What's new in next generation mobile communications?
Answers were discussed at 'The 1st Asia & Pacific Seminar on Next Generation Mobile Communications', which was jointly organized by the Telecommunications Program, SAT, and Yokosuka Research Park (YRP) of Japan, on 28 January. Participants came from national government agencies, the telecommunications industries, universities, and international organizations.
The seminar's three technical sessions featured 13 presentations by speakers from NTT DoCoMo, NEC, Fujitsu, Matsushita, Oki, and CRL of Japan, and TOT, NECTEC, CAT and AIT. State-of-the-art topics generated wide interest. These include the concept of radio relay technology using airships as stratospheric platforms for futuristic mobile communications. This is expected to be a reality in the next 5 to 10 years, according to researchers from Communications Research Lab of Japan.
'This is an important milestone as we enter the new millennium where global R&D;, particularly in the Asia-Pacific region, in the fields of next generation mobile radio technology, will serve as vital new components of development,' stated Prof. Jean-Louis Armand, AIT President, in his welcome address.
The opinion was reiterated in the keynote speeches of Prof. Pairash Thajchayapong, Director, NSTDA; Mr. Jong-Soon Lee, Executive Director, APT; and Dr. Shingo Ohmori, Director, CRL, MPT of Japan. Mr. Hachihei Kurematsu, Director, International Department, YRP R&D; Committee, explained the role of Yokosuka Research Park R&D; Committee. He sincerely thanked AIT for hosting this important seminar.
The YRP/AIT collaboration is expected to be further strengthened at the forthcoming 'Third International Symposium on Wireless Personal Multimedia Communications,' which will be organized by AIT, YRP and CRL in Bangkok in November. Conveying AIT's appreciation, Prof. Armand said: 'I would like to express our sincere gratitude and appreciation to the Yokosuka Research Park R&D; Committee, Japan, for kindly sponsoring and jointly organizing this event with our Institute. AIT is particularly proud of its long-standing cooperation with the Government of Japan, which is among the major supporters of AIT in the fields of human and institutional development.'
Dean, SAT