Event will bring together more than 300 delegates from the UK’s altnet sector and local and national Government
London, UK, September 6, 2018: The author of the Government’s recent Future Telecoms Infrastructure Report will provide insight into its findings and the next steps required to achieve the goals it outlines at Independent Networks Cooperative Association’s (INCA’s) 2018 Annual Conference.
James Heath, author of the FTIR and Telecoms Director at the Government’s Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Department, will join other Government representatives, network operators, service providers and equipment manufacturers to discuss the future of Britain’s digital infrastructure.
The conference – which includes INCA’s inaugural awards ceremony – will be held at the Amba Hotel, Marble Arch, London, from Monday, November 5 to Tuesday November 6.
“I am looking forward to the INCA Conference,” said Heath. “It will be a great opportunity to discuss our plans to accelerate full fibre connections to 15m premises by 2025, and across the UK by 2033, underpinning 5G wireless coverage.”
Split across two days, the first day of the conference will consist of three parallel workshops covering rural broadband, digital infrastructure investment and a technical and operational showcase.
The following day will include keynote speeches, panel discussions and workshop sessions. These will cover various topics including progress on building new full fibre and 5G networks, topical issues in policy and regulation and forward-looking initiatives being taken on by organisations within the broadband industry. The line-up of speakers confirmed so far includes Justin Leese, who leads the Government’s Local Full Fibre Networks programme, Raj Kalia, CEO of Broadband Delivery UK (BDUK), plus leading industry figures including Dana Tobak of Hyperoptic, Mark Collins of CityFibre, Erzsebet Fitori of the Fibre-to-the-Home Council Europe, and Wenbing Yao of Huawei.
“The UK broadband industry is at a critical juncture as the Government looks to roll out more fibre and support the imminent 5G rollout,” said Malcolm Corbett, CEO at INCA. “Our Annual Conference will highlight innovative approaches being taken by the altnets and discuss overcoming potential obstacles. We are particularly pleased to have the support of James Heath and other leading Government and industry figures, who will help frame the discussion about the future shape of our industry.”
The first ever INCA Awards will also be held during the conference dinner on the evening of Monday, November 5. The INCA Awards will honour the best of the UK’s independent network builders and operators, highlighting their innovative work across the country. Companies wishing to enter the awards have until Friday, September 21 to submit their proposal following an extension on the original deadline due to popular demand.
For further information about the INCA Awards and to submit an entry, please see: https://www.inca.coop/awards.
For more information about the INCA annual conference, please see: https://www.inca.coop/civicrm/event/info?reset=1&id=99.