The TIA Board of Directors held its Spring Meeting March 2-3, 2008, in Lake Tahoe, Nev., electing two new members and confirming two for second terms. Newly elected to the Board are Michael C. Dumas, Vice President, CommData Business, Graybar; and Fred McDuffee, President and COO, Sumitomo Electric Lightwave. Charlie Fox, General Manager, Tyco, and Carlos Munoz, CEO, Cam Communications, were confirmed for their second terms as Board Members.

A highlight of the meeting was an address by Emily Nagle Green, President and CEO of the Yankee Group, who presented the Board with findings from her company’s recent research in the area of converged communications, focusing on the meaning and business opportunities of “the Evolution of Anywhere.”

TIA staff presented information on its activities and future plans in the areas of government affairs, standards, the EIATRACK online environmental product compliance database, membership recruitment, marketing initiatives and the upcoming NXTcomm show to be held June 16-19 in Las Vegas.

In government affairs, TIA’s 2008 goals include efforts to foster global broadband deployment across wireline, wireless and cable platforms; advocating advanced spectrum management; encouraging policies to enable information access for persons with disabilities; seeking allocation of additional spectrum to advance wireless services and public safety; facilitating market opportunities by promoting full, fair and open trade and competition in international markets; and ensuring that the U.S. communications sector continues to be a leader in advanced research. The Government Affairs Department also produces numerous opportunities for members to network with one another as well as to hear presentations from leaders in government and industry.

In standards and technology, TIA, which is accredited by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI), is working to increase participation in its 70 technical groups and to facilitate access to up-to-date standards information. TIA’s two newest committees, TR-48, Vehicular Telematics, and TR-49, Healthcare ICT, will meet April 9 to determine their scopes of standardization. More than 1,150 TIA standards documents are available through www.ihs.com.

The EIATRACK subscription-based Web service, recently acquired by TIA, enables companies to access up-to-date information about whether their products will meet environmental regulations in various regions around the world. More information is available at www.eiatrack.com.

TIA’s membership is open to all companies involved in the provision of communications products and services, and TIA is working to increase its visibility and ensure value through business and marketing opportunities, market intelligence, advocacy and standards development. Visit TIA’s new Web site at www.tiaonline.org for more information.

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Mark Burnett, the creator of a reality TV empire that includes Survivor, The Apprentice, Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader?, The Restaurant, The Casino, Eco-Challenge, Combat Missions, The Contender, Martha Stewart and Rockstar, and a collaborator with Steven Spielberg for the FOX Network’s On the Lot, will speak at NXTcomm08 in a keynote address on Thursday, June 19, the communications industry exhibition and conference entity has announced.  NXTcomm, the one event delivering the ecosystem of network-enabled voice, video and data, comes to the Las Vegas Convention Center June 16-19 and will co-locate with InfoComm 08, the leading audiovisual business-to-business marketplace.

“Entertainment continues to be a key driver for the communications industry, and this in turn is changing how entertainment as a product is developed, delivered, viewed and owned,” NXTcomm Executive Director Wayne Crawford said.  “By hearing Mark Burnett, the producer widely credited for introducing reality television as a genre to the United States, speak at NXTcomm08, communications and entertainment leaders can find out firsthand what new multiplatform and consumer-generated media means for business models in both industries. We look forward to having Mr. Burnett share his experiences on these challenges, as well as what it takes to stream Rockstar on MSN, his collaboration with MySpace on political contests, and what the future of entertainment content-driven voice, video and data is.”

Since 2001, Burnett has been nominated for 48 Emmy Awards and has won two. He began his career in unscripted drama when he created the adventure series and two-time Emmy Award-winning Eco-Challenge, which aired on cable from 1995 to2002. In 2000, Burnett broke into primetime network television with the hit reality series Survivor. Its debut season won two Primetime Emmys, and the series continues—airing its 16th season this summer—to earn multiple Emmy nominations. In November 2007, several news shows developed by his production company, MBP, were ordered into production, including Amne$ia and My Dad is Better than Your Dad, both at NBC, and Jingles, at CBS.  Burnett has also launched Mark Burnett Productions Asia, a joint venture with Genting International to both create new content for and adapt established formats in the Asian market.

Burnett will be joined at NXTcomm08 by AT&T Chairman and CEO Randall Stephenson, who will open the 2008 show as the featured keynote on June 17, and Verizon President and Chief Operating Officer Denny Strigl and Sprint Nextel President and Chief Executive Officer Daniel Hesse, both of whom will provide NXTcomm08 keynotes on Wednesday, June 18.  More NXTcomm08 Keynotes will be announced in the coming weeks.

NXTcomm08 is expected to draw 20,000 communications professionals from more than 100 countries and U.S. territories. NXTcomm08 will feature more than 500 exhibitors occupying 200,000 net square feet of exhibit space as well as 100 keynote addresses, sessions and conference events and coverage by more than 450 press and analysts.

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TIA will host its 9th Annual Spring Policy Summit, "Driving Communications Innovation," April 8 at the Ronald Reagan Building in downtown Washington, D.C. The all-day event is open to all TIA members and invited government guests.

Last year's summit featured contributions from FCC Commissioner Jonathan Adelstein, NTIA head John Kneuer, Meredith Broadbent of the U.S. Trade Representative's Office, House Committee on Energy and Commerce Majority Counsel Mark Seiffert and many others.

Look for agenda updates and more information in the coming weeks. Interested members should RSVP to SPS@tiaonline.org or call +1.202.346.3240 (TIA members and government guests only).

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