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| Monthly news bulletin for and about the members of the UTILITIES TELECOM COUNCIL [1]- The Telecommunications and Information Technology Association for Utility, Energy, and Other Critical Infrastructure Companies | |||||||||||||||||||||
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Many of today's telecom and IT professionals at energy and water companies are facing the same issues as you. Tight deadlines. Limited financial and human resources. The need for new technology upgrades. Regulations limiting your spectrum needs. Security issues. Pole attachment woes. NERC audit possibilities. And more. UTC TELECOM 2008 can help you find answers to the questions keeping you up at night and get you back to a good night's sleep. If you haven't registered yet, now is the time. Download the program here [3] and then register online [4] - be sure to reserve your space on the golf course while you're at it! Plus, make your hotel reservations [5] at the Rosen Shingle Creek now to enter into UTC's monthly prize drawing up to the Annual Conference - there are still 2 chances to win. We look forward to seeing you in Orlando, Florida this May!
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If you are a vendor partner in the critical infrastructure industry, make sure to reserve your exhibit hall space at UTC EXPO 2008, the exhibit hall of UTC TELECOM 2008, before it sells out! For more information on how to exhibit, click here [6]. Not ready to commit to exhibit? Consider a sponsorship opportunity available to fit any marketing budget.
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Register now to join us from April 3-4, 2008 for the 2008 NERC Cyber Security Conference at the Hilton St. Louis at the Ballpark in St. Louis, MO. The program for the conference is now available online here [9]. This conference will provide an opportunity to check in with other utilities to see how they are handling continued compliance with CIP 002-009 and make sure you are on the right track. NERC Compliance is not just a "do it and forget it" type of project, but an ongoing process. Make sure you have the latest and greatest information on the NERC standards and how they are being applied to utilities. Register [10] today before the early registration rate ends this Friday, March 7, 2008! Interested but unable to make the conference? Pre-order UTC's updated NERC CIP Standards: Ten Steps to Compliance report that will be launched with this conference by contacting UTC Research Coordinator Sara Ray at 202.833.6805 or sara.ray@utc.org [11]. |
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In March, UTC has two interesting Webinars planned. Click on the links below for more information about each Webinar and to register. Webinar: Network Synchronization Basics [12] March 12, 2008 2:00 pm - 3:30 pm EDT Speaker: Chuck Perry, Systems Sales Engineer, Symmetricom Webinar: Ethernet Service Migration and Legacy Network Support [13] March 26, 2008 2:00 pm - 3:30 pm EDT Speaker: Ty Estes, Director of Marketing, Omnitron Systems Technology |
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Our 60th year will be the best one for new members! UTC is all about telecom/IT at critical infrastructure organizations. We are an excellent resource for regulatory advice and assistance on any network issue. We look forward to providing members with fresh research and valuable industry data on next-generation utilities and emerging wireless technologies that could save thousands of dollars when planning technology upgrades. And because UTC membership is company based, every interested employee can take advantage of the member benefits, including opportunities to network with peers and discover new ways to benchmark system performance. If you work at an energy or water company that isn't a member of UTC, consider joining now. You can read more information on UTC membership by visiting www.utc.org/membership/join [14]. |
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UTC Research Reports provide a starting point for energy and water companies when building future technology plans. We encourage anyone that is thinking of getting involved in a new area, to check out the UTC Store [15] and see what we have available. For technology partners, reports can provide independent statistics to help you sell your products and services. Three of our most recent reports are featured below. Advanced Metering Infrastructure: Smart Metering Meets the Smart Grid For the past 20 years, utilities have focused considerable resources on Automated Meter Reading (AMR), but there has been a clear transition from the classic AMR approach to advanced metering infrastructure (AMI). UTC's newest report Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI): "Smart" Metering Meets the Smart Grid; delves further into the evolution of AMI. If you are looking at an AMI solution for your utility, this report can help you build a better business case to present to management, understand where AMI is headed in the future and examine how early implementations have worked thus far using a variety of technologies. As the best-known and most widely used Smart Grid application, even if you aren't looking to implement AMI in the near term, you should know more about it to prepare yourself when the time comes. Interested? Feel free to read the Table of Contents [16] and Executive Summary [17] and then order the report here [18]. BPL Growth Now Tied to Smart Grids UTC Research released its latest report on Broadband over Power Line (BPL) in January. The report, New Directions for Broadband over Power Line: 2007, updates the status of BPL deployment, outlines the opportunities and challenges for the industry, and concludes that the future is now for BPL in 2008. UTC is the authority on BPL, and it has been reporting on this technology since 1998. So much has happened since our last report in 2006 that you can't afford to miss out on the latest news, particularly as utilities undertake huge investments in smart-grid technologies. Interested? Feel free to read the Table of Contents [19] and Executive Summary [20] and then order the report here [21]. Updated NERC Report FERC has made its final ruling on the NERC CIP Standards, and utilities can now stop guessing. Despite the long process and delays, the tight NERC compliance timeline remains in place; utilities that do not meet audit requirements will face stiff penalties for non-compliance when audits begin in 2009. Building on last year's very popular UTC paper, NERC CIP Standards: Ten Steps to Compliance, UTC is working toward a revision and update with even clearer guidance on how to organize a CIP compliance effort. Please look for future communications from UTC on the availability of the updated NERC CIP paper, whose release will coincide with UTC's 2008 NERC Cyber Security Conference at the Hilton St. Louis at the Ballpark in St. Louis, MO. The program for the conference is now available online here [22]. To pre-order a copy of the report, contact UTC Research Coordinator Sara Ray at 202.833.6805 or sara.ray@utc.org [23]. For more information on any of the reports mentioned above, call UTC Director of Research Aldo Morri at 202.833.6828 or aldo.morri@utc.org [24]. |
