Category: Event (Page 1 of 2)

IEEE Tensymp 2016

2016-06-18 / Kuncoro Wastuwibowo / 0 Comments

The 2016 IEEE Region 10 Annual Symposium (TENSYMP 2016) has been carried out in Sanur Paradise Plaza, Bali Island, Indonesia, in 9–11 May 2016. TENSYMP is the second flagship conference belongs to the IEEE Region 10. But TENSYMP is relatively new: this event was only the fourth TENSYMP. The aim is to serve IEEE contribution to the development, progress and welfare of countries in the Asia-Pacific region by disseminating technological knowledge and experience.

There were almost 213 papers submitted to the conference this year, of which only 96 papers were accepted, and 72 were presented in this conference. So, acceptance rate was 45%, and attendance rate was 75%. The conference was opened by IEEE Region 10 Director, Ramakrishna Kappagantu, accompanied among others by:

Satriyo Dharmanto, IEEE Indonesia Section Chair
Dr. Ford Lumban Gaol, IEEE TENSYMP 2016 General Co-Chair
Kuncoro Wastuwibowo, IEEE TENSYMP 2016 General Co-Chair
Prof. Gamantyo Hendrantoro, IEEE TENSYMP 2016 TPC Chair
Dr. Basuki Yusuf Iskandar, Head of Research & HR Development of the Indonesian Ministry of ICT

The topics for TENSYMP 2016 were selected by considering the position of Asia Pacific area as de facto centre for the ICT research, development, and industry. Digital devices, services and applications proliferate in unprecedented growth; but only a small number will become success stories. The others, despite their idealistic technical plan, will succumb the poor access to technology, market, community, or investment. It is the duty of the IEEE Region 10 as a community to arrange a coherence among those technologies, infrastructures, and business opportunities, to accelerate our common growth toward a digital society. Other big challenges are to develop and deploy our technology in meaningful ways – in real applications to enhance the value of human life. This is the expectation to choose the topic of TENSYMP 2016: Smart Computing, Communications, and Informatics of the Future. While we carry out deeper researches on those smart services and platforms; we keep in mind that our works are to enhance the quality of life.

On the Opening Speech, IEEE Region 10 Director Ramakrishna Kappagantu mentioned that with TENSYMP, IEEE Region 10 aims:

To provide a prestigious international forum for specialist presentations and interactions in one or more areas of Electrical, Electronics, Computer and Information technology through papers, exhibitions, plenary talk, tutorials, and other activities;
To contribute to the development, progress and welfare of countries in the Asia-Pacific region by disseminating technological knowledge and experience.
To encourage the study and discussion of technology and technological applications in a broad social, political and human context;
To polish and boost the interpersonal and professional skills of volunteers with the guidance of leaders and the renowned personalities in the respective field of Engineering & Technology.

The conference presented five prominent keynote speakers:

Prof. Kukjin Chun: Microelectromechanical Systems Technology Development.
Prof. Benjamin Wah: Consistent Synchronization Of Action Order with Least Noticeable Delays Ini MultiPlayer Online Games
Prof. Rod van Meter: Analyzing Applications for Quantum Repeater Network
Prof. Soegijarjo Soegidjoko, Biomedical Engineering Advances for a Better Life in Developed & Developing Countries
Dr. Basuki Yusuf Iskandar

The conference also presented 7 tutorial sessions, presenting tutorial speakers from spreading countries in Asia Pacific Region.

There was a Gala Dinner session on the first night of the conference, attended by all participants of the conference, and also by Prof Kukjin Chun as the Director-Elect of IEEE Region 10.

Other programs related to IEEE TENSYMP 2016 were, among others:

IEEE Region 10 Young Professional Gathering
IEEE Region 10 Women in Engineering Sharing Session
IEEE Region 10 Education Activities Sharing Session
IEEE TENSYMP 2016 Industry Forum

