JAMAICA SECTION ACTIVITIES

2001



Highlights

Cellular Communications -IEEE Jamaica Forum 2001

The IEEE Jamaica Section in association with the University of Technology, Jamaica (UTECH) presented a Public forum on - Cellular Communications Expansion: Impact on Jamaica, Wednesday, 20 June 2001, 6.30 pm at Farquharson Hall Auditorium (UTech). The programme included presenters from Digicel Jamaica Ltd, and Centennial Digital (Jamaica) Ltd. Also addressing, the forum were Mrs Camella Rhone - Ministry of Industry, Commerce & Technology, and Mr Courtney Jackson - Office of Utilities and Regulation (OUR).

SoutheastCon 2001

Three members of the Jamaica Section Executive Committee, and twelve students and Lecturers from the Faculty of Engineering & Computing at The University of Technology, Jamaica attended Region 3's major conference SoutheastCon 2001, at Clemson University, South Carolina, USA, March 30 - April 1. The students participated in the major competitions at the conference and won first place in the T-Shirt category, and honours certificates in the hardware, web page, and paper sections. The UTech IEEE student chapter was revived in August 2000, and was the only student arm of the IEEE Jamaica Section.

The Regional Activities Board 2000 Section Membership Award was presented to the IEEE Jamaica Section at the conference. The award was for outstanding leadership and results in IEEE membership development activities for Region 3. IEEE Jamaica Section was selected to host SoutheastCon 2003.



Activitites-2001

January | February | March | April | May | June | July | August | September | October | November | December |

JANUARY

  • The Jamaica Section Executive Committee met at The University of Technology, Jamaica on Wednesday, 17th January to plan activities for the year 2001.

FEBRUARY

  • The main presentaion at the Wednesday, February 21, monthly meeting was given by Mr John Holland - Network & Systems Manager- Digicel Jamaica Ltd. The topic was: Overview of Digicel Jamaica Ltd & Overview of Global Systems for Mobile (GSM) Technology. The venue was Le' Meridien Jamaica Pegasus and over 30 UTech students were in attendance. The presentation was well received by IEEE members and visitors.

MARCH

  • The presentation at the Wednesday, March 21, monthly meeting was given by Mr Donovan Murry - Computers & Control (Ja) Ltd, at the New Engineering Building, at the University of Technology, Jamaica. The topic was: Network Security. The presentation included an introduction to network security, encryption, private and public key cryptosystems, digital signatures and data authentication, user authentication and access control, and VPNs.

  • Three members of the Jamaica Section Executive Committee, and students and Lecturers from the Faculty of Computing & Engineering at The University of Technology, Jamaica attended Region 3's major conference SoutheastCon 2001, at Clemson University, South Carolina, USA, March 30 - April 1. The students participated in the major competitions at the conference and won first place in the T-Shirt category, and honours certificates in the hardware, web page, and paper sections. The UTech IEEE student chapter was re-established in August 2000, and was the only student arm of the IEEE Jamaica Section.

APRIL

  • Southeastcon 2001 Excom review.

MAY

  • Mr Dessi Yetman of Cable & Wireless, Jamaica was the presenter at the Jamaica Section monthly meeting on May 16, at 7.30 pm at Le' Meridien Jamaica Pegasus. His topic was - Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line - and included:

    • EMI noise facts
    • Impedance and Attenuation facts
    • Loop Qualification/Verification
    • DSL Installation/Capacity Issues
    • Digital Services Strategies/Testing Issues
    • Migratable/Suggested DSL Packages

    The IEEE Communications Society (COMSOC) - Jamaica Chapter hosted the meeting, and the COMSOC Chair - Dennis Hartley gave an overview and update on the Jamaica Chapter activities.

    The Chairman of the Jamaica Section reported on activities at Southeastcon 2001 in South Carolina, USA and the Section's successful bid to host in collaboration with the University of Technology, Jamaica, SoutheastCon 2003. An invitation was extended to IEEE members to join the planning committee for the proposed event.

JUNE

  • The IEEE Jamaica Section in association with the University of Technology, Jamaica (UTech) presented a Public forum on - Cellular Communications Expansion: Impact on Jamaica, Wednesday, 20 June 2001, 6.30 pm at Farquharson Hall Auditorium (UTech). The programme included presenters from Digicel Jamaica Ltd, and Centennial Digital (Jamaica) Ltd. Also addressing, the forum were Mrs Camella Rhone - Ministry of Industry, Commerce & Technology, and Mr Courtney Jackson - Office of Utilities and Regulation (OUR).