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UTC Research is working on two major reports to be released in 2008 on Communications Master Planning and Smart Grids. Vendor partners should consider sponsoring this independent research to have their name associated with these services for the critical infrastructure industry. If sponsored, these reports will be sent to all UTC energy and water company members as a benefit of membership providing wide distribution and access to industry decision makers. Additionally, UTC uses this research when we meet with regulators and Congress on a variety of topics. Sponsoring companies will be included in presentations of this report to UTC audiences at upcoming UTC conferences. Overall, there are many benefits to becoming a sponsor. For more information on the actual sponsorship opportunities, please contact Aldo Morri [25] at 202.833.6828. |
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UTC Canada is actively representing the interests of all utility telecom/IT professionals in Canada and paving the way for increased access to spectrum. This will make it easier for Canadian utilities to grow their business and offer new services to their customers, thereby increasing the bottom line. Add to this all of the member discounts and networking opportunities, new educational Webinars and tutorials, frequent regulatory alerts, a brand new Web site to be unveiled soon, and it's clear that UTC Canada is poised to offer a better return on investment than ever before. To find out more, visit www.utccanada.ca [26] or call 1.202.833.6816. Utilities in Canada are encouraged to plan now to attend the 2008 Canadian Utility Telecom Conference [27] scheduled for September 8-11, 2008 at The Fairmont Hotel in Winnipeg, MB. You can register now by faxing in this registration form [28]. For more information, contact meetings@utc.org [29]. |
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The United Power Line Council (UPLC) is an alliance of electric utilities, technology companies and building owners working together to drive the development of Broadband over Power Line (BPL) in a manner that helps utilities and their partners succeed. We support BPL so strongly because of the versatility that it provides - versatility that utilities need now more than ever. Smart-grid, reliability, cyber security - these are all popular industry buzzwords for secure, reliable communications networks. But for utilities to get there, they need two-way real-time communications that reach all the way to the customer. They need a technology that is effective in rural and underground environments, as well as suburban and urban areas and on overhead lines. BPL combines these capabilities with additional features and functionalities (such as smart-home and smart-appliance applications) over an all-IP network that enables interoperable communications between a variety of devices that support utility applications. Membership is an even better value in 2008, with new lower rates for Principal membership ($5,000 per member company) to encourage strong supporters of BPL to step up and become an active member in the process. For more information, visit the newly re-designed www.uplc.org [30] or call 202.833.6816. |
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The membership of the UtiliSite Council is growing! Launched last fall, the Council is an organization of utilities that offers a wide variety of support services for commercial wireless carriers, including antenna sitings, traffic backhaul and construction. We enhance every member utility's ability to market their services to carriers through the collective strength of a central hub, working through UTC's main office to not only promote each utility's participation in the Council, but to provide carriers with detailed information on partnerships available with utilities all across the country. UtiliSite Council members already represent over 36,000 available collocation sites. We aim to be a "one-stop shop" for utility collocation opportunities. We are a reliable source for information on the best way to work with carriers, template contracts, and marketing of collocation opportunities. Your real estate is appealing to wireless carriers, and the Council can get your real-estate and collocation staff up to speed much quicker than it would take to grow your business alone. Principal membership for utilities is only $5,000 and lasts through December 31, 2008. Visit us online at www.utilisite.utc.org [31] to find out more about the Council, to view the membership value proposition, or for instructions on how to enroll. For more information, contact Karnel Thomas, VP-Member Services, at 202.833.6816 or karnel.thomas@utc.org [32]. |
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No one knows more about the needs of utility telecom/IT professionals than the Utilities Telecom Council! UTC's Career Center has been designed to help member organizations and others find the perfect candidate to fill their most important positions. We've made it easy to tap into the wealth of talent that UTC represents. At the same time, professionals in the field can view the latest job opportunities available 24 hours a day. Check out the latest positions listed through the Career Center. For more information, visit jobs.utc.org [33]. |
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UTC Spectrum Services is operating in UTC's office again and there is no better chance than right now to check out what UTC Spectrum Services can do for you! UTC Spectrum Services is the premier provider of rapid, reliable, and creditable coordination and engineering services. Contact us at spectrumservices@utc.org [34] or 202.872.0030 for more information. |
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No matter where you live, Louisiana, Ottawa or Spain; there is still time to get involved in UTC in 2008. It doesn't take as much time as you think, and the experience pays you back in dividends. There are lots of opportunities within many different areas of focus and there is sure to be one that interests you. More importantly, you control how much time you are willing to commit. For more information, contact Karnel Thomas, VP-Member Services, at 202.833.6816 or karnel.thomas@utc.org [35] to find out what opportunities are available that fit your unique niche. |
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this Message Forwarded to you? If you received this email from a colleague and would like to add yourself to our mailing list, click here [42] and provide your name, title, company, address, phone and fax and email address. Unsubscribe You are receiving this message because of your affiliation with UTC. If you no longer wish to receive your mailings at this email address, please click here to unsubscribe. [43] Utilities Telecom Council, 1901 Pennsylvania Ave., NW, Fifth Floor, Washington, DC 20006.
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