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The 2020 Total Telecom Congress kicks off in less than two weeks and, of course, this year it is virtual. Whilst it is disappointing that we can’t all gather together, there has been no let up in the range or quality of speakers and of course the content is accessible to a far wider group without the considerations of travel time and cost. Better still, if you work for a telecom operator you can attend free of charge – so even if you only want to attend one session, you have nothing to lose!
Total Telecom Congress starts with the keynote panel “Global Telecoms Reimagined: A new telco for the global economy” on the 27 October and wraps up with the 22nd World Communication Awards on the 28 October (also free to attend so reserve your place).
With over 140 speakers participating we can’t look at them all, but here’s nine you might want to see.
Scott Petty, Chief Technology Officer, Vodafone UK
Scott has been with Vodafone for more than 11 years and CTO of Vodafone UK since February 2018. He is a strong advocate of 5G which he believes will have a massively transformational impact on Vodafone UK, requiring new skills and a new innovation-based culture.
Joining Scott on the opening keynote panel is Christoph Aeschlimann, CTIO, Swisscom AG.
Christoph is another leader in the 5G field and at Swisscom has been particularly influential in developing working practices such as agility and DevOps. He took over his current role in February 2019.
The first panel discussion in the 5G channel features Ms Ong Geok Chwee, Chief Executive Officer, of Bridge Alliance. Bridge Alliance has more than 20 member operators connecting consumers and enterprises worldwide. This July they announced collaboration with China Unicom and Singtel to enable enterprise customers to perform embedded SIM (eSIM) changes over-the-air.
Joining her on the panel is Haithem Al-Faraj SVP of technology and operations at alliance member Saudi Telecom Co. (STC) who believes the progress on eSIM is a step towards achieving the aims of the Vision 2030 reform plan.
Later on Day 1 we look at how can telcos capitalise on huge infrastructure investments, with a great panel including speakers from Elisa, West Midlands 5G, and IDC, as well as Lise Fuhr, Director General, ETNO. Lise is a 20+ year telecom veteran and prior to joining ETNO in 2016 had been at DK Hostmaster and Telia.
Representing African operator MTN we have Group CIO, Nikos Angelopoulos who takes part in the day 2 keynote panel, before we head into another day of outstanding content including the Network Transformation channel where we see Marc Halbfinger, CEO, PCCW Global joining a panel on rethinking network business models for the digital future. Marc is one of the most recognisable figures in the industry and his company, PCCW Global, one of the sponsors for the World Communication Awards.
On Day 1 in the IoT channel we have a panel on how AI can be used in your IoT offering. Joining this discussion we have Dr Sharlene Thiagarajah who has dual roles as Chief Executive Officer Telekom Research & Development and Vice President, Technology & Innovation at Telekom Malaysia. TM Research & Development have been at the forefront of the battle against coronavirus, including the launch of Early Warning, Alert & Response [EWAR] that is able to measure and detect individuals with abnormal body temperature at crowded areas
Finally, for this preview, we have CEO, Colt Technology Services, Keri Gilder who will be chatting by the virtual fire with the one and only Isabelle Paradis.
Total Telecom Congress takes place online on the 27-28 October 2020. To find out more about the other speakers taking part in Total Telecom Congress and to book your pass (free for operators and public sector) visit www.totaltele.com/congress.
Don’t forget your ticket also gives you access to the World Communication Awards – check if you are shortlisted here
