The Telecommunications Industry Association (TIA) Board of Directors elected two new board members at its Nov. 7 meeting. The new members Robert J. Casamento, principal vice president and general manager of Bechtel North America Telecommunications, and Tim Krause, senior vice president for Alcatel North America Marketing will assume unfulfilled seats on the board.

We are very pleased to have Bob and Tim join the TIA board. Their experience and expertise will play an influential role in carrying out the goals of TIA. Moving forward, TIA will focus on launching the association’s new GLOBALCOMM trade show in June in Chicago, as well as on the policies, technologies and business opportunities driving the industry, states TIA President Matthew J. Flanigan.

Another component of the meeting was the approval of the charter of TIA’s new Communications Research Division (CRD). The division’s role is to ensure that the U.S. communications sector continues to be a world leader in advanced research. The CRD will provide expert advice to the government and to TIA on the status and impact of research and technology in the communications industry. To view the CRD’s scope and mission, visit www.tiaonline.org/policy/committees/crd.cfm.