By SubTel Forum
This year at PTC’12, Kevin Summers, Editor of Submarine Telecoms Forum is pleased to moderate at submarine cable breakout session called “Through the Looking Glass: The Perceived Future of the Submarine Cable Industry.”
In the midst of a devastating worldwide recession, submarine cable system owners are working hard to extend the lifespan of their systems. Meanwhile, new systems are being lit all over the globe. System suppliers and upgraders are developing new technologies to expand capacity for the “backbone” of the internet, and new markets are emerging with a seemingly insatiable need for connectivity.
The session will consist of several speakers, each from a different corner of the submarine cable industry: a system owner, a legal expert, a consultant and an upgrader. Each will each give a brief presentation on their specific area of expertise, followed by an intense roundtable discussion and Q&A led by the moderator.
Panelists for this session include:
Kent Bressie Partner, Wiltshire & Grannis LLP
Kent Bressie is a partner with the law firm of Wiltshire & Grannis LLP in Washington, D.C. and chairs its international practice. Kent is an expert on telecommunications regulation and international trade and investment who has worked throughout the Asia-Pacific region.
Kent has extensive experience with the whole range of legal and regulatory issues affecting undersea cables and international carriers, including: licensing and permitting; national security, export controls, and economic sanctions; transaction and investment reviews; market access; corporate and commercial transactions; and the law of the sea. He has represented undersea cable operators, suppliers, investors, and capacity customers in connection with projects on six continents.
Kent holds a bachelor's degree from Stanford University and a law degree from the University of Chicago.
[hr]James Case Director, Project Management, WFN Strategies
James Case serves as the Director of Projects for WFN Strategies. He has managed or supported telecom projects in the Gulf of Mexico, Indonesia, Russia, Caribbean, North Sea, West Africa, Antarctica, Australia and the North Sea.
He received a BS in Ocean Engineering from the Florida Institute of Technology and has strong project management skills with technical areas of expertise in relational and spatial database development, GIS programming, web application development, network security and IT design.
He also has 10 years of at-sea Ocean Engineering experience which includes survey system sensor integration, hydrographic survey, vessel mobilization and all aspects of data collection and product development for hydrographic and cable route surveys.
[hr]John Pennewell Director, International Network, AT&T
During Mr. Pennewell's career with AT&T he has worked in many aspects of the business from Bell Labs to National Account Sales. His most recent have been dedicated to international network development focused on submarine cables.
He cut his teeth as Director of Submarine Cable Development in the Asia Pacific region where he successfully completed Japan-US, China-US and APCN2 consortia cables. During his years with AT&T's Concert subsidiary he developed several private cable concepts and helped bring the Australia Japan Cable to life.
Since rejoining the parent company he has expanded his scope to include both terrestrial and marine aspects of AT&T global transport network.
[hr]Michael Ruddy Managing Director, International Research, Terabit Consulting
Michael Ruddy is the author of Terabit's 1,500-page Undersea Cable Report and has completed feasibility studies for dozens of international fiber optic networks since the 1990s including Hibernia, the Australia-Japan Cable, EASSy, and the Seychelles-East Africa System.
Prior to co-founding Terabit in 2000, he was responsible for undersea cable research at Pioneer Consulting, where he created the Worldwide Submarine Fiber Optic Systems report. He was also a market analyst at Kessler Marketing Intelligence (KMI), where he authored the study Beyond the Atlantic Cable Maintenance Agreement, as well as a Foreign Service Officer at the U.S. Department of State.
[hr]Moderator: Kevin G. Summers Editor, Submarine Telecoms Forum
Kevin G. Summers is the Editor of Submarine Telecoms Forum. Readers will be familiar with his Coda, the final article in each edition of SubTel Forum magazine. He was also instrumental in many of the design and content changes to SubTel Forum since 2009.
He is a professional author of fiction and part-time farmer along with his wife, Rachel. They live in beautiful Amissville, Virginia.
