communications Alliance (WCA), and Executive 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 the 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.
2015 Technical Symposium
Special Youth Presenter
Galen Asphaug, KK6NNP, Student
Galen Asphaug is a high school student and radio amateur.
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