It seems like just yesterday that I was making travel arrangements to Asia to visit clients and partners in preparation of our EDI CON China event in May. Needless to say, that trip did not happen and the event has been postponed to the Fall. Instead, I sit here in my home office (actually, my dining room table) on the first Sunday of April wondering, like most people, when this crisis will begin to subside.
As you read this column a month or so later, my hope is that life has begun to normalize, despite the human and economic pain that has been endured. Many of you work for companies that are considered essential and many more are working remotely. Our industry carries on, providing products and technology for critical wireless and defense applications.
By now, we should know the status of more industry events, including IMS. Live events have always been an integral part of the year for many of us. We plan our marketing campaigns around them, our travel plans and our sales meetings. Some of you present papers on the great work that you are doing and many of us are able to listen and learn. We look forward most to catching up with industry friends and colleagues. We could use that more now than ever.
At Microwave Journal, our goal is to deliver information in multiple formats; print and digital, live and virtual. We organize several live exhibitions, including European Microwave Week (EuMW) on behalf of the European Microwave Association and the aforementioned EDI CON China. EuMW is scheduled for September 13-18 in Utrecht, The Netherlands. EDI CON China will take place in the fall as well.
We launched EDI CON Online last year with great success and have expanded the conference to four days, with tracks covering 5G/IoT/Automotive (October 6), PCB/Interconnect Design (October 13), Signal Integrity/Power Integrity (October 20) and Radar/Antennas (October 27). IEEE has approved the technical sessions for Continuing Education Units (CEUs) and Professional Development Hours (PDHs). This event is produced in conjunction with our sister media resource, Signal Integrity Journal. If you have not yet checked out this peer-reviewed portal of SI/PI knowledge, I encourage you to do so. It is not too late to subscribe to the July print edition either.
We have seen a distinct uptick in webinar activity in this time of social distancing. The number of companies that are utilizing this tool has increased significantly, as has audience engagement. The same is true for white papers and eBooks. We are seeing more quality content coming from the industry and more downloads from readers. We are offering companies the opportunity to present their latest offerings via 30-minute webinars in place of the launches they had planned for some now-cancelled live events. Our long-running video series titled “Frequency Matters” has continued twice monthly, with editors Pat Hindle and Gary Lerude broadcasting from their homes via the Zoom platform. They have launched a new podcast series as well, the latest featuring experts from Marki Microwave discussing the evolution of their company. Look for more innovative content in the year ahead.
This issue of Microwave Journal serves as both the show issue for the IEEE MTT-S International Microwave Symposium and has editorial focus on 5G. It features a cover story from Qualcomm on “The Evolution of Cellular Technology: The Long Road to 5G.” That road has recently gotten longer, with the pandemic delaying pilot deployments across the globe.
Lastly, I remind you that this “magazine” is available in print, digital, online and mobile formats. You can always update your profile and preferences on our website under “My Account” at the top. While you are there, make sure to register, in order to access all of the content that we publish.
We will survive this crisis together. In the meantime, stay healthy and safe. I hope to catch up with you soon.