stds-802-16: venue for Session #11

["Roger B. Marks" <r.b.marks@ieee.org>]

I want to thank Naftali for graciously handling a difficult 
situation. We appreciate his offer to host and look forward to 
another chance for him to do so.

In the meantime, there are a few developments:

(1) ETSI BRAN is planning to meet in Sophia Antipolis, France on 30 
Jan - 2 Feb 2001, the week after Session #11 is scheduled. I have 
inquired as to their interest in hosting our session there. I haven't 
heard anything.

(2) I have received an indication that a company would like to host 
the session on Long Island.

(3) I have received an inquiry about hosting the session in Ottawa.

(4) The option for an unsponsored session in Boulder is still open 
(though it is less attractive than a sponsored option).

I turned down an offer from 802.15 to have us join them and 802.11 in 
Monterey on the week of January 15. There were two problems: (a) the 
loss of a week would pressure our letter ballot deadlines; (b) that 
week overlaps a technical symposium of the WCA, and I would be 
concerned with losing participants to that event.

Based on the multiple alternatives, I think that we are going to find 
this to be a tough decision that won't be as easy to make as I'd 
hoped. Unless something interesting turns up with regard to ETSI, I 
propose to postpone the decision until Session #10. Since Session #11 
is currently scheduled to start more than 10 weeks after Session #10 
ends, I think that this will be OK. I hope that the potential hosts 
will provide concrete proposals before we get to Tampa.

Roger


P.S. 802.11 and 802.15 are finalizing May 14-18 as the dates of our 
joint session in Orlando, so you can pencil in those dates for our 
Session #13. Looking out to September, where we are again considering 
a joint session, 802.11 and 802.15 are expecting to consider 
proposals to meet in Australia, Finland, and Japan.


>Dear Colleagues,
>
>Given the events of the previous weeks I agree that we need to postpone the
>meeting in Israel to better times. The time remaining does not allow to drag
>this decision any longer. It is not reasonable to convene in a place where
>people have concerns of their safety. It is disappointing to discover that
>the country I live in is less sane than I hoped.
>
>Wishing you all peace,
>
>Naftali.
>
>
>-----Original Message-----
>From: Roger B. Marks [mailto:r.b.marks@ieee.org]
>Sent: Thursday, October 12, 2000 11:28 PM
>To: stds-802-16@ieee.org
>Subject: stds-802-16: possible change of venue for Session #11
>
>
>
>802.16's Session #11 is currently planned for 22-26 January 2001 in
>Tel Aviv, Israel, with Naftali Chayat of BreezeCOM as the host.
>
>Under the current circumstances, it appears that there are risks
>associated with this venue. While we all hope that Israel is at peace
>in January, I think it is prudent to plan conservatively. My concern
>is that a number of people would pass up the meeting because of
>concerns of their own, of family members, or of company authorities.
>
>Last week, I began looking into a backup plan for Session #11. I took
>the simplest approach, calling the Regal Harvest House in Boulder,
>Colorado, USA:
>
>http://www.millennium-hotels.com/pages/regal.cfm?hotel=harvesthouse
>
>This hotel has hosted three previous 802.16 sessions (#0, #3, and
>#7.5). They have done a great job and have been easy to work with.
>It's a very nice and likable facility. At our request, they developed
>a system to accept registration fees at the front desk; this has
>worked fine. When you are running a meeting without a treasury, there
>really isn't any other way to do it.
>
>The weather is to be a problem that time of year, and the skiing
>should be fine for those who would like a side-trip. The hotel is
>less than a hour by shuttle from Denver International Airport. You
>can see more on the Session #7.5 logistics page
><http://ieee802.org/16/meetings/mtg075/logistics.html>.
>
>Although our largest previous meeting at this Hotel was for 55
>people, they can easily accommodate far more. We have always used
>their smaller downstairs rooms, but this time I requested the
>ballroom, which divides into four segments; the capacities (with
>tables) are quoted as 84 in two of the rooms and 60 in the other two.
>They also have smaller rooms available if we need them. They are
>temporarily holding meeting rooms for us.
>
>I have consulted with Naftali. Though he would be disappointed if we
>changed our plans, he says that his company has not made financial
>commitments.
>
>Although it would be nice if we could wait until Session #10 to make
>this decision, I don't think that will be practical. No matter where
>we meet, people are traveling long distances to get there, and they
>need to make advance plans. I told the Harvest House I'd get back to
>them in the middle of next week.
>
>While I'd love to visit Israel, I think that we should go ahead and
>change our plans, postponing a meeting there until a more opportune
>moment. I would like to take until next Wednesday to see what
>everyone else on the reflector thinks.
>
>If you have a different venue in mind and want to commit to planning
>a session there, then by all means make a suggestion.
>
>Regards,
>
>Roger
>
>--
>Dr. Roger B. Marks  <mailto:r.b.marks@ieee.org>
>Chair, IEEE 802.16 WG on Broadband Wireless Access <http://ieee802.org/16>
>phone: +1 303 497 3037  fax: +1 303 497 7828