PART 1 – Drawing on the experience of 2020: What will really change?

The Motion: 2020 has been a pivotal year for the telecoms industry

(The motion was CARRIED at the event)

The value that telecoms brings to the economy has been brought into sharp focus during the different lockdowns and subsequent shifts in consumption patterns from different locations. The industry has reacted rapidly to reconfigure network flows and to allow new working patterns. Has this been a shot in the arm for the industry, showing that it can be agile and responsive to dramatically changing market and customer needs on all fronts? Is the industry under-valued in the eyes of customers and investors? And, have the world’s telcos used this as an opportunity to accelerate their transformation projects or just adapted to new demand circumstances?

PART 2 – The Open Telco: How do we harness the innovation required to revamp the network

The Motion: A more open telco is at odds with the simplification of the supplier roster

(The motion was DEFEATED at the event)

Geo-political issues aside, the supplier ecosystem into the telecoms industry faces some major demands. Openness has many flavours depending on your start position.  Will open result in a wider supplier pool or will the desire to reduce the number of suppliers handled by the telcos be a stronger factor? Are we finally approaching a balance of supply and demand in the telecoms marketplace? Is the availability of open APIs and open interfaces finally going to kick-start a more competitive supplier environment? 

PART 1 – Drawing on the experience of 2020: What will really change?

Expert Witnesses:

Jean-Yves Charlier

Director of the Board, Digicel and Chairman, Shareability

Andrea Dona

Head of Networks UK, Vodafone

Howard Watson

Chief Technology and Information Officer, BT Group

Phil Mottram

Vice President, Communications and Media Solutions, Hewlett Packard Enterprise

Arguing For the Motion:

Graham Wilde

CEO and Co-Founder, BWCS

Arguing Against the Motion:

Chris Lewis

Managing Director, Lewis Insight

Moderator:

Guy Daniels

Director of Content, TelecomTV

PART 2 – The Open Telco: How do we harness the innovation required to revamp the network

Expert Witnesses:

Tony Sceales

Head of 5G Programme Development, DCMS

Darrell Jordan-Smith

Senior Vice President, Industries and Global Accounts, Red Hat

Joe Wojtal

Chief Technology Officer, World Wide Technology

Mike Ouellette

Senior Director, Engineering Operations, NetNumber

Nathan Rader

VP Cloudified Production, Deutsche Telekom

Arguing For the Motion:

Chris Lewis

Managing Director, Lewis Insight

Arguing Against the Motion:

Graham Wilde

CEO and Co-Founder, BWCS

Moderator:

Guy Daniels

Director of Content, TelecomTV