Submarine Networks EMEA Preview
May 15, 2023
Submarine Networks EMEA 2023 is set to be another fantastic event, with over 800 attendees from the global subsea industry set to attend. Now in its sixth year, the event has gone from strength-to-strength and has firmly established its position as the EMEA region’s pre-eminent submarine cable event.
For the second year running, the event will kick off with a pre-event workshop hosted by the SubOptic Association. The SubOptic Members’ Forum will take place on the afternoon of 30th May and is open to both members and non-members of the Association. The afternoon will consist of a welcome from the new Executive Committee, highlights from SubOptic 2023 in Bangkok, insights from the Working Groups, and a look at what’s in-store for the Association. The afternoon will conclude with a networking drinks event held at Jack’s Café (located at the Business Design Centre).
The conference on 31st May will open with a keynote panel exploring “What’s on the horizon for the submarine cable industry?”. Attendees will hear from Gary Waterworth (Network Investments, Meta), Mario Martín (CEO, Telxius), Javier Hector Lloret (Senior Expert, Submarine Cables, Omantel), Adil Alaskah (CTO, Center3) and Gavin Tully (Managing Partner, Pioneer Consulting). Ciena’s Thomas Soerensen will then share his take on market trends and Steve Dawe will provide an update on the activities of the European Subsea Cable Association (ESCA).
Back by popular demand, the ‘News in Brief ’ sessions offer an opportunity to hear the latest cable project updates and developments from connectivity hubs in the EMEA and surrounding regions. This year a record-breaking nineteen organisations are taking part, with speakers representing cables including Zeus, IRIS, Tusass Connect, Asia Connect 1, TEAS, IONIAN, and Far North Fiber – to name just a few!
The rest of the day one programme will cover hot topics including public-private partnerships for funding subsea projects, spectrum sharing, subsea cable resilience, investment in the Nordics, emerging connectivity hubs, the future of SLTE, transponder technology evolution, the future of partnerships and the changing dynamics of supply contract commercials and project funding.
The day one programme will conclude with an update from the International Cable Protection Committee (ICPC) followed by a panel discussion on digital infrastructure investment in Africa. Speakers from WIOCC, Digital Realty, Orange, Liquid Dataport and Balancing Act will explore how subsea cables are supporting the ICT sector’s development in Africa and connecting the continent’s booming data centre eco-system.
The second day of the event is also packed with lots more exciting content, starting with a session on how to maximise subsea infrastructure with SMART Cables. Speakers will include Bruce Howe, Ceci Rodriguez Cruz and Jose Barros, who will represent the JTF SMART Cables and will be joined by Joel Ogren (CEO, Assured Communications) and Olivier Courtois (Director, ASN).
Other highlights from the programme include sessions on innovations in submarine cable regulation, sustainability, updates from the SubOptic Foundation, insights on Vodafone’s industry-leading apprenticeship programme and discussions on licensing and regulation.
The team at Total Telecom can’t wait to see everyone in London at the end of the month for Submarine Networks EMEA 2023!
You can read this article and other fantastic features in Issue 130 of the SubTel Forum Magazine
