I was surprised to read the IEEE Broadcast Technology Society (IEEE BTS) had hired a PR firm. 202 Communications, a public relations and marketing communications agency specializing in the broadcast, cable, satellite and telecommunications industry was chosen to provide public relations services to IEEE BTS.
Amanda Temple, program specialist at the IEEE BTS explained, “The IEEE Broadcast Technology Society provides the broadcast community with quality education and networking opportunities, such as the Annual Broadcast Symposium and 'Bridging the Gap' training seminars. Working with a public relations team like 202 Communications with key industry expertise, we aim to increase our membership and attendance at these important industry events.”
Carolyn Archambault, general manager at 202 Communications, commented, “The IEEE Broadcast Technology Society is an organization with a reputation for educational excellence and offers highly informative and enriching training seminars. By leveraging our strong relationships with key members of the trade press, we're working to increase global awareness of the Society, including its various initiatives and events, so that more people are able to participate.”
IEEE BTS has about 2,000 members worldwide. Recently attendance has been declining at its October IEEE Broadcast Technology Symposium. This year, for the first time, the Symposium is being held outside the Washington DC area. While the Washington location was convenient for many consulting engineers, the increasing cost of staging the Symposium in Washington made it difficult, if not impossible, to avoid losing money on the Symposium without charging a price many potential attendees could not afford.
This year, IEEE BTS is moving its annual Symposium to San Diego, CA. Registration is open now at bts.ieee.org/broadcastsymposium. In addition to the lower cost of holding the Symposium in San Diego, BTS hopes that more broadcast engineers from the west coast will be able to attend. If you have not attended a BTS Symposium before and have an interest in broadcast technology, whether it be broadcasting audio and video over the air or over IP networks, I would encourage you to look at the program and consider it.
When I first attended IEEE I feared I wouldn't understand many of the technical papers presented. Indeed, that turned out to be the case for some of them. What I found, however, was that unlike the NAB conference, at the IEEE BTS Symposium you have many opportunities to talk to the presenter directly, either in the receptions or the luncheons, ask questions and get more information. The BTS Symposiums provided me with an education in the fine details of DTV transmission, reception and propagation. Readers of my RF Technology column in TV Technology have gotten a sample of that.
Of course, attending the IEEE BTS Symposium will not only increase your knowledge of the latest developments in broadcast technology, it provides an opportunity to network with other engineers and engineering consultants that are willing to share their knowledge and assistance with your broadcast engineering challenges.
