Upcoming v6 Summits: Three Important Events
By Christopher Harz
VP, IPv6 Summit, Inc.

In order to help you plan your calendars somewhat in advance, we thought it might be beneficial to let you know about our three next IPv6 Summits – where and when they are, and what they're about.

The Coalition Summit for IPv6 takes place from 3-5 October in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, in cooperation with NATO (which just happens to have its headquarters units almost right next door). A major objective of this event is to bring together top thought leaders and decision makers from NATO, the EU, the US and its allies, and share the status and trends of IPv6 implementation in military, government and business IT organizations in the represented countries.

A second major mission is to identify major IPv6 initiatives that are evolving into substantive applications that will be useful to a wide audience -- and profitable or expedient for telcos, ISPs and other vendors. Several recent international IPv6 conferences have posed this question more bluntly, as "Where are the distinctive apps?" (applications that can't be handled in the short term with v4), or simply, "Show us the money!" Whereas such applications have obvious interest for the civilian community, they also have import for government IT organizations – it is the stated intent of NATO, for instance, to make maximum use of IPv6 COTS (Commercial Off The Shelf) applications. That makes it useful to see what those COTS applications are likely to be, in the near future.

The Coalition Summit has a list of great speakers. The agenda is up at www.coalitionsummit.com; several presentations are still being added. On the government side, we will have Major General Moran of the Joint Chiefs of Staff give an overview of US defense IPv6-related programs, and the Action Officers for the military services will give the details; several NATO generals and Action Officers will do the same for the Alliance. There will be a report on the new "IPv6 Capable" defined standard for the Department of Defense, along with newly approved testing procedures and the compendium of confirmed IPv6-capable equipment. In addition, US Federal executives will report on progress in the government's transition schedule, and experts from the European Union will outline schedules and progress of IPv6 initiatives in the EU countries.

There will be reports on some of the latest and greatest employments of IPv6 that could turn into "killer apps" in the near term. Mark Bayliss will give an update on the "IPv6 City of the Future" and what applications are proving to be sound business models. Several other cities around the globe have voiced interest in creating a similar test bed for IPv6 – a combination of government and industry support, ubiquitous broadband wireless and native IPv6 availability, and the involvement of a major technical university, to form an incubator—not primarily for technology, but for distinctive (and profitable) applications. Gerard Segarra of Renault and Nissan will explain how IPv6-empowered telematics will change the lives of all those who drive vehicles within a few years. Cody Christman will present lessons learned by the largest telco in implementing IPv6. Wolfgang Fritsche will talk about satellite-based IPv6, and how the results of mobile IPv6 field tests could ameliorate both military and homeland defense operations with both voice and videoconferencing over IP. Microsoft will give a report on Vista near the advent of its release – and talk about the many features of the Operating System that can only be realized with IPv6. Finally, major IT companies such as Agilent, Teleglobe, Cisco will give their views on what trends they see in applications happening across the globe, and ConsulIntel will report on some creative consumer electronics with v6 available in Europe. Asia will also have strong representation, including Dr. Hiroshi Esaki of the IPv6 Promotion Council of Japan and Dr. Kun-Young Ahn of the Korean Ministry of Communication.

The Coalition Summit is at the RAI Convention Center in Amsterdam, a very modern and comfortable venue that has very fast access to the airport (rail or taxi) or downtown (taxi, tram or even canal if you want to be exotic), and walking access to very convenient and affordable hotels in the area. You can enroll online or check out sponsorship opportunities at www.coalitionsummit.com or by calling Linda at +1 310.458.9407.

A month after the Amsterdam event will be The Asia IPv6 Summit: A Call to Technology Leadership, at the Makati Shangri-La Hotel, in Manila, the Philippines, which will run from November 7 to 8, 2006. As the name implies, this event will focus on Asia and the Pacific Rim, and will feature two days of informative discussions and presentations involving renowned technology experts from the region's leading IPv6 research, business, and implementation organizations. Together they will discuss the opportunities – and challenges – arising in Asia from this new technology.

This event is a must for those in professions and industries influenced by the Internet, or directly involved in Information Technology -- such as communications, entertainment, sensor controls, networking, or electronics. Just the presentations on best practices for transitioning to IPv6 could save an attendee countless hours and major costs, and identify security and other problems that others have encountered (and that he or she will not have to repeat!)

Asia is at the forefront of the New Internet, leading the way in IPv6 adoption and development – one could almost say it is the epicenter of IPv6. It is only fitting, therefore, that the IPv6 experts from this area – those directly involved in shaping the New Internet – should come together at the Asia IPv6 Summit and present an integrated picture of the status and opportunities of this technology. Senior leaders from Japan, Philippines, South Korea, Singapore, Thailand, China, Malaysia, Taiwan and other countries of the region, as well as from North America, will give an overview of government initiatives and research programs, active IPv6-enabled products and services, and business and technical opportunities.

The Makati Shangri-la Hotel is a delightful venue, and within easy access of a panoply of restaurants, shops and cultural attractions. Details of the program are on the website, http://www.asiaipv6.com, or contact Jherlie Cheng at +63 920 2001886 or jherlie@asiaipv6.com.

From March 26-29 we will return to the Reston Hyatt Regency, in Reston, Virginia, for the US IPv6 Summit 2007. This will be a large-scale meeting, with 3 days of presentations by US government, military and business IT experts, as well as a full day of tutorials. The timing will be very strategic, as many Federal departments will be in advanced stages of implementing the Office of Management and Budget directive by this time. There will be presentations by senior government executives on transition schedules (both status quo and any changes). Department of Defense PEOs (Program Executive Officers) or their representatives will be invited to explain the details of the new major programs that are coming out with IPv6 requirements in them, and what it will take for vendors to "answer the mail," i.e., properly respond to such requirements.

We expect enhanced participation from the IC (Intelligence Community) at this event, along with technical presentations on cyberterrorism and security. There will also be a presentation on Best Practices for Training for IPv6 – a number of Federal CTOs have voiced concern on how to get their network experts up to speed on the new standard without spending a fortune on time or money.

There will be major presentations and live demonstrations of actual IPv6 applications running within the US, including IPTV for learning and entertainment, emergency communications, medical response and asset tracking, eLearning and "classrooms of the future," mobile IPv6 for military vehicles, satellite-based IPv6 for enabling remote "islands" with v6 broadband wireless.