EVENT ANNOUNCEMENT

Forum on the Review of E-communications Framework and CEO Summit Meeting

24 October 2008 - 25 October 2008 Venice, Italy

These two events are jointly organised by Telecom Italia and ETNO (European Telecommunication Network Operators' Association). The debate "Finding the Right Balance for Competition, Investments and Consumers' Benefits" will discuss the ongoing review of the e-communications regulatory framework, bringing together high-level institutional, academic and industry representatives, including Fabio Colasanti, Director General of the Information Society and Media Directorate General of the European Commission. The CEO Summit meeting "Beyond Broadband - Policy Challenges for the Global Telecom Industry" will see the participation of Viviane Reding - EU Commissioner for Information Society and Media - and Kevin Martin - Chairman of the US Federal Communication Committee - together with 24 CEOs from the worldwide leading ICT companies. The Summit aims at facing the challenges ahead for the ICT sector at global level and at discussing future policy goals to grant the development of Next Generation broadband Networks.

• Deadline for abstract submission: 31st October 2008
• Notification of the acceptance of abstracts: 1st December 2008
• Deadline for authors´ delivery of paper in order to be included in the printed programme and the proceedings: 1st February 2009
• Conference "The Good, the Bad and the Challenging": 13th-15th May 2009

All papers will be published in CD-ROM and printed proceedings volumes. A selection of papers will be considered for a series of books.

"The Good, the Bad and the Challenging. The user and the future of information and communication technologies" in Copenhagen, May 13th through 15th, 2009 organised by the COST Action 298 "Participation in the Broadband Society" is still open! Contributions on a broad variety of social aspects of information and communication technologies (ICTs) are welcome. Abstracts may be submitted until 15 October 2008, and should be posted via the conference website, where you will also find more information on the the programme, the different strands and other details of the conference: http://conference2009.cost298.org/

The important dates for contributors are, at a glance:

- Deadline for abstract submission: 15th October 2008

- Notification of the acceptance of abstracts: 1st December 2008

- Deadline for authors´ delivery of paper in order to be included in the printed programme and the proceedings: 1st February 2009

- Conference: 13th-15th May 2009

The abstracts can cover a range of contributions such as empirical studies, literature reviews, theoretical discussions, etc. But in all cases authors should provide background information relating to the topic, the actual question being addressed, methodology if appropriate and indicate main findings, arguments or conclusions. All papers will be published in CD-ROM and printed proceedings volumes. A selection of papers will be considered for a series of books.

Best wishes.

Bartolomeo Sapio

Conference Chair

Conference website: http://conference2009.cost298.org

Broadband Internet for all Europeans: Commission launches debate on future of universal service

(25 September 2008)How can the EU achieve that all Europeans - from the North of Finland to the South of Italy, from the Western Ireland to Eastern Romania - have access to broadband Internet? This is the main question raised in a Commission report today. From 2003-2007 broadband use in the EU tripled to 36% of households. However, 7% of the EU's population are still not connected (30% in rural areas). There are striking gaps in the EU: 100% of the population is covered in Denmark, Luxembourg and Belgium, but more than 60% in Romania (75% in rural areas) do not have broadband access. Even in strong economies such as Italy and Germany, 18% and 12% respectively of the rural population are not covered. With broadband increasingly important in daily life, policy tools like radio spectrum management and mobile satellite services should accompany a broad debate about the universal service in telecoms - a safety net guaranteeing a minimum level of services, such as connection to a phone network and basic Internet access, filling basic needs that the market does not.

See also: The Commission's 2008 Report on the Scope of the Universal Service in Telecoms: Frequently Asked Questions

CFP - Higher Education in Second Life

HIGHER EDUCATION IN SECOND LIFE (Information Age Publishing, Charlotte, North Carolina)

Editors, Charles Wankel, St. John's University, New

York; and Jan Kingsley, Kingsley International,

Final date for initial submissions: November 1, 2008

Date of publication: September 2009

There are many virtual worlds currently available or under development, but Second Life (SL) is the one that is best known and most widely used by the educational and academic community. Many educators have adopted SL as the platform of choice for developing educational activities in many disciplines. The concept of the book is be create a forum for sharing by administrators and educators of experiences and assessments of current and projected uses of the platform. Chapter proposals are solicited on that. Topics might include the implications of VWs for the education industry in general, and the adult education industry in particular? How do companies, universities and colleges use VWs? What are the specific advantages of SL for higher education over other VWs? What are the challenges facing educators in the use of SL? What resources are required to ensure effective use of the platform? What legal issues exist and how should organizations deal with these? What are the ethical guidelines required for educators and their students? How does the use of VWs influence relationships within an educational setting? How can students best be engaged? How will VW technology develop, and what are the implications for educators?

Your chapter proposal ideally should be at approximately 600 words. Additionally, you should include a brief bio for each of the coauthors of your chapter, with an emphasis on related publications and/or presentations.

Please email all submissions to both Charles Wankel wankelc@stjohns.edu and Jan Kingsley Jan@kingsleyinternational.com

Charles Wankel, Ph.D.

Associate Professor of Management

St. John's University, New York

wankelc@stjohns.edu

http://facpub.stjohns.edu/~wankelc

908-334-7792

and

Jan Kingsley, MA MBA

Kingsley International

Jan@kingsleyinternational.com

Time is running short to join the high-profile roster of speakers at the 2009 Mobile World Congress! The call for papers deadline has been extended until Friday, 19 September 2008, allowing you extra time to submit your company’s ideas. Submit your entry now and help shape the future of the industry!

Speakers will be heard by more than 8,000 delegates alongside high-level executives from more than 190 nations. Some of the timely and pertinent issues to be discussed at the 2009 Mobile World Congress include:

Convergence Devices Security and Protection M-Government Green: Building Sustainable Business Open Source

Location Services Segmentation and Branding Pricing Models Messaging Network Evolution Enterprise Health

Mobile 2.0 M-Finance Mobile Advertising Mobile Entertainment Business and Operational Support Systems

The 2009 Mobile World Congress is THE meeting place for the industry - and the time to put forward your ideas is now! Submit your proposal now and share your message with a global audience.

Speakers who have previously shared their insights and expertise include:

• Wang Jianzhou, Chairman and CEO, China Mobile
• Arun Sarin, Chief Executive, Vodafone
• Masao Nakamura, President and CEO, NTT DOCOMO
• Ralph de la Vega, President and CEO, AT&T Mobility
• Masayoshi Son, Chairman and CEO, Softbank
• Carl-Henric Svanberg, President and CEO, Ericsson
• Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo, President and CEO, Nokia
• Steve Ballmer, CEO, Microsoft Corporation
• Iqbal Quadir, Founder of Grameenphone
• Jean-François Cecillon, CEO, EMI International
• Edgar Bronfman Jr., Chairman and CEO, Warner Music Group

Submit your speaker and topic proposal by Friday, 19 September 2008 for your chance to share your ideas at the 2009 Mobile World Congress and influence the future of the mobile industry!

To make your submission, visit mobileworldcongress.com/cfp

For more information, send us an e-mail:

speakers@mobileworldcongress.com