Bali: APCC 2013

2013-09-03 / Kuncoro Wastuwibowo / 1 Comment

Alhamdulillah, we have finished APCC 2013. Just like TALE 2013 was somehow related to CYBERNETICSCOM 2012; then APCC 2013 was like a continuation of COMNETSAT 2012, when Prof. Byeong Gi Lee suggested the IEEE Comsoc Indonesia Chapter to host the APCC. This suggestion brought us to attend APCC 2012 in Jeju Island, where we won the bid to host the 2013 APCC. It was followed by a series of activities, including event organising and paper management. The IEEE Comsoc Indonesia Chapter appointed Dr. Wiseto Agung, an avid scientist an researcher from Telkom Indonesia, as the General Chair of the conference. Another strategic step taken is to arrange a partnership with ITTelkom (now the University of Telkom) as a co-organiser on both the technical issue and event organising. Originally, the number of submitted papers raised very-very slowly. A bit stressed, indeed. But a few days before the deadline, hundreds of paper came through the EDAS. From all over the world, those most educated human beings still chose to wait until the final second before submitting their papers. We collected a total of 309 papers. The Technical Program Committee was chaired by Dr Arifin Nugroho, with some vice chairs. The most active TPC vice chair was Dr. Rina Puji Astuti. Meanwhile I held the position of Chair at IEEE Indonesia Section, so I must share my resources (time etc) with many other IEEE activities. The Comsoc Chapter Chair (Satriyo Dharmanto) and the Past Chairs (Muhammad Ary Murti, Arief Hamdani) continued the struggle to succeed APCC 2013. With strict selection process, APCC 2013 passed only 163 papers (53 % of total incoming paper).

APCC, Asia – Pacific Conference on Communications, is a very prestigious regional conference in Asia Pacific, which is the region with the highest growth in the world of ICT technology. APCC is supported by the IEEE Communications Society, the KICS in Korea, the IEICE Communications Society in Japan, and the CIC in China. The names of the APCC Steering Committee members are also thrilling: the great figures who pioneered the world of ICT. APCC was first held in 1993 in Taejon, Korea. This year, the 19th APCC was held at the Bali Dynasty Resort in Kuta Beach, 29 to 31 August 2013. I had been in Bali since August 26 to attend TALE 2013. The other APCC organisers, from the IEEE Comsoc Indonesia Chapter, University of Telkom, and University of Udayana, has started preparing the event on 28 August.

Thursday, 29 August, the APCC 2013 was opened. With a lot of technical sponsors, some representatives had to deliver short speeches at that opening ceremony. But each one took only about 5 minutes. Opening speeches were delivered by Dr. Wiseto Agung (GC APCC 2013), Satriyo Dharmanto (Chair , IEEE Indonesia Comsoc Chapter), Dr. Ali Muayyadi (Telkom University representative), Prof. Zhen Yang (Chair of APCC Steering Committee; Chair of the CIC), Dr. Yoshihiro Ishikawa (Chair, IEICE Communications Society), Prof. You- Ze Cho (Vice Chair , KICS), and yours truly (Chair, IEEE Indonesia Section). IEEE Indonesia Section itself represented the IEEE as the technical activity endorser.

My speech just simply mentioned that Asia Pacific has great significance in the development of ICT. Besides the fact that this area is the center of the most competitive ICT industry, the residents are also among the most adaptive in embracing digital lifestyle in the new culture. Our cultural richness has supported the development of communication technologies, with the ability to understand and support the highly contextual interaction and communications. But the social problems in the region is also alarming. We open access to information technology, but we encourage consumerism. We facilitate the preservation of nature, but we also increase pollution. We help creating new jobs, but we also accelerate urbanisation. The engineers need to design and develop technologies that will address the various issues of humanity and the life of human being. And it was in this social context, that we chose this theme for APCC 2013: Smart Communications to Enhance the Quality of Life .

Keynote speeches were delivered successively by Prof. Byeong Gi Lee (Past President, IEEE Communications Society; Past President, KICS), Prof. Adnan Al-Anbuky (Director of Sensor Network and Smart Environment (SENSE) Research Lab, School of Engineering Auckland University of Technology, Auckland New Zealand), Mr. Indra Utoyo (CISP, Telkom Indonesia; Chairman, MIKTI), and Mr. Ichiro Inoue (Network Systems Planning & Innovation Project, NTT).

The next activities were typical for any international technical conference. Special speech sessions, tutorial sessions, parallel presentation sessions, poster sessions, etc. In the tutorial session, I chose to avoid mainstream discussions of mobile network etc, and chose instead the sensor network as one of the elements for the Internet of Things (IoT). The tutors happened to be a pair of professors from Coventry University. This is a modern university (compared to classical universities) that gained a lot of appreciation and awards everywhere this year. Another regular event was the Gala Dinner, with its semi-formal atmosphere, but also with its permission for a laugh-out-loud sessions. Here the Paper Awards were also presented by the APCC Steering Committee .

The last day, I spent my time to visit the poster sessions. Out of curiosity, I seriously talked to all presenters about the posters presented. It was a way to learn new things while expanding networks. Conversations in the poster session could be deeper and more interesting than the presentation session where time is very limited.

I recognised that it was a hard work for the organisers. In the review session on Saturday afternoon, I said that even though the organisers in any events always feel that there are a lot of unforgivable shortcomings, but the APCC Steering Committee and the participants, had personally conveyed their appreciations and positive feedbacks. Good job! The IEEE, Unitel, Udayana University, and all. Great job! This year there will be many other events of the IEEE Indonesia Section. Hopefully all will provide supports as it was for the APCC 🙂 . Thanks, all.

Chiang Mai: Region 10 Annual Meeting

2013-03-09 / Kuncoro Wastuwibowo / 0 Comments

IEEE Region 10 Meeting this year was held in Chiang Mai. This is an annual event, and formerly held in the city of Lapu Lapu, Yogyakarta, and Kolkatta. Besides all the Section Chairs in Asia Pacific, and the Officers of IEEE Region 10, also attended some VP of IEEE HQ. I recognised some familiar faces was, especially from the previous meetings in Lapu Lapu and Yogya. But none of the IEEE Presidents was present. But it’s OK. I’ve already meet Prof Peter Staecker, the Prisident, the previous weekend in Tanjung Benoa.

This year, the IEEE Indonesia Section received a special invitation to obtain the 25 Years Banner. When the invitation was received, M Ary Murti, who was serving as the Section Chair decided to invite all the previous section chairs to present in Chiang Mai. And all the former chairs agreed to attend. Later, the leadership was handed over from Ary to me (via election, certainly). So this time, I was the primary delegation of Indonesia, and the former chairs be the secondary delegations.

The flights we used were Garuda Indonesia for Jakarta – Bangkok, and Thai Airways to Bangkok – Chiang Mai, on March 1. We landed in Chiang Mai at night, and went straightly to Le Méridien. The meeting would began on Saturday morning, March 2, 2013.

IEEE formal meetings use the protocol called “Robert’s Roles of Order” that is used in some parliaments. This is an interesting protocol, which facilitates shared decision-making more effectively. On the first day, Region 10 evaluated the Budget 2012, proposed the Strategic Planning, and displayed the work plans of the units, as well as support from HQ and Region 10 to Sections. We also learnt best practices from the various Section and other task units. The activities of Women in Engineering (WiE), students, and GOLD (Graduated on Last Decade) were highlighted. Some incentives were also offered to enable the specific activities in the Section.

Later that evening, a gala dinner was held. At this dinner, presented a variety of awards, to the most active section, most active small section, best volunteer, and others. The banner of “25 Years Anniversary” was also handed over to Indonesia Section at this event. Ralph M Ford (VP MGA) handed the banner to me as Indonesia Section Chair, and we handed it to all of the previous chairs of the Indonesia Section. I asked Dr Wahidin Wahab to give a brief remark. Mr. Wahab presented a bit about the history of Indonesia Section and some gratitudes to those who helped the development of Indonesia Section.

The second day was started with a petition to award Prof Marzuki, a leader in Region 10 who passed away last year due to a long illness. In the midst of the pain, he did not stop doing organisational dan professional tasks, including supporting many activities for the Indonesia Section. Indonesia Section specifically stated a grief at the previous night. Then reviewed the Budget Plan for 2013, the report of Tencon 2012, and plan of Tencon 2013, and R10 Congress 2013 (Hyderabad).

I talked briefly to the Region 10 Director, the always joyous Prof. Toshio Fukuda; invited him to be the Keynote Speaker of the IEEE Cyberneticscom in Yogyakarta later this year. He confirmed.

Then presented the information and policy on the administration of Section and units under it. There were some new things, and some important repetitions. The meetings were closed after midday. After that, a brief tour around Chiang Mai.

Singapore: Carrier Ethernet 2011

2011-12-14 / Kuncoro Wastuwibowo / 0 Comments

Tori Bennett and Ingerid Sørgaard, the EO of Carrier Ethernet World Forum I attended last year in Hong Kong, contacted me in the middle of this year, asked me to join the annual event this December, to perform the similar rituals similar like in Hong Kong last year. This year, the conference took place at Resorts World Sentosa, Singapore. I thought that at the end of the year I would have enough spare time, so I agreed. But this November I was again too busy with requests in the office, plus the preparation of Indigo Fellowship 2011 and the IEEE Tencon 2011, plus others. The result was like a déjà vu of Hong Kong.

But at last I landed in Singapore on the first evening of December. The weather was still fresh, sprinkled with spotty rain, with scattered clouds in the sky. Disregard the proposal of the conference organisers, I chose to stay at Porcelain Hotel, on Mosque Street, around Chinatown. I am indeed nosy: always try to find a different atmosphere each time I visit this small island. This time I got the right choice: Porcelain is a small hotel but fresh and comfortable. And with the MRT, I was just about 10-15 minutes only from Resort World Sentosa.

This conference series discusses the Carrier Ethernet, which is the backbone, regional, and access network to deliver information in high-speed packets. In the backbone network, CE is implemented with DWDM with tera routers. Regional networks are developed using Metro Ethernet as aggregator that is connected via DWDM or SDH. And the access networks are deployed using various schemes of optimised GPON FTTX with MSAN and XDSL. Various schemes of networks architecture and design optimisation will require interconnection and interlayer supports among network, service, and applications. This is the theme I presented at this conference, titled Service-Optimised Broadband Internet Technologies.

My presentation was scheduled on the second day, 2 December at 12:55, just before lunch & networking time. The presentation began with a general view about Indonesia and how the public consumes information here. Then I jumped into the development of tera routers and metro ethernet by Telkom Indonesia, and then also its broadband access network. IPTV is also presented, emphasized to the usage of metro ethernet, GPON, and MSAN/XDLS in its network. For the upper layer, I described how the network planning would be linked to service development, that are expected to grow through a new partnership, incubation, and community-generated applications (Internet 2.0). Here the schemes of IMS and SDP are discussed. We intend to set up future products and business models that are personalised and customisable, integrated with the network, and easily commercialised to market (as opposed to the current expectation of startups for advertising or acquisitions only).

This year, I was not the only speaker from Indonesia. There were two other speakers: Mr. Ahmad Rosadi Djarkasih, who presented Enabling Cloud Services to the Enterprise; and Ms. Candra Agnesia Sulyani (aka Mrs. Djarkasih), who presented Driving Profitability in Carrier Ethernet Services for Business the previous day. Unlike last year, this year I refused Ingerid’s request to speak at the panel session. But during the break session (a.k.a. networking session) I talked quite a lot to some of the participants of the conference, discussing the interesting things we had presented, and also discussed the opportunities for them to enter Indonesia IT industry.

After the conference finished, I wandered to Somerset, to visit my favorite bookstore: Harris Bookshop. I knew this unique bookstore last year by accident. I used to visit HMV at Orchard to hunt music CDs that were not easily found in Jakarta. But then HMV moved to Somerset in 2010. And next to HMV, I found Harris: a bookstore with a niche segment. Even for a fans of eBooks like me, who could easily enter Kinokuniya without buying any books (other than buying eBooks even more via the Kindle), Harris is always tempting and enchanting.

The next Carriet Ethernet World Forum will be carried out next year in Hong Kong. Again. I don’t know whether I will be invited. But, with or without me, I suggest you, professional Internet network and service providers, to attend the event next year in Hong Kong.

Tencon 2011 in Bali

2011-11-24 / Kuncoro Wastuwibowo / 1 Comment

Last week, Indonesia hosted some regional events: SEA Games, ASEAN Blogger Conference, ASEAN Summit. These days, the IEEE Region 10 (Asia Pacific) carries out its official annual conference IEEE TENCON on Sanur Beach, Bali. This conference has been prepared since a couple years ago, starting by submitting the proposal from Indonesia to the IEEE Region 10, bidding, recording in the IEEE, and the processes that include the calls for papers, paper reviews, event planning, and event organising. The whole process has involved senior academics in various parts of the earth. The event is organised by the IEEE Indonesia Section and University of Indonesia. Two IEEE society chapters are also involved as technical sponsors: the Comsoc Chapter and the MTT / AP Joint Chapter. Since the event is held Denpasar, Udayana University sends some volunteers to support the conference. Busy days :).

I jumped from Jakarta to Denpasar last Sunday. I saw the valley in the vicinity of Mount Ijen, Bali Strait, 10 minutes southwest coast of sunny, clear, sloping, sandy white, soft, and wavy beaches, and then finally the Ngurah Rai airport. Apparently ASEAN Summit still left some activities, so we had to revolve around Bali’s southeast coast for 40 minutes before landing. Then travel overland to Sanur Beach: Inna Bali Beach Hotel.

Unlike 2009, this year I can not seem up to enjoy the magnificent nature and culture of Bali. Representing IEEE Comsoc Indonesia Chapter, I had to prepare a tutorial session, then assist the event organising. Even today! 🙂

The tutorial was held on Monday, November 21 at 10:00 sharp. Prof Dadang Gunawan opened the session; then I took over to deliver a lecture on Digital TV and IPTV. My presentation focused on the network architecture, standards, how-it-works, services and content, and to the issues of convergence. Quite a lot, considering the time the tutorial was quite long. The next tutorial session was then filled by Mr Satrio Dharmanto Ms Agnes Irwanti, with emphasis on migration into DigitalTV.

The conference was officially commenced on 22 November. As the organising chair, Dr. Wahidin Wahab open the conference with his typical fun and exciting speech. The plenary session was then filled by four keynote speakers, with two moderated by Mr. Arnold Djiwatampu (himself the general chair of the event), and two by me.

The theme of the keynote speakers were very interesting. Prof. Nurul Sarkar discussed a breakthrough in engineering education strategies. Prof. Ke Wu explored IC Substrate (SICS) that are applied for future electronics and photonics in GHz and THz scale. Prof. Rinaldy Damini detailed energy scenarios taken by various countries after the Fukushima nuclear disaster. And Prof. Jong-Hwan Kim explained and demonstrated the robot-that-thinks (RTT). More than that implied by the titles, each presentation provided interesting inspirations. Prof. Ke Wu, for example, explained by pictures the history of waveguides: metals, coax, intrachip waveguide, etc. Meanwhile, Prof. Kim, who is also called the Father of Robot Football, explained the philosophical level of how the minds are recomposed by contextual info, fuzzy logic, and social intelligence.

After the photo session, the conference was splitted into seven rooms, each with its specific focus. I chose Room 5, which is focusing on the architecture, traffic, and other aspects of the wireline and wireless networks. In Room 5, dozens of papers are presented in several sessions from Tuesday to Thursday (today). Each presentation sets out in 20 minutes, followed by questions and answers. The theme is no longer a matter of philosophy or research direction, but instead the details of research results. The presenters are researchers, engineers, geeks, etc, so you can imagine how their presentations are. Just totally like me 😀

There was a dinner session, for networking while observing a small part of Balinese culture. There were a couple minutes (only) to walk to the Sanur beach not far from the hotel. But the rest are continuous controlling on the event.

Hopefully IEEE Tencon will result well, improving the good reputation for Indonesia that is capable to organise an international academic event almost with no sponsor, improving the interests for the Indonesian academics and engineers to consistently do the researches, and transforming Indonesia to be a respected technology innovation and development country.

The next Tencon will be carried out in Cebu and Mactan islands in the central part of the Philippines. See you next year in Lapu-Lapu city!

IEEE Day in Jakarta

2011-10-07 / Kuncoro Wastuwibowo / 0 Comments

Since 2010, the IEEE celebrates its own IEEE Day in October. This year the celebration day is on October 6th 2011. So this week we planned, arranged, and carried out the event titled IEEE Day Lectures on LTE Development. The organisers are the IEEE Indonesia Section and the IEEE Comsoc Indonesia Chapter, supported by IEEE Student Branch University of Indonesia and IEEE Student Branch Telkom Institute of Technology.

The venue was at @America. @America is a public room owned and managed by the US Embassy in Jakarta. Located in a business centre just in the centre of Jakarta, it is a high-technology cultural centre where people can explore, experience, and express their interests in fresh and exciting ways. In its physical and virtual spaces, the visitors can experience cool and cutting-edge technology, interactive games, and live events designed to generate interest and create communities.

Since my chairmanship at Comsoc Chapter, we have carried out a series of lectures, seminars, and technical meetings discussing the aspects of 4G Mobile Networks. This year, some network providers have started to implement some of the technologies discussed. The IEEE Day Lectures was to open the discussion of current implementation of technologies related to 4G Mobile in Indonesia. It would start a series of discussion about many aspects, including the LTE Deployement, WiMAX positioning, IPTV implementation over 4G, cognitive radio, policies on spectrum, context-aware applications, etc.

The IEEE Day Lectures itself presented the speakers:

Kuncoro Wastuwibowo, Introduction to IEEE, and 4G Mobile Technology
Anto Sihombing, Digital Video Broadcast over LTE Network
Hazim Ahmadi, Lesson Learnt from LTE Trial in Indonesia
Arief Hamdani Gunawan, Regulatory and Industry Aspects of LTE

The attendance number is about 50. Attendees include those who come from universities, government, operators, consultants, and other parties who have interests in LTE and its implementation. Thank you for @America, for the IEEE volunteers, the attendees, and the speakers. We have celebrate the IEEE Day quite successfully!

Kyoto: Comsoc AP-RCCC

2011-06-19 / Kuncoro Wastuwibowo / 4 Comments

This year the IEEE carried out the annual ICC conference in Kyoto, Japan. As usual, this greatest infocomm conference is accompanied by a couple of technical and organizational meetings, held by the IEEE or IEEE Comsoc. Representing the IEEE Comsoc Indonesia Chapter, I had to be present in Comsoc AP-RCCC. I got the invitation on April, so I had enough time to renew my passport, prepared the visa, airline tickets, hotels, etc. However, these are also the busiest month here at Multimedia Division of Telkom. I could not find enough spare time to relearn hiragana, katakana, kanji, and basic Japanese expressions, or to prepare the social visits.

I got the most affordable airline. It took me from Jakarta to Tokyo via Kualalumpur, and landed at Haneda Airport around midnight. I took the first Shinkanzen super-express train from Shinagawa to Kyoto. I reached Kyoto on June 8th at 9 o’clock. After reporting my attendance to the organiser, I took a couple hours to explore Kyoto.

ICC and the other meetings were held at KICC, a quite vast resort in north-east end of Kyoto. Apparently this place is well prepared to carried out international scale conferences and summits. I did not attend any ICC sessions more than some workshop sessions. But the AP-RCCC I attended was held in the same place.

Last March we had conducted the IEEE Region 10 Meeting in Yogyakarta, which was the highest annual organizational meeting of the IEEE in the Asia Pacific region. IEEE Comsoc AP-RCCC is the annual organizational conference of the IEEE Communications Society in the region. Focusing on the issues in Asia Pacific region, the meeting was attended by President of the IEEE Communications Society, the VPs and directors, a representative of both North America and South America, and the chairmen or other representatives of the Asia-Pacific Comsoc chapters.

Comsoc President, Byeong Gi Lee, keynoted by describing the current challenges in the field of communications field. The convergence has been passing some stages in the digital information, and now we are in the middle of the convergence of digital services and management. The convergence is not just among the fields of communications and computing, but extends also to consumer electronics, media, and other areas. Comsoc has anticipated this with various approaches: educational approach and content, industrial approach, and the standardization approach. This is also trailed by restructuring the organization of IEEE Comsoc. Various aspects relating to further convergence has sparked fairly interesting discussions.

Then, some VPs and directors presented some reports and guidances. And each chapters presented their reports, plan activities, and other things. The first chapter to deliver the report is Indonesia. From Indonesia, I delivered a report, exploring the chapter’s activities that are still focused on technical and organizational campaigns, including our supports in the formation of the first four IEEE student branches in Indonesia, serial roadshows, and other approaches. Our plan ahead includes the preparation of a larger conference (more than the current form of thematic seminars or lecturing). However, it would require assistance and support from the Region 10 and neighbouring chapters. Also presented are the preparation of TENCON in Bali in November 2011, and our request for distinguished lecturer & distinguished speakers on recent progress in the field of infocomm. Some officers expressed their support for IEEE Comsoc activities in Indonesia.

After the conference, I returned to the Kyoto centre by the MRT with Prof. Hsiao-Hwa Chen of IEEE Comsoc Tainan Chapter. I know this gentlemen even before the conference. Last year we made some correspondence to arrange a seminar in Singapore. But in MRT, he showed his other side: an avid culture observer. After talking about chapter management and infocom platform management, we spent the time to talk about the history of Japan, Kyoto, etc. He suggested me to spend more days to explore Japanese cities and cultural centres.

So the next day I spent my time to pay a visit to historic areas: Nara (the first capital of Japan as an emerging imperial), Kyoto (the capital of Japanese Imperial for 1000 years), before finally returned to Tokyo (the capital of Japan since the Meiji Restoration). In Kyoto, I got the opportunity to visit the Imperial Palace for about 1 hour. An excellent palace, I must admit. Also I visited Tokugawa shogunate palace.

I know I should now spend more time to report my cultural journeys. Indeed I have written them in my travelling blog, koen.cc, but only in Indonesian. I guess I will someday translate them and put them here.

Yogya: IEEE Region 10 Annual Meeting

2011-03-14 / Kuncoro Wastuwibowo / 0 Comments

Apparently, our campaign last year (in Lapu-Lapu City, Philippines) in proposing Yogyakarta as the host of IEEE Region 10 Annual General Meeting this year, had been a success. So, last week (March 5th – 6th), Indonesia hosted the Region 10 AGM, with a venue in Sheraton Hotel, Yogyakarta, only some kilometres from the peak of Mt Merapi, that suddenly flew the hot lava those days :).

This annual meeting presented the President-Elect of the IEEE, Gordon Day; Director of Region 10, Lawrence Wong; the leaders of divisions, councils, sections, and chapters, and other representatives from almost all countries in Asia Pacific, including Indonesia. Indonesia representatives were led by IEEE Indonesia Section Chair, Muhammad Ary Murti. I myself represented the IEEE Comsoc Indonesia Chapter.

The meeting was held in accordance with Robert’s Rules of Order, which is widely used in the parliaments of many countries. Chairman Lawrence Wong commenced the meeting with a Call to Order, followed by Roll Call and some reports. Was interesting to see that the sequence of these activities can be done on time by the minute. Regardless of their position, all presenters could give only a 5-10 minute presentation. In his report, Gordon Day recalled the transformation that is still continuing within the IEEE. Expanding from the world of electrical engineering, IEEE now includes the fields of aeronautical, biomedical, electrical, electronic, computer, information technology, mathematics, physics, telecommunication, automotive and biological engineering. The number of members has reached 407 thousand. However, this number is only less than 10% of the engineers working in the fields of the IEEE. In the US, only 7.5% engineers in these fields are members of the IEEE. In Indonesia, only 0.5%.
Using a new tagline advancing technology for humanity, the approaches taken by IEEE are to strengthen the organisation to serve the new generations of engineers, particularly in new fields that will further improve the human life. IEEE is also directed to become more global, embracing the technological widespread throughout the world, and enhance its role and leadership. Economic, social, and cultural changes that are happening more quickly at this moment motivate the organisation to strategically improve the use of technology to support a better human life, individually and socially. The engineers must always be reminded that they still have a professional responsibility to support better life in the following centuries. Lawrence Wong continued by showing the uniqueness of the Asia Pacific region: this is the region with the largest number of members in the IEEE, and with the highest growth, especially among students and young engineers. This reflects the characteristics of this region which is the world’s most dynamic area of technology. What to do in this region is to increase the synergy between regions, especially with the Internet.

VP of MGA Howard E. Michel detailed that rather than taking care of membership, the IEEE will put more focus on its members: how to Inspire, Enable, Empower and Engage the members of the IEEE. One example is to use the IEEE Center for Leadership Excellence (CLE) to build members’ leadership. VP of Educational Activities Tariq Durrani explained several initiatives to develop engineering education before the university stage, for example with TISP, TryNano, TryEngineering, as well as other approaches such as accreditation, certification, WiE (women in engineering), etc. The meeting also discussed the report TENCON 2010 in Fukuoka, TENCON 2011 that will be held this year in Sanur (presented by TENCON 2011 Chairman Dr Wahidin Wahab), and TENCON 2012 plan in Cebu. And … hmm … many many more :).

The participants, which reached around 150 people, were also invited to visit Prambanan Temple and Yogyakarta Sultan’s Palace (Kraton), to understand deeper the local culture. Dinner was also served in the Sultan’s Palace. In addition, some participants independently took visits to other interesting places, such as Borobudur Temple, and Malioboro Street. Yogyakarta was really successful as a host to the IEEE Asia Pacific. Thank you, Yogya:)

Prof Gordon Day’s note about this meeting

Hongkong: Carrier Ethernet World

2010-12-04 / Kuncoro Wastuwibowo / 3 Comments

This week I got a request to give another presentation at an international forum. The event was titled Carrier Ethernet World, which is the official conference of the Metro Ethernet Forum. It took place in Hong Kong from 1-3 December 2010.

Carrier Ethernet is a family of network technology, developed for telecommunication operators and Internet providers to transport higher bandwidth traffic. Since the network convergence implemented more than 10 years ago, various information networks (telephony, data communication, media and TV) have switched to IP. At the user level, Ethernet (IEEE 802.3 family of standards) has become general standard for wired communications networks. At the carrier level, it is considered more effective to deploy the networks that are high-speed packet-based; instead of the old TDM systems (such as SDH / SONET and ATM). Some examples include MPLS and CET. And beyond the core network, we should also talk about access network, the Metro Ethernet network.

The conference presents major forerunners in this technology. Its main sponsor are Juniper — which is known as an old player in the field of high-speed packet data transport, Alcatel-Lucent and Ericsson. So of course I was not expected to compete with them telling those cutting-edge technology developments.

I delivered my on the afternoon session of the First Day. It was at the stream A, which discusses innovation. My presentation was directed to discuss innovations that will support business development and the technology of Carrier Ethernet, including the regulatory side. Imagine how many layers I should dig.

I started with simple things: introducing the telematics world in Indonesia, the user-centric approach to system architecture, the comparison between the vertical architecture and the horizontal one. Since we are still in migration period, the transition between the architectures has not found the final form. Then I compare several schemes, including the SDP, and how various types of applications (network-domains, IT-domain, Internet 2.0) will be placed in it. With NGN fortified with SDP, the network is expected to be a platform not only to meet the necessity of information infrastructure, but also as the platform for developing technology, application, content, and the business in those fields. These things are aggressively growing in Indonesia. Approach to the regulator, thus, should not start from the classical things like tariffs, and the easily biased desire for liberalization; but instead about common interest to foster the economic development of the digital ecosystem, which includes innovation, production, commercialisation, and lifestyle. It would create the contexts to develop NGN with a more optimal architecture.

After my presentation, I was asked to be involved in a panel session. Here, we discussed widely about the projected necessities of innovations in the next 5 years, related to the opportunities of business development and network expansion. There were quite a lot of interests here about the ideas of Indonesia. I did not feel in vain to come to Hong Kong then :).

This was, however, my premier visit to Hong Kong. But last July I gave another presentation in 4G (Mobile) International Forum in Taipei. Enchanting that I could convey ideas in two major forums in both wired and wireless technology. Weird, wired, and wireless :). Hong Kong greeted me with a comfortable weather for walks. Hilly landscape with a fairly spectacular views, contrasted with the strait, bay, seaside, and skyscrapers. Unluckily, an unending thin fog made it difficult to take landscape photographs.

Taipei: 4G International Forum

2010-07-15 / Kuncoro Wastuwibowo / 6 Comments

Still related to 4G Mobile Technology, this month I was invited to give a presentation in the 4G International Forum, held at the Sheraton Hotel, Taipei. I found it interesting and challenging: it is a rare opportunity for me to give presentations in the official forums abroad, in a cutting-edge topic that is still a mainstream conversations in the telecommunications technology and business world.

Taiwan does not have visa-free agreement with Indonesia. So first I had to apply for the visa. Luckily, it was not a complicated process. Indeed, there is no Taiwan embassy or consulate here in Jakarta. But there is a Taiwan trade office in Artha Graha Building, where we can apply for Taiwan visa. And there, we’d find very friendly officers serving our visa process. All it requires is a letter of recommendation from the organiser, another one from the office, a document called “Kartu Keluarga” :), two photos, and a fee of about US$ 50.

I had sent my paper at the end of June. Accommodation at the Sheraton Hotel is provided by the event organiser. For transportation, initially I chose Garuda Indonesia (GIA). But presently there is no Garuda flight from Cengkareng to Taoyuan. They offered their partner airlines, though: China Airlines. However, I found their schedule did not quite fit mine. Eventually I bought online tickets at Singapore Airlines (SIA).

I departed early morning on July 11, at 4:00 o’clock from home. SIA flew me at 6:00 (all in local time), and I arrived at 8:30 at Changi. Waited a few hours in a comfortable place, then SIA flew again at 12:00, and arrived at 17:00 at Taoyuan Airport. The Forum would be held 12-13 July 2010.

Monday, July 12, the Forum began. Speakers came from universities and research institutes, developers and manufacturers (Nokia Siemens Networks, Ericsson, Alcatel Lucent, Huawei), consultancy agencies, regulators, operators, etc. I learned a lot about various aspects of 4G Mobile viewed from various sides. Fairly balanced between those discussing LTE and those choosing WiMAX, with various issues of interoperability and applications. Very enriching :). We had almost no time for a break. Coffee time and lunch time were used for networking and other conversations. If I took some time for tweeting, Mr. Tan (the organiser) would introduce me to one of the important figures (he emphasized that) to chat with. Was a real fun :). Oh, I had the time for tweeting while listening to the presentations :).

The organiser did not prepare a program for the evening. So I spent my time to visit three points in Taipei: Sun Yat Sen Memorial Hall, Taipei 101 Tower, and Chiang Kai Shek Memorial Hall. In Taipei 101, I misled myself to a bookshop (a mandatory mislead, indeed). I bought two editions of Le Petit Prince in Chinese language & letters.

Tuesday, July 13th, the forum continued. The second day was filled with a combination of presentations and panels. My turn was at 09:00 to perform my presentation, in 20 minutes. My presentation is classically titled “4G Mobile: opportunities & challenges in Indonesia” :). I began by telling the current conditions in Indonesia: how the public enthusiastically adopts the digital mobile lifestyle, proven by the rank this country get in term of Twitter, Facebook, and Opera Mini usages. Then the preparations Telkom Group has been taking for deploying 4G Mobile Network (LTE and WiMAX) through its subsidiary and divisions. Then how these issues could be matched with potentials and demands from the community developers, enthusiasts, and lifestylists (no, I did not really use such terms like these) throughout Indonesia. A bit about Indigo, IPTV, and the SDF / SDP. Then I discusses some LTE implementation model for the diverse regions and segments, with different migration models. Then to the regulation of WiMAX.

4G Mobile Opportunities & Challenges in Indonesia

After the presentation, I had to wait another 20 minutes to listen to a presentation about the implementation of 4G, WiMAX in particular, in the Philippines. Then I had to go on stage again to join the panel discussion which took about half an hour. So I finished my tasks.

Done? Apparently not. Mr Tan told me to see a Professor from PRC (I would not write his name here, he could google it). He holds a position of considerable importance, and must be escorted by several people :). A serious discussion about regulations, about the IEEE, of the other conferences, etc. Then again another discussion with an officer from Taiwan ministry. Then I had to say goodbye to Mr Tan to leave earlier. My flight was scheduled at midday, so I could not attend the conference through to completion.

About an hour later with an orange juice at Taoyuan Airport. About seven hours later with a big mug of Chai Latte at Changi Airport. About ten hours later with a cup of Earl Grey at home. The week will be continued with IPTV implementation issues :).