Event Promotion
TIF Annual Conference: Beyond Broadband
11-10-2007
by
The underlying theme of this year's TIF conference (Tue 16th Oct.) is 'beyond broadband'. Though a seemingly simple phrase, it carries a complex array of potential outcomes which could radically alter telecommunications as we know it in Ireland.
There was a time when telecoms was a simple matter of delivering an analogue representation of one person's voice to someone at the other end of a continuous point-to-point connection. Such times are long past, with major telcos having moved almost all of their voice traffic to digital bits and bytes.
Industry Change
The change from analogue to digital was momentous because it suddenly made voice and data the same thing; a succession of 0s and 1s. To modern networks there is absolutely no distinction between voice or data. So we now operate in an environment where almost all communication is digital. But something else happens when everything has become a datastream... it can be carried on just about any digital network, be it fibre, copper, cellular or satellite.
It's at this stage that the 14th TIF Annual Conference sets its stall. With increasing numbers of companies competing with each other in a marketplace where the distinction between where one market ends and another begins has become completely blurred, what will the next generation of wired and wireless networks mean for both business and its customers?
To find the answer to Ireland's telecommunications needs, TIF has gathered leaders in the field to address both the national and international implications of these changes.
Speakers
The morning sessions of the conference features presentations from:
- Eamon Ryan, TD, Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources
- John Herlihy, European Director, Online Sales & Operations, Google
- John Quist, Vice President of All IP Division, KPN Netherlands
- Houston Spencer, Chief Marketing Officer, Alcatel-Lucent UK & Ireland
- Noel Meaney, Chief Executive Officer, euNetworks
- Mike Byrne, Chairperson, ComReg
- Sean Dorgan, Chief Executive Officer, IDA Ireland
- Joe Macri, General Manager, Microsoft Ireland
It will be chaired by Gerry Fahy, Chairman of TIF and Director of Strategy, Vodafone Ireland and Mike Maloney, Vice Chairman of TIF and Chief Operating Officer, BT Ireland.
The afternoon sessions will move away from traditional presentations to allow a full roundtable debate between the CEOs of the telecoms operators in Ireland, moderated by the broadcaster John Bowman, and John Collins of the Irish Times. The debate will feature:
- Rex Comb, Chief Executive Officer, eircom
- Robert Finnegan, Chief Executive Officer, 3 Ireland
- Chris Clark, Chief Executive Officer, BT Ireland
- Robert Dunn, Chief Executive Officer, UPC Ireland
- John Riordan, Chief Executive Officer, Smart Telecom
- Charles Butterworth, Chief Executive Officer, Vodafone Ireland
- Danuta Gray, Chief Executive Officer, O2
- Neil Parkinson, Chief Executive Officer, Irish Broadband
- Conal Henry, Chief Executive Officer, e-net
- Colm Piercy, Chief Executive Officer, Digiweb
- Dan Churchill, Chief Executive Officer, Clearwire
- Iain MacDonald, Chief Executive Officer, Perlico Group
- Gary Keogh, Managing Director, COLT Telecom Ireland Ltd
- Derek Daly, Managing Director, InterFusion Networks
- Vern Kennedy, Chief Executive Officer, Magnet Networks
As TIF Director Tommy McCabe explains, "The changes facing all companies in the telecoms and internet space are quite momentous. We're seeing convergence technologies at once creating entirely new business opportunities whilst others which appear to put existing business models on very shaky ground. It's never been a more exciting, invigorating or dynamic sector. That's what we aim to capture with both our speaker presentations during the morning session and the round table discussions in the afternoon."
For a full running order of both speakers and round table forums visit the TIF Conference website at http://www.tif.ie/conference or contact Carolyn Duomeni on 01 605 1528 to reserve a place.
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