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UTC Alert - April 1, 2008
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| Monthly news bulletin for
and about the members of the UTILITIES TELECOM COUNCIL- The
Telecommunications and Information Technology Association for
Utility, Energy, and Other Critical Infrastructure Companies
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Don't Be An April Fool, Register Today for UTC TELECOM 2008
Early registration for UTC TELECOM 2008 ends today, April 1, 2008! UTC TELECOM 2008 is the place to find answers to your plaguing questions. Help us celebrate 60 years of service while
you gain the education you need to make important industry decisions and plan for the future, while meeting other utility professionals. One highlighted session you won't want to miss is "The
Power of Partnerships: the Value of Long-Term Utility Alliances With Technology Providers," which explores case studies of alliances and how they can work for you.
If you haven't registered yet, now is the time, before early registration ends. View the program here
and then register online - be sure to reserve your space on the 18-hole, par 72 championship golf course while you are at it! Plus,
make your hotel reservations at the Rosen Shingle Creek now to enter into UTC's monthly prize drawing up to the Annual Conference.
We look forward to seeing you in Orlando, Florida this May!
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UTC EXPO 95% Sold Out
The exhibit hall is 95% sold out and sponsorships are selling fast. UTC would like to thank those who have already helped to sponsor UTC TELECOM 2008. Limited sponsorships opportunities and exhibit space is still available.
For more information on exhibiting and sponsorship opportunities please click here here or email
Cheryl Stratos, UTC Sales.
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The Utilisite Benchmarking Survey
UTC has created The Utilisite Benchmarking Survey and we need your help. The results of this survey will help UTC to better represent this market and provide useful information regarding the
way in which utilities currently position their collocation operations. Everybody that completes the survey will receive a Starbucks gift card and will be entered in the chance to win an Apple iTouch.
Click here to start the survey.
* Only Utilities can participate
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UTC Canada Membership Equals Positive Return on Your Investment; Plan Now for UTC Canada Conference
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 the member discounts,networking opportunities, Webinars and frequent regulatory alerts; 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 or call 1.202.833.6816.
Utilities in Canada are encouraged to plan now to attend the 2008 Canadian Utility Telecom Conference
scheduled for September 8-11, 2008 at The Fairmont Hotel in Winnipeg, MB. You can register by faxing in this registration form.
For more information, contact meetings@utc.org.
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Looking for BPL Representation - Look No Further than UPLC
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 or call 202.833.6816.
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Take Advantage of the Opportunities Offered by the UtiliSite Council
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 all member organizations. UtiliSite Council members 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 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.
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New Member Reward for Referrals
The UTC Member Services Department has just launched a new Referral Rewards Program that rewards you for helping us to grow the association! All UTC member employees are eligible to
participate in this voluntary program. When you refer a potential member to us, we will follow up and do our best to sign them up!
When they do join, you will be recognized for your efforts and also be eligible for valuable rewards!
WHAT ARE THE REWARDS?
- Individuals responsible for referring a new member to us will be publicly recognized at the UTC Annual Conference in Orlando, FL.
- Individuals with two (2) referrals will be given a free pass to any 2008 UTC webinar AND a chance to win an iPod nano!
- Individuals with five (5) referrals will be given a free pass to any 2008 UTC regional conference AND a chance to win an iPod touch!
- Finally, the top individual recruiter will receive a free all-access pass to UTC TELECOM 2008, a special Individual Recruiter of the Year Award AND $1,000.00 in UTC Bucks, to be used on any UTC product, conference or service!
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Get Involved With UTC!
There are plenty of ways to get involved with UTC! UTC's Divisions and Committees provide a forum in which our members can network with their peers on specific issues that interest them.
UTC divisions are now accepting volunteers. If you are interested in volunteering for a division or committee please contact Karnel Thomas, VP-Member Services, at 202.833.6816 or
karnel.thomas@utc.org.
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Motorola Hosts Utility Trunking Users Alliance Meeting After UTC TELECOM 2008
Motorola plans to host its Utility Trunking Users Alliance (MUTUAL) meeting starting at 12:30 p.m. on Wednesday, May 7, 2008 at the Rosen Shingle Creek in Orlando, Florida, immediately following
the last session of UTC TELECOM 2008. The MUTUAL meeting is open to current Motorola customers. During the meeting, attendees will receive the latest information on the systems, products and
services that you use today. Additionally, the meeting will provide an overview of many emerging technologies and how they can be leveraged across a utility. For more information on the meeting,
click here.
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Driving Smart Metering Implementation in European Parliament
The importance of Smart Metering for European energy organizations cannot be overstated as organizations look to implement next-generation technologies. In fact, Smart Metering will play a
crucial role enabling the vision of Smart Grids, the upgrading the overall electrical grid - a major goal of the European Parliament. Smart Metering puts end users in the driver's seat, enabling
them to better monitor energy use which ultimately leads to lower customer costs with improved conservation, reliability and grid management.
To help take Smart Metering from concept to reality for members of the European Parliament, the European Utilities Telecom Council (EUTC) staged an exhibition at the European Parliament
on 1 April 2008 in Brussels, sponsored by Alcatel Lucent and Landis & Gyr. As leading Smart Metering vendors in Europe, their products will form a centerpiece of the exhibit by
showing actual demonstrations of each company's Smart Metering application. This demonstration is coupled with a presentation by Iberdrola, a Spanish energy organization and EUTC member
company, on the importance of the use of open standards in the provision of telecommunication services and their interface to the energy and water meters in order to successfully drive
implementation of large scale multi-meter solutions.
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Join UTC For These Upcoming Webinars
UTC has two informative Webinars on the horizon, one in April and one in May. Click on the links below for more information about each Webinar to register.
Webinar: Emerging Trends in Emergency Communications Networking & Interoperability
April 16, 2008
2:00 pm - 3:30 pm EDT
Speaker: Kamal Ballout, Director, Business Development, Alcatel-Lucent USA
Webinar: Using Spread-Spectrum to Improve SCADA Communications
May 21, 2008
2:00 pm - 3:30 pm EDT
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UTC Research Update
UTC Research Reports provide a starting point for energy and water companies when building future technology plans. For technology partners, reports can provide independent statistics to
help you sell your products and services. Visit the NEW, IMPROVED UTC Book Store today at www.utc.org/research/reports/ to see a list of all
our reports in one location. 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
and Executive Summary
and then order the report here.
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 and
Executive Summary and then order the report here.
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. To pre-order a copy of
the report, contact UTC Research Coordinator Sara Ray at 202.833.6805 or sara.ray@utc.org.
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.
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Check Out What UTC Spectrum Services Can Do for You!
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 or 202.872.0030 for more information.
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JOBS.UTC.ORG... Search the Latest Listings at No Charge
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.
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Upcoming Events
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