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INCA Conference 2021: Programme

Our 2021 Conference runs over two days: Wednesday 3rd and Thursday 4th November.

This page is updated as speakers are confirmed, timings tweaked, etc. Please be aware that the programme is fluid, and we reserve the right to make changes at any point. More detail about our conference speakers is available here.

Conference Day One: November 3rd

The first day of the 2021 Conference comprises four elements:

10:30 – 16:30 : Technical Showcase

The next five years will likely see phenomenal levels of growth and activity across the sector as the race to build accelerates further.

What are the strategies that will succeed? 

Which tools and technologies will prove to be essential ingredients for successful - and rapid - deployments?

10:30 Conference Introduction Rob Leenderts & James Saunby - INCA
10:35 UKTDTF... & what's in it for you? Dave Happy – UKTDTF
10:45 Data Sharing - Interoperability Carsten Roensdorf – Ordnance Survey
10:55 Asset Re-use Jeremy Gray – AssetHUB
11:05 Highways Data for FTTH Planning & Design Ian Job – Gaist
11:15 Automated FTTH Design Alain Meller – Setics
11:25 Network Design & Lifecycle Management Anders Hellermark – Digpro
11:35 Wireless Design with WISDM David Burns – Wireless Coverage
11:45 Panel Discussion: Fibre v Gigabit Wireless Chair: James Saunby – INCA
    Nigel King – Cambium
    David Burns - UKWISPA
    Hal Ponton – Voneus
12:10 Weather Effects on Overhead Cable Installations Stephen Hough – Acome
12:20 PIA - The Fight for Space Mike Knott – Corning
12:30 PIA Tooling Innovations - driving time and efficiency savings Jerry Mills - Mills Limited
12:45 Lunch Break  
13:30 Wholesale Platform Update Charl Tintinger – CWP
    Niall Halpenny – Sonalake
    Toby Treacher – BroadbandHUB
14:10 Network Disaggregation Dave Keane Mirajkar – CommScope
14:20 XGS-PON Ronan Kelly – Adtran
14:30 Superconverged Multi-access Edge David Stokes – Ribbon
14:40 Panel Discussion: PON v P2P Chair: Paddy Paddison – Wildanet
    Hector Gibson-Fleming – Wessex Internet
    Michael Maltby – Jurassic Fibre
    Justin Leese – Ogi
    Rob Baynes – Chief Customer Officer, Giganet
15:05 Refreshment break  
15:20 Robust OSS/BSS for exit strategy Johan Hjalmarsson – Netadmin
15:30 Optimisation of passives Simon Wade – Emtelle
15:40 Systems strategies, investor views, exit strategy Lloyd Warn – Packetfront
15:50 Office and Field – Joined-up Thinking John Tarleton – IQGEO
16:00 LINX Neutral Platform Stephen Heron – LINX
16:20 Final wrap-up  

 

13:30 – 16:30 : Project Gigabit Workshop

13:30 Welcome and Introduction James Saunby - GreySky and INCA
13:35 Outline of Project Gigabit Ben Hutchinson – BDUK/DCMS
14:00 Debate – Opportunity or Threat : the impact of Project Gigabit on the independent sector Michael Armitage – Broadway Partners
    Michael Lee – CEO, B4RN
    John Irvine – CEO, WightFibre
    Lloyd Felton – CEO, County Broadband
14:30 Break  
15:00 Panel Discussion/Q&A – Maximise the Opportunity : how to get the most from Project Gigabit David Cullen – Prism
    Jeremy Gray – Hubbub Group
    Alastair Taylor – CEO, NYnet
15:45 Debate – Mind the Gap : will Project Gigabit actually deliver the ambition of Gigabit capable broadband for all? Stephen Muldowney – WeLink Communications UK
    Alastair Taylor – CEO, NYnet
    Michael Lee – CEO, B4RN
    Chris Taylor – Shropshire Council
16:30 Wrap up  

 

14:00 – 16:00 : Investor Workshop

14:00 Welcome and Introduction Charles Cameron – