Fiber Insights from events in March and April 2023
We have had a busy few weeks in March and April at various fiber-focused events in North America and Europe.
As Thought Leaders in Fiber Telecommunications, we want to share insights from those events. These events brought together some of the brightest minds in the industry to discuss the latest trends and innovations in fiber telecommunications.
Connected America
Ron Righter and Chris Edwards were at the inaugural #ConnectedAmerica , March 28-29, 2023 in Irving Convention Center, Dallas.
The main themes at the event were about affordable connectivity efforts and how organizations can get funding and how BEAD will support the expansion of high-speed internet access. Support includes funding planning, infrastructure deployment, and adoption programs in all 50 states, Washington D.C., Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands.
Fiber Broadband Association’s Gary Bolton delivered a personal insight into fiber and poverty, resonating with our work in the UK and Ireland where Indigo engineers designed and deployed high-speed internet access for people living and working in rural areas.
[Read Ron’s recent blog Indigo’s North America Presence]
FTTH Conference in Madrid #ftth23
On a similar theme about the digital divide, Will Tobin spoke at a panel session at the #ftth23 conference in Madrid, about “Investing in Rural Broadband Infrastructure.” Thanks to our colleagues, Mustafa Demir, Connecting Europe Broadband Fund (CEBF), Manuel Garnelo, Asteo Red Neutra and Patrick Faraj from VIAVI Solutions for a great session. 
The FTTH Conference in Madrid was a key event for the fiber telecommunications industry. The conference showcased the latest technologies and innovations in fiber optics, as well as best practices in network deployment and operations.
Some of the main points discussed at the conference include:
- Still a long way to go to increase subscriptions, with only 8 countries above the 50% penetration rate
- Rural areas have experienced an unprecedented pace in coverage in 2022, as a consequence of recent national policies and initiatives shifting towards the sub-urban and rural areas
- New FTTH/B Market Panorama reports highlight steady progress in FTTH/B coverage with 219 million homes passed at EU39 level, more than 62% of total households
- FTTH/B Forecasts for 2023-2028 expect a continuation of current trends, with the bulk of fiber build effort in the next five years concentrating in Germany, United Kingdom, and Italy
There was also a great Irish presence at the conference with the CTO panel session on Wednesday made up of two Irish ladies Suzanne Tracy of Siro & Eilish O’Connor of Viatel. The closing day saw Peter Hendrick of National Broadband Ireland speaking on the FTTH Rural Networks Deployment panel session.
There is a huge desire need for industry players to work together to build efficient and sustainable networks that can support future growth and innovation.
Esri event #imgis in Frankfurt
Angeliki Katsantoni imparted her extensive knowledge at #imgis in Frankfurt about how to use ArcGIS Field Maps & Survey123 Integration for Consent/Wayleave Activities. She was in good company as just one of many amazing speakers at the event!
The Esri International Infrastructure Management and GIS Conference (IMGIS) in Frankfurt, Germany, focused on:
- The use of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) in telecommunications and other infrastructure sectors such as electric and gas, water, transportation, and AEC (Architecture, Engineering, and Construction).
- GIS Telecom Sessions on how to create sustainable and resilient infrastructure networks and the latest digital and efficient workflows and innovations/updates in the GIS world.
- How GIS tools can be implemented to collect, visualize, and analyze the fiber networks datasets, enabling telecom companies to optimize the network design and improve their operations. Always an essential part of any design.
- How GIS can be utilized across different Fibre stages from the design, build and maintain.
- Move the organization Location intelligence forward with GIS: digitally transforming telecommunications increase the productivity and cost efficiency of the business
- Networking and sharing ideas with GIS and telecoms professionals from interconnected industries and from multiple countries and continents (e.g., USA, Canada, UK, Ireland, Israel, Dubai, Germany, Poland, Netherlands, Austria)
One of the main topics at the event was the growing importance of GIS technology in the fiber telecommunications industry. As networks become more complex and data-intensive, GIS supports comprehensive understanding and intelligent decision-making, effective network assets management and identifies areas for improvement. By Leveraging the system of capture, model, analyze & visualize that GIS systems provide, businesses are well prepared to meet the new demands of the market, succeed in their key business objectives and achieve next-generation networks.
Ultimately, GIS technology in Telecoms can be used to improve network design, operations, and maintenance, by streamlining workflows, informing decision making and strengthening communication, delivering better services to customers.
Connected North in Manchester
Clarissa Dunn and Dan Bennet attended the Connected North event in Manchester. It brought together leaders from the fiber telecommunications industry to discuss some of the biggest issues surrounding Northern connectivity.
- Whether the North on track with project gigabit (the government scheme to take gigabit broadband to hard-to-reach communities)
- The growing challenge of collaboration between the public and private sector
- Continued challenges with Barrier busting
- The need for critical digital infrastructure to increase global competitiveness to meet the growing demand for digital services and support future growth and innovation, especially in rural areas
- Making smart places a real opportunity for local authorities to improve their communities
Continued investment in digital infrastructure is still a must. With the growing demand for digital services, it is essential for telecom companies and other stakeholders to invest in the latest technologies and innovations to support future growth and innovation.
In the UK and Ireland market consolidation in the telecoms industry has been a growing trend recently, which will lead to a smaller number of dominant players that control a significant portion of the market. We will have to wait and see who those dominant players will be and whether there will be any concerns about the potential impact on competition and innovation.
In conclusion, the events that took place in March and April 2023 demonstrated the importance of fiber optics in the telecommunications industry, as well as the need for greater collaboration and investment in digital infrastructure. As the industry continues to evolve and grow, it will be essential for stakeholders to work together to build efficient and sustainable networks that can support future innovation and growth.
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