    Major news from the forum was Centennial Digital's intention is to invest over US$130 million in the country's telecommunications infrastructure. This the company suggested would benefit the local economy. Speaking on the technological aspects of the proposed mobile phone service, the company's Chief Operations Officer said that the Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) technology was being employed by Centennial and would result in more efficient use of the spectrum. CDMA, he said, facilitated faster and cheaper evolution to high speed data transmission. He also noted that with the move to third generation (3G) mobile technology, the CDMA system would require no change of equipment. The new technology would enable access to e-mail, MP3, and some e-commerce via handsets and Personal Data Assistants (PDAs).

    Digicel's Chief Technical Officer Mr Don Miller spoke of the company's J$8 billion invested in Jamaica to date, as well as the adoption of the GSM technology as tangible gains. He said that the decision to introduce the Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) technology into the Jamaican market represented knowledge transfer and a recognition of local technology expertise. This also meant that training would be required continually as the country embraced revolutionary state of art mobile phone technology. GSM had some 70% of the global telephony market. It was agreed by the new service providers that consumers would benefit from competition in the industry, and improved telecommunications and wider geographical coverage would result in a new era of cellular phone service in Jamaica.

JULY

  • Mr Paul Taylor, Corporate Sales Manager - Jamaica Money Market Brokers - was the presenter at the July 18, 2001 Jamaica Section monthly meeting at Le' Meridien Jamaica Pegasus at 6:00pm. The topic of his presentation was "Money Management for Engineers".

AUGUST

  • The IEEE Communications Society - Jamaica Chapter, hosted a presentation on - Antennas and Transmission Lines - at Le' Meridien Jamaica Pegasus on Wednesday, August 15, 2001 at 6:00pm. The presenter was Mr Winston Smith - Project Manager - Cable & Wireless, Jamaica Ltd. The presentation highlighted:

    1) Selection of various antennas;

    2) Transmission lines and characteristics.

    There was also an update on activities of the Jamaica Chapter of the IEEE Communications Society, and the Jamaica Section.

SEPTEMBER

  • Postponed!!

    The IEEE Communications Society - Jamaica Chapter in association with the University of Technology, Jamaica will present the Distinguished Lecture Tour on Fourth Generation Cellular Systems & Smart Antennas, at the Engineering Conference Room (Top floor, School of Engineering), on Wednesday, September 26, 2001 at 6:00pm.The presentation will be given by Dr Jack H. Winters, Project Manager at AT & T Labs (Research).

    In this presentation there will be discussion on the evolution of high-speed data mobile wireless systems, with data rates in excess of 10Mbps. The extension of wireless local area networks using 802.11a and 802.11b, and cellular systems (WCDMA), to provide high speed ubiquitious access will be described. Smart antennas are also explained and shown as a key technology to provide the needed enhancements of range extension, interference suppression, and capacity increase. The public is invited to attend!

OCTOBER

  • Mr Trevor Shaw, Director of Surveys - Survey Department, gave a presentation on - Global Positioning Systems(GPS) - at the Jamaica Section monthly meeting on Wednesday, October 17, 2001, 6:00 pm at the Le' Meridien Jamaica Pegasus Hotel. A comprehensive overview of the history, developmnent, current and future applications of the technology was given. In attendance were several UTech IEEE student members.

NOVEMBER

  • Ms Cecille Blake - National GIS Coordinator - Ministry of Land & Environment, gave a comprehensive overview on Georgraphic Information Systems in her presentation at the Jamaica Section monthly meeting on Wednesday, November 21, 2001 at the Le' Meridien Jamaica Pegasus Hotel. The presentation included the following:

    1) A definition of GIS.
    2) Types of GIS information.
    3) Organisational benefits of GIS.
    4) GIS application areas.
    5) GIS hardware and software requirements.
    6) The national GIS vision.

    The presentation was supported by slides and a short video clip on common GIS applications.

    The Chariman of the Jamaica Section gave an update on plans for hosting SoutheastCon 2003 in Jamaica.

DECEMBER

  • The Annual General Meeting of the Jamaica Section was held Wednesday, December 12, 2001 at the Le' Meridien Jamaica Pegasus Hotel. Officers for the Jamaica Section of the Institute of Electrical & Electronics Engineers were elected for the year 2002 as follows:

    - Chairman
    - Vice Chairman
    - Secretary
    - Treasurer

    Plans for hosting SoutheastCon 2003 in Jamaica was, among other matters, discussed at the meeting.

    The annual Christmas social was planned for Tuesday, December 18, 2001 at the Devonshire Restaurant, Devon House at 8:00pm.

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