Wireless Networking Summit (WiNS) 2006
April 7-8, 2006
Goa, India

Sponsored by Microsoft Research India

Objective Description Organisers Attendees Technical Program Program Notes Biographies Hotel Travel

Objective

The Wireless Networking Summit (WiNS) 2006, which was held in Goa, India on April 7 and 8, 2006, provided participants with an opportunity to share and discuss ideas, identify common challenges, and understand approaches in the wireless Internet revolution. WiNS 2006 was the third in a series of highly successful summits organized by Microsoft Research — the first two being Mesh Networking Summit 2004 and Self Managing Networks Summit 2005.

Description

Wireless Networking Summit (WiNS) 2006 was a two-day intensive mindswap event designed to bring researchers from academia, industry and government together under one roof for the purpose of discussing, identifying, and exploring problems in wireless communications, networking and services. Participants identified, discussed, and debated technical approaches and ways in which academia and industry can work together to tackle some of the more challenging and pressing long-term problems.

The summit, which was held in the beautiful environs of Goa, attracted established researchers and graduate students with expertise in the areas of next generation wireless networks. The summit addressed the following areas in wireless networking:

• WiMax, 802.11n
• WiNet and wireless communications
• Wireless ad hoc networks
• Mesh networks
• Multi-hop cellular networks
• Wireless sensor networks
• Cognitive radios and software defined radios

The summit was structured to be interactive with a high degree of information exchange between participants.

Organisers

Victor Bahl, Principal Researcher / Manager, Microsoft Research, Redmond, USA
Uday Desai, Professor, Dept. of Electrical Engineering, IIT-Bombay, India
Mythreyee Ganapathy, Manager, External Research & Programs, Microsoft Research, India

Attendees

Faculty members
S. Balasubramanian, Birla Institute of Technology and Science, Pilani
Somprakash Bandyopadhyay, Indian Institute of Management, Kolkata
Srikrishna Bhashyam, Indian Institute of Technology, Chennai
Ranjan Bose, Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi
Mritunjay Chakraborty, Indian Institute of Technology Kharghpur
Ajit Chaturvedi, Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur
Kameshwari Chebrolu, Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur
Debasish Datta, Indian Institute of Technology, Kharaghpur
Onkar Dabeer, TIFR Bombay
Uday B. Desai, Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay
Sridhar Iyer, Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay
David B. Johnson, Rice University
S. N. Merchant, Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay
Bishnu Pradhan, Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay
Abhay Karandikar, Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay
David Koilpillai, Indian Institute of Technology, Chennai
Anurag Kumar, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore
K. Giridhar, Indian Institute of Technology, Chennai
B. N. Jain, Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi
Arzad Kherani Alam, Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi
Ranjan Mallik, Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi
Surendra Prasad, Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi
Sanjiva Prasad, Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi
G. Raghurama, Birla Institute of Technology and Science, Pilani
Pravas Ranjan Sahu, Indian Institute of Technology, Guwahati
Huzur Saran, Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi
Naresh Sharma, Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi
S. Srikanth, KBC Research Center, Anna University
Rajesh Sunderasan, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore
Bhaskar Raman, Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur
Dheeraj Sanghi, Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur
Asoke Talukder, IIIT Bangalore
Rajakumar R.V., Indian Institute of Technology, Kharaghpur
P. A. Subrahmanyam, Stanford University
Nitin H. Vaidya, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign

Government Officials
Shri Baveja, Ministry of Communication & Information Technology
R. Pitchiah, Ministry of Communication & Information Technology
Rajendra Singh, Telecom Regulatory Authority of India

Industry
Rene Abraham, Midas Communication Technologies
Kunal Bajaj, Independent Consultant
Pravin Bhagwat, AirTight Inc,
Deepak Bhardwaj, Intel Technology India
Vishal Chandra, VirtualWire
Ruchir Godura, Telsima
Guan Hao, Nokia Research Centre, Beijing
Shrikant Naidu, Motorola India Research Lab
Rajeev Rastogi, Bell Labs India
Rajeev Shorey, General Motors Research India
Srinivas Vedala, Infineon

MS/PhD Students
Jackson Juliet Roy, KBC Research Center, Anna University
Bhushan Jagyasi, Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay
Ashutosh Deepak Gore, Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay
N. V. Marathe, Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay
G. Kannan, Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay
T.M. Kiran, IIIT Bangalore
Akshat Agarwal, Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi
Taposh Banerjee, Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi
Vaishali Paithankar, Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi
Anshul Tyagi, Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi
Ajay Dhingra, Indian Institute of Technology, Guwahati
Gopal Kumar, Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur
Pavan Kumar, Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur
Sayandeep Sen, Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur
Rajarshi Mahapatra, Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur
B. N. Bhandari, Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur
Siuli Roy, Indian Institute of Management, Kolkata
Sendil Kumar, Indian Institute of Technology, Madras
R. Lakshminarayanan, Indian Institute of Technology, Madras

Technical Program

The WiNS agenda included presentations by experts, poster presentations by students, and break-out sessions that provided an opportunity for in-depth deliberations. At the end of the summit, we hope that all participants have a much better understanding of the differences and similarities of the different contexts for their work and areas for potential collaborations.

Friday, April 7, 2006

Saturday, April 8, 2006

Program Notes

Student Research Poster Competition
Students were strongly encouraged to present their on-going research in mobile computing, wireless networking, and wireless communications via posters and presentations. We held a friendly competition, similar to ACM’s Student Research Competition, as added incentive. Our goal was to create a friendly forum where students can:

• share their research results
• exchange ideas and gain new insights
• meet and talk with academic and industry luminaries
• understand the possible practical applications of their research
• perfect their communications skills
• receive recognition — the top three winners received an award certificate and a cash gift

The competition was held on Friday, April 7 and Saturday, April 8 with winners announced on April 8. Judges included all non-student summit participants. Student posters and the accompanying verbal description was judged on the research content and clarity of written and oral presentation. Since time was short, students described their work succinctly and with conviction.

Student Research Poster Competition Winners

First prize: Vaishali P Sadaphal, Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi

Second Prize: J. Jackson Juliet Roy, KBC Research Center, Anna University

Third Prize: Bhushan G Jagyasi, Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay

Biographies

Biographies have moved to the new Wireless Networking Summit (WiNS) 2006 Biographies page.

Hotel

Radisson White Sands Resort, Goa
Pedda, Varca, Salcette, Margoa GOA 403721
Reservations: (800) 333-3333 US Toll Free
New Delhi: 91-11-29223331
Mumbai: 91-22-56930097 / 99
Telephone: 91-832-2727272
Fax: 91-832-2727282

With a prime Goa location on one of the world’s longest beaches, the Radisson White Sands Resort, Goa offers the kind of warm hospitality, inviting resort atmosphere, and top-notch services sure to please business and leisure travelers alike. For more information, visit the Radisson Web site.

Travel

For assistance with travel and accommodations, please contact:

The most comprehensive beach resort in the country, Goa is approachable from Bombay by air. Goa’s coastline provides endless sun drenched crescents of sand. Vagator, Anjuna, Baga, Calangute, and Candolim stretch out in an unbroken palm fringed line. Other beaches are at Miramar and Colva. Parasailing, yachting, windsurfing, and deep sea diving are some of the more popular water sports, facilities for which are available. In addition, every sort of accommodation fringes the beaches, from deluxe resorts to budget lodgings Inland, 451 years of Portuguese rule has imbued Goa’s towns and villages with a unique culture.

Panjim, the capital city, and Margao, an important town, have private houses and government buildings that date back to Portuguese times. Old Goa, now deserted, has a collection of Goa’s largest churches: Se Cathedral with its Iberian exterior, Bom Jesu which enshrines the mortal remains of St. Francis Xavier and the starkly beautiful Convent of Saint Monica are a few of these. Mapusa, a market town, comes alive every Friday with a quaint pavement bazar. Whitewashed chapels and churches that dot the landscape are surrounded by sleepy villages and rice fields.

Altitude: Sea level to 1022 meters.

Climate (°C): Summer: Max. 33, Min. 26; Winter: Max. 31, Min. 20

Goa has a moderate temperature showing negligible variations in different seasons. May is the hottest month while January and February are the coldest. There is a prevalence of tropical weather rest of the year. Southwest Monsoon brings rain in Goa between June and September. July is the month that receives maximum rainfall while February gets least amount of rain.

Internal Distances: Panaji to Baga beach (18 kms), Bondla (55 kms), Calangute (16 kms), Dabolim Airport (29 kms), Mapusa (13 kms), Margao (33 kms), Old Goa (10 kms), Terekhol (42 kms), Vagator (22 kms), Vasco-da-gama (30 kms), Ponda (28 kms).

Local Transport: Local buses, auto-rickshaws, and motorcycles/taxis are available.

Getting Around
Renting a scooter or motorbike can be a nice experience. However, take care, since Goa’s roads can be dangerous to both experienced and inexperienced drivers. Renting a scooter is way too easy, it will cost you anything between Rs 125 to 250 depending on the season and you may have to leave small amount as a security deposit. Also for a little more you can hire a more preferred “Enfield,” which is a favorite for travelers who often buy the bike if they plan to stay for longer periods of time. Also for the novice rider, you can hire a Honda Activa or a Dio scooterette.

You can also use the local buses to travel to different beaches in Goa. Note that these buses are not owned by Goa municipal authorities and as such the fare can vary. A typical bus ride will cost anywhere from 4-6 rupees. Fares are not collected at the bus doors but rather after you after you entered and the bus has begun to move. It is prudent to ask your fellow passengers about the fare, since as a foreign tourist, the fare collectors will attempt to rip you off by demanding you pay 3-5 times to actual bus fare.

There are a number of Goa sightseeing options. Be it the beaches, churches or temples of Goa all attract tourists and travelers to the golden holiday destination.

Activities
Beaches — The 100km coastline offers some of the finest beaches in India. Arambol in the north (stay in tents or beach house) and Palolem and Polem in the far south (stay at charming beach huts) are some of the best and least spoilt.

Churches and Temples — For a sense of Portuguese Goa head to the old towns of Panaji and Old Goa with their imposing whitewashed churches and mansions. Why not stay in a former colonial warehouse. For a taste of Hindu culture, check out the temples of Ponda.

Shopping — Anjuna’s weekly flea market is a Goan institution. Stay at nearby coconut grove. Mapusa hosts Goa’s best local market. Chic boutiques selling east meets west designer clothes and homewares are mainly in the north of Goa.

Art and music — For an insight into India’s modern art scene as well as traditional music, check out the Kerkar art gallery and guesthouse in Calangute.

Yoga — Goa is one of the favoured destinations for yogis. If practising at Purple Valley Yoga why not stay next door in Rajasthani hunting tents. For a beachside option, see Yoga and Ayurveda in Goa.

Wildlife — Easily accessible wildlife sanctuaries, including Bhagwan Mahavir in the foothills of the western Ghats, are beautiful and peaceful (stay on a working farm nearby) but don’t expect to spot the wild boar, sambar, deer, or leopards sheltered within. Boat trips on the coast abound to show you dolphins.

Great Excursion — A three-day trip to the awesome and magical ancient Hindu temples of Hampi, one of India’s highlights.