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TECHNOLOGY
China Launches First Quantum Communications Satellite
The first spacecraft designed to perform quantum communications was launched from the China’s Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center on 16 August at 1:40 a.m. local time. The mission, dubbed Quantum Experiments at Space Scale (QUESS), is a milestone for researchers building the technology needed to create unhackable large-scale quantum communications networks.
SOCIETY
President’s Message: Vote “No” on Proposed IEEE Constitutional Amendment
MTT-S members are urged to consider voting against a proposed amendment to the IEEE Constitution that would significantly change the Institute’s governance.
TECHNOLOGY
Making Reliable Satellite Power Amplifiers
Failure of a transmitter on board any of hundreds of GPS, weather, and communications can interrupt service and hit their operators in the bottom line. In short, reliability in space is essential.
TECHNOLOGY
How Cognitive Radio Can Help LTE-U and WiFi Get Along
Mobile operators are hunting for extra spectrum to carry their customers’ wireless signals are eyeing the unlicensed patch 5 GHz band that is primarily used for WiFi. WiFi companies object for years that cramming LTE users to these frequencies will interfere with their networks.
NEMO2016
2016 Numerical Electromagnetic and Multiphysics Modeling and Optimization, Beijing, 27-29 July
Organizers report on the 27-29 July IEEE MTT-S International Conference on Numerical Electromagnetic and Multiphysics Modeling and Optimization in Beijing, China.
TECHNOLOGY
Are Your Apps Sluggish? Blame Summer
A new study shows that that smartphone app performance slows by 15 percent in the summer. Water vapor— which absorbs and scatters radio waves, especially at frequencies above 1 gigahertz—is likely to blame.
SOCIETY
Upcoming Meetings: LAMC, Puerto Vallarta; RFIT, Taipei; EuMW, London
Deadlines, content, and registration information for upcoming Meetings: LAMC, Puerto Vallarta; RFIT, Taipei; EuMW, London
STANDARDS
Terahertz Laser Power Measurement
Three national metrology institutes got their calibrated national-standard THz detectors together to compare power measurements of ~3mW lasers at 2.52 THz and 0.762 THz. All is well.
REALITY CHECK
Popular 50-Billion-Device IoT Forecast Is Outdated
Warning: All projections for the Internet of Things are subject to change, most notably the widespread prediction that there will be 50 billion connected devices by 2020. Where did the number come from? And what is the reality?
FUTURE MEETINGS
In September: Bipolar/BiCMOS Circuits; IR, mmWave, and THz; Wave Problems
The upcoming MTT-S meetings for 2016 include Infrared, Millimeter, and Terahertz Waves (Copenhagen, 25-30 September), Bipolar/BiCMOS Circuits Technology (New Brunswick, NJ, USA), Direct and Inverse Problems of Electromagnetic and Acoustic Wave Theory (Tbilisi, Georgia).