About The Wireless Internet Institute
W2i is an independent thought leadership group bringing together stakeholders around the world to accelerate the adoption of wireless Internet in support of universal connectivity for economic, social and educational development.
Background
The Wireless Internet Institute was launched in 2001 as an international think tank where stakeholders explore wireless Internet technologies, best practices and sustainable implementation models. W2i is a World Times, Inc. initiative addressing the regulatory, business and integration complexities associated with the deployment of wireless Internet technologies. World Times has a long track record at producing successful IT programs related to development opportunities around the world, including the Information Society Index, in cooperation with IDC since 1996, and the Wealth of Nations Index, in association with the Money Matters Institute.
Activities
As mandated by its advisory board, W2i produces superior editorial content addressing the need to explore, think and learn in an interactive atmosphere highly conducive to establishing relationships, alliances and partnerships. In 2004 and 2005, it will undertake a World Summit on Information Society (WSIS) Program with the UN Information and Communications Technologies Task Force (UN ICT TF) to:
• Accelerate dissemination of information on wireless Internet benefits as countries move from discovery phase to experimentation to full deployment in local communities;
• Support best-practices sharing among field practitioners and regulators and build knowledge base;
• Foster a dialog among local wireless Internet stakeholders with high-visibility conferences in key regions and support local initiatives upon request; and
• Provide comprehensive contribution to heads of state meeting in Tunis in November 2005.
In order to accomplish these tasks, W2i will:
• Set up a WSIS program advisory board with US and international participants representing wireless Internet industry stakeholders to define the WSIS program editorial agenda;
• Hold ongoing international wireless Internet workshops around the world exploring burning global and local industry topics (by invitation only);
• Produce corresponding white papers and Op-Eds;
• Run opinion-shaping online surveys and forums;
• Culminating in a multitrack yearly wireless Internet summit moderated by opinion leaders and market and policy makers.
For a list of our current and past events please visit our conferences page.
Management Team
Axel Leblois
President, World Times, Inc. and Co-Founder
axel_leblois@w2i.org
• Axel Leblois has served as CEO of ExecuTrain, President and CEO of Bull HN Information Systems, CEO of IDC and President of Computerworld Communications. He also served as a Director of Wang Laboratories, International Data Group, Peritus Software, Executrain and PSI Data Systems.
Daniel Aghion
Executive Director and Co-Founder
daghion@w2i.org
• Daniel Aghion has a broad international technology sales, business development, marketing and general-management background, having successively served as Senior Vice President, Sales and Marketing, with GlobeID, a large-scale Internet Payment Systems provider; Vice President, International IDE/Aranex, a network systems provider; Vice President, Marketing, SoftNet, an enterprise software applications vendor. Daniel worked eight years with Digital Communications Associates (DCA), a network-to-mainframe connectivity vendor, successively serving in various channel-management positions and as Director of Marketing. Before joining DCA, he was the founder and Executive Vice President, Sales and Marketing, of Micro Connection International, a European networking product distributor. Daniel began his career as a publisher in the business-publishing field.
Peter Orne
Editorial Director
pjorne@w2i.org
• Peter Orne served as a U.N.-accredited election observer in East Timor shortly before joining World Times, Inc. in 1999. He was managing editor of The WorldPaper for two years and became World Times's editorial director in 2001. In addition to reporting for California newspapers, Mr. Orne was an editor at Annual Reviews, Inc., the Palo Alto-based science publisher. He holds a bachelor's degree in English and psychology from Wesleyan University in Connecticut and a master's degree in journalism from the University of California at Berkeley.
|