On October 28th, top analysts from Pioneer Consulting, Forward Concepts, ARCchart and Frost & Sullivan will delve into SDR's transition into mainstream markets at the Software Defined Radio (SDR) Forum's SDR 08' Technical Conference and Exhibition. SDR technologies are moving into mainstream markets with successful transitions being seen in the commercial sector. While there have been some differing opinions on classifying these achievements as true 'SDR' there are compelling examples of these SDR technologies.

This workshop will help map technological developments over the next few years. The potential of these technologies is vast, bringing the ability to solve market specific problems such as network interoperability, time to market in supporting new and evolving air interface standards and reducing the costs associated with development, production and upgrades and maintenance. Entitled "Advancing SDR in Mainstream Markets - Opportunities and Challenges", speakers will explore the use of SDR and SDR technologies in the commercial and defense markets.

"The practicality of SDR in commercial implementations is important as this can lead to lower costs that can result in higher volumes and positively impact revenues," said Will Strauss, President & Principal Analyst, Forward Concepts. "Through this session we will review the efficiencies that SDR can bring and examine a roadmap for technologies supporting commercial SDR."

This year's conference theme SDR 2.0 - Entering the Mainstream, will explore reconfigurable radio technologies' movement into mainstream acceptance in a number of markets, reflecting the ability of these technologies to solve real problems in the wireless space. The markets workshop will provide a comprehensive review of SDR defining future trends and key challenges that need to be addressed in further advancing SDR technologies. In addition to Mr. Strauss, other speakers will look at US Military SDR Markets, SDR in Commercial Wireless Infrastructure and prospects for SDR in Mobile Phones.

“SDR represents a disruptive trend that will create new business models. For example, as operators look to add services to increase average revenue per user, wireless infrastructure vendors will be able to capture some of this value through software upgrades even after the infrastructure has been installed,” said Manuel Uhm, Senior Marketing Manager, Xilinx and Chair of the SDR Forum Markets Committee. “This workshop presents a valuable opportunity to share key insights into current successes on the adoption of SDR technologies in multiple market segments and to define expected trends in the advancement of SDR."

The markets workshop is one of many topics on the agenda for SDR '08 Technical Conference and Exhibition which will be held in Washington on October 26 - 30th and will include keynote presentations from Dr. Ron Jost, Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for C3, Space & Spectrum, Bill Maheu, Senior Director, Qualcomm Government Technologies and Rajendra Singh, Senior Regulatory Specialist, World Bank.

The annual event is a highlight on the wireless industry event calendar bringing together high caliber speakers and attendees from around the world across commercial, government and civil organizations including service providers, operators, manufacturers, developers, regulatory agencies, and academia. Sponsored by Motorola, GD, Harris, Xilinx, PrismTech and ZeligSoft, additional information on keynotes, panel discussions and workshops will be announced shortly.

For further information and updates on the conference, please visit www.sdrforum.org/sdr08/index.html