As with Day 1, the presentations were quite good, and gave the carriers a lot to think about in terms of things like peering, security, FMC, and municipal WiFi. I also attended a number of networking events and receptions, which seems to be the real reason why so many carriers come here.
On a local level, the highlight for me was the Wednesday session with the Intelligent Community Forum. I've only recently learned about this group, which focuses on recognizing leadership in communities/cities that are using broadband as a driver of growth and to create a better quality of life. Each year they recognize the "Smart21 Communities" around the world, and from that, they select the top 7 for further recognition.
Well, the good news is that 2 Canadian cities made the top 7 this year - Waterloo and Ottawa/Gatineau. The top 7 were announced at this session, and the press release went out today. You can read more about the ICF there, as well as what went into their thinking for each city. So way to go Waterloo, and Ottawa/Gatineau, eh!
What made the session particularly friendly for me was the presence of Mark Whaley on the panel. We've become fast friends, and Mark is a councillor for the city of Waterloo, so he came a long way for his 15 minutes, but it was worth it. He presented a short video extolling the virtues of Waterloo's high tech community, and if you're interested in seeing it, let me know. I plan to do a podcast soon with Mark to talk more about ICF, and some of the cool things that are going on in Waterloo.
It's also worth noting that Waterloo made the top 7 last year, and other Canadian cities have also made the grade in recent years, namely Toronto, Calgary, and - drum roll - Western Valley, Nova Scotia. Who knew?
Enough said. I'll finish off with some photos, again, from my Nokia N93. Still experimenting with low lighting settings, but it's getting better.
Voice Peering session, led by Hunter Newby
Mobile Trends session, w/John Melick of Voyport speaking
Intelligent Community Forum session; Mark Whaley
Muni WiFi session, w/Heather Hudson/city of San Francisco
Diamond Head - wide angle and full zoom shots from the same point
It's always better by the pool...
Wandering around the beach at night - pretty interesting light and shadow effects - or maybe it was the Blue Hawaiians I had earlier...
Wanna buy a ukelele? Already have one, but I did buy some strings...
Technorati tags: Pacific Telecom Council, Jon Arnold, Intelligent Community Forum, Hawaii
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