The First IEEE LANOMS—Latin American Network Operations and Management Symposium was held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, December 3–5, 1999. This Symposium was driven by the necessities of Latin America in the area of Network Management involving telecommunication companies, academic institutions, industries, and regulatory bodies. Although it was organized in Latin America, the event attracted many researchers, developers, and investors from all over the world. The theme of this first LANOMS, “Network Management for the New World,” reflected very well the current scenario of changes caused by the breakup of the state monopoly on telecommunication services in many Latin American countries. The deregulation of the telecommunication services in these countries has led to a large increase in the services offered to the population. It also emphasized the necessity to promote the research and development of Latin American Network Operations and Management. This is very crucial for the survival and the growth of any telecom industry. In this millenium, we will be witnessing a more open and highly competitive market. Hence, academic institutions and research and industry labs will have to be aware of these changes to be able to deal with their new telecom partners in order to get benefits from the upcoming investments. Within this context, the realization of this event satisfied an increasing need for organizing a specific event on telecommunications and network management in Latin America to divulge the research currently being pursued on the continent. In addition, the event contributed as a step forward in making viable the