Part of a Virtual Event Series by:
All times UK / London
Invitation-Only Breakfast Roundtable (Boardroom)
Registration and Networking
Opening Remarks from the Chair
KEYNOTE: The programmable network
Why is managing all network devices and flow control by software that operates independently of network hardware is telco dream? How close are we to being able to separate the underlying physical hardware from devices’ control software? What are the main challenges and benefits?
Reserved session
Panel: RIC and the roll out of Open RAN
Neil McRae, Ex – Chief Group Architect, BT
Moderator: Malik Saadi, VP Strategic Technologies, ABI Research
How fundamental is the radio access network intelligent controller (RIC) to the success of Open RAN? Is it new thinking or just a new version of SON (self-organising networks) – which never took off as expected? Can RIC avoid SONs’ incompatibility issues?
Break – Coffee and Networking (Exhibition Area)
eSIM – rocket fuel for IoT?
Kim Juchem, Global Director Wholesale & Software, Truphone
eSIM promises better security, seamless, flexible connectivity and full end-to-end digitalisation plus greener supply chains. Will it provide the boost IoT needs, finally, to achieve its potential?
Disaggregated RAN Models & Energy Savings Options by Cloud Platform
Timo Jokiaho, Chief Technologist – Telco, Media & Entertainment (TME) / EMEA, Red Hat
A look at the most important disaggregated RAN models involving cloud plus options for implementing distributed and centralised units (DU/CU) more sustainably on the cloud. This includes innovation approaches to cutting energy consumption.
Panel: How is the telco cloud evolving?
Francesca Serravalle, Head of Infrastructure and Energy, Vodafone
Neil McRae, Ex – Chief Group Architect, BT
Hrvoje Jerkovic, Core Network Director, Three UK
Moderator: James Crawshaw, Practice Leader, Omdia
Has public cloud become any more palatable for the telco cloud? Have telco cloud priorities changed and why? What impact will those changes have on telco cloud’s evolution and when?
Lunch and Networking (Exhibition Area)
Where are we with the metaverse and should we care?
David Palmer, Blockchain Lead IoT, Vodafone Business
Is the metaverse a marketing ploy intended as a fillip for flagging fortunes or is it the future of the web? How will it affect communications service providers (CSPs)? What roles are there for CSPs beyond connectivity for whatever the metaverse turns out to be?
Reserved session
Panel: Is the disaggregated telco desirable or inevitable?
Francesca Serravalle, Head of Infrastructure and Energy, Vodafone
Khaoula Slaoui, VP IT & Technology International Networks, Orange
RANco, Netco, towerco, serviceco, where will it end? Is the drive to disaggregate telcos all about ‘releasing value’ for shareholders rather than a sensible, coherent, long-term strategy? Do stock markets’ valuations of telcos need revising rather than stripping telcos down into constituent parts? What is lost by pulling telcos’ apart?
Break and Networking (Exhibition Area)
Diversity is the secret weapon in the war for talent
Have telcos got the memo yet and are they succeeding in making their workforces more diverse as they are hit by so many external forces and new demands for skills and insight?
Panel: What will the 6G pack bring to the communications party?
David Owens, Head of Technical Trials, Virgin Media O2
6G networks will be able to use higher frequencies, giving them higher capacity and much lower latency of 1ms. The big question is that as we are yet to harness the power of 5G’s best-yet latency, what will we use 6G for and when?