A Message from Rulei Ting
Communications Certfication, Chair

To those of you who completed your application to sit for the WCET certification exam this Spring, best of luck to you! Your commitment to the profession is admirable. Remember that there are resources at your disposal and if you have questions you can share them with us and the WCET community we have established on LinkedIn. It's a great place to ask your technical questions even if you are not pursuing certification at this time. We have a group of WCPs who have shared their experiences in how they've prepared to take the exam and why they thought getting certified is important. If you haven't joined the group, I urge you to. 

More courses are being added to the ComSoc Training schedule and we will be attending various industry meetings in the coming months. The one day LTE and Introduction to Professional Wireless Communications courses we have been running continue to be popular and seats sell out quickly. If you are interested, reserve your seat today. If you plan on going to WCNC, NAB, or CTIA I hope you stop by the IEEE Communications Society booth to meet our staff who will be raffling a free seat to a future ComSoc Training course.

Along with some reminders we have packed the latest and most pertinent industry news in this issue. Happy reading and Happy Spring!

In This Issue:

• WCET Exam Reminder: Why Getting Certified Matters
• ComSoc Training Offerings: One Day Online Courses Focused on LTE and Introduction to Wireless
• Industry News
• Upcoming Meetings and Events
   

WCET Exam Reminder: Why Getting Certified Matters

If you completed your application to take the WCET Certification exam this spring, remember schedule your exam at a local testing center sometime between 9 April and 5 May 2012. The exam will be offered again in the Fall. Applications for that testing window (23 September - 27 October 2012) will be accepted from now through 7 September 2012.
Why Getting Certified Matters ...
With IEEE WCET® certification, professionals can clearly demonstrate their knowledge of wireless communication technologies to employers or change engineering fields as new opportunities arise in the wireless industry. Vendor-neutral and trans-national in scope, the WCET certification program's focus is on the knowledge and on-the-job experience that you need to succeed in this competitive field. Nothing testifies more to the international nature of the program than the breadth of industry participation at all stages of the development process.
Learn more about the benefits.

ComSoc Training Offerings: One Day Online Courses Focused on LTE and Introduction to Wireless

LTE for the Wireless Engineering Practitioner: Fundamentals & Applications
Online - One Day course
Friday, 20 April 2012 - 9:00am - 4:30pm EST
Earn 0.6 IEEE Continuing Education Units for participating.
Instructor: K. Daniel Wong
Register by 26 March and save $25.
PRICE: $300 non-member; $250 IEEE member - Registration closes 11 April 2012.
Read the course description.

Introduction to Professional Wireless Communications
Online - One Day course
Tuesday, 1 May 2012 - 9:00 - 4:30pm EST
Earn 0.6 IEEE Continuing Education Units for participating
Instructor: Lee Vishloff
Register by 6 April and save $25.
PRICE:  $300 non-member; $250 IEEE member - Registration closes20 April 2012.
Read the course description.
Seats are limited for both courses. All online courses are recorded and course participants have a chance to review the streaming video files captured for seven days after the live lecture. Course materials include a hard print out of the instructor's powerpoint slides. Learn more about ComSoc Training.

Industry News

Mobile App Jobs up More Than 100%

The tech industry is hiring. Computing and mathematics job lists in February were up 2.1% compared to January, with three times as many job openings as job seekers according to data compiled by the Conference Board. The news is even better for mobile app developers, where job listings are up more than 100% compared to a year ago. [Bloomberg Businessweek]

Mobile Talent at a Premium

Industry analyst Mark Lowenstein says "Companies are scrambling for engineering and computer science talent" and we may be heading into a mobile talent gap. "If you're a software, hardware, or RF engineer, know Java or Objective C, or have experience in application or user design, the world is your oyster," he writes. [Fierce Wireless]

Six Rural Virginia Counties to Get 4G Service, Jobs

A $7.5 million grant will fund a 4G wireless communication project that will deliver service to more than 200,000 residents and 2,600 businesses in six rural Virginia counties where no other broadband services are currently available. The rollout will require new jobs for constructing and managing the system. The grant was funded by the Virginia Tobacco Indemnification and Community Revitalization Commission. [Bluefield Daily Telegraph]

Webinar to Address Challenges of VoLTE

Voice over LTE could be coming as early as this year and many providers will probably seek to implement it quickly. An April 5 webinar will discuss the challenges of deploying this new technology. [FierceWireless]

Satellite Companies Still Foresee Growth

Even though nothing seems to go LightSquared's way these days, other satellite firms tell the Washington Post that they expect the next few years to be a period of growth. Hughes Communication has invested $400 million in a new satellite, which will launch this summer, and Iridium is planning a network of 72 satellites. [Washington Post]

French Competition, Earnings Slump Result in Job Cuts at SFR

Vivendi is looking to eliminate marketing and administrative jobs at its recently acquired SFR wireless division following an earnings drop of as much as $749 million. SFR faces increased competition in France where another company, Iliad, has gained up to 2 million new mobile customers. [Bloomberg]

Verizon Cuts 3,000 Customer Service Jobs

As many as 3,145 customer service jobs will be cut as Verizon Wireless shutters three call centers and consolidates two others, the company announced. Some employees are expected to transfer to new locations, so the final job count numbers are not known. [MarketWatch]

Telefonica Brasil Cutting 1,500 Jobs After Merger

Following its acquisition of Vivo Participacoes, Telefonica Brasil has announced it will cut 1,500 jobs. It also seeks to integrate some of its subsidiaries into the parent company. [Reuters: 1, 2]

Polaris Wireless Hires Chief Technical Advisor

Per Enge, professor of aeronautics and astronautics at Stanford University, has joined Polaris Wireless as chief technical advisor. Enge directs the GPS Research Laboratory at Stanford. [BizJournals.com]

Researchers Examine Terahertz Bandwidth for Data Transfer

Researchers at the University of Pittsburgh have developed what they call a "frequency comb" to enable usage of the Terahertz bandwidth between infrared and microwave light. The researchers say this could allow extremely large data transfers -- 1,000 times what can be done now. Of course, it could be years before the technology is ready for commercialization. [FierceWireless]

Nokia Closes Mobile Money Service in India

Nokia has announced that its mobile financial service in India will be shut down after labeling it a non-core business. Nokia originally planned to roll the service out in other markets but says the mobile payment industry has become too crowded. [Reuters]

Women Innovate Mobile Announces First Class of Entrepreneurs

Four mobile startups founded and run by women will each receive mentoring, support and seed money from the Women Innovate Mobile accelerator, which recently announced its first "class" of entrepreneurs. Three of the startups are app-oriented. [TechCrunch]

Pasta-Shaped Radio Waves Could Reduce Congestion

Researchers from the University of Padova in Italy and the Angstrom Laboratory in Sweden have come up with a way to reduce radio congestion by twisting radio waves into the shape of fusilli pasta. They tested the system by transmitting their twisted radio waves in Venice. [Cellular-news]

Top 5 Global Mobile Operators Unchanged

The world's top five mobile operators in Q3 2011 were still China Mobile, Vodafone, América Móvil, Telefónica and Bharti Airtel, according to data compiled by Wireless Intelligence. Those five slots have stayed the same for the past year, but other firms in Asia and Latin America are climbing up the top 20 list. [FierceWireless]

Upcoming Meetings and Events from Around the World

2012 IEEE Wireless Communications and Networking Conference
WCNC 2012 - Paris, France
1-4 April 2012
WCNC is the world premier wireless event that brings together industry professionals, academics, and individuals from government agencies and other institutions to exchange information and ideas on the advancement of wireless communications and networking technology.

NAB Show 2012 - Las Vegas, NV - USA
14-19 April 2012
Visit us at Booth #SU11008 to learn more about IEEE Communications Society membership, products and services. Our staff can enter you into a drawing where you could win a free seat in an upcoming ComSoc Training course.

International CTIA Wireless 2012 - New Orleans, LA - USA
8-10 May 2012
Visit us at Booth #5476 to meet our staff and learn more about the IEEE Communications Society. Free drawing. Fun prizes.