This meeting is being hosted by Selex Communications and will include working sessions advancing the SDR Forum 2008 operations plan in support of the commercial, public safety, avionics, and international tactical radio communities. Highlights of this meeting will include:

• A presentation given by Rohde and Schwartz entitled "Discussion of JTRS APIs using MHAL as an example" during the 9 to 10:30 A.M. session of the SCA API Task Group to be held on Monday, April 14th 2008
• A presentation given by Dan Lanz of Mitre on a “Common Interface to Cryptologic Modules” during the 8:30 to 10:00 A.M. session of the R&D Working Group to be held on the 16th of April
• A presentation by Motorola Program Manager Didier Bourse introducing the E3 (End-to-End Efficiency) program to be given on April 16th during the SDR Forum Plenary session
• A roundtable session led by innovITS CEO Phil Pettitt exploring the use of software defined and cognitive radio technologies in intelligent transportation systems to be held during April 16th during the SDR Forum Plenary session
• A workshop on SCA Test Evaluation and Certification, to be held on April 17th where Government and industry leaders from around the world - including representatives from the EDA (European Defense Agency), NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization), and the EC-JRC (European Commission Joint Research Center) - will meet to discuss requirements and key issues in international test and certification of SCA technologies (see below for additional details).

A detailed agenda for this meeting can be found here (as of April 7, 2008).

The Meeting will be held at the Meliá Roma Aurelia Antica, located at Via degli Aldobrandeschi, 223 - 00163 Roma. Tel. +39 06 66 544 Fax: +39 06 66 544 467. You must make you own hotel reservation.

The Meeting cost will be:

• Members - $350 or €250
• Non-Members - $400 or €275
• Workshop - $100 or €75

Please register for the Meeting onsite in Rome.

The SCA Test, Evaluation and Certification Workshop will take place on Thursday, 17. April 2008.

The SDR Forum will also host an all-day workshop on Software Communications Architecture (SCA) test, evaluation and certification on Thursday, April 17, in Rome italy. Government and industry leaders from around the world - including representatives from the EDA (European Defense Agency), NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization), and the EC-JRC (European Commission Joint Research Center) - will meet to discuss requirements and key issues in international test and certification of SCA technologies.

Eight years after its initial launch by the Modular Software-Programmable Radio Consortium for the Department of Defense's JTRS (Joint Tactical Radio System) program, the SCA is undergoing a phase of international consideration for SDR development, with governments worldwide evaluating the adoption of the SCA in support of their national and multi-national interests. A key part of this evaluation is addressing the need for harmonized test and certification procedures for SCA-enabled radios, waveforms and technologies used in international markets. As an organization serving both government and industry members around the world, the SDR Forum is uniquely positioned to derive the needs and requirements of the international SDR/SCA community and create consolidated recommendations for use by national radio acquisition authorities.

The goal of this workshop is to capture requirements from the international SCA stakeholders to lay the foundations of future test, evaluation and certification of SCA-based radios and other products. This workshop can be regarded as the first step of a process, leading to projects within the SDR Forum that will define concepts, strategies, methods and recommendations that address this goal.

A Workshop agenda (updated 10 April) and information sheet about the workshop are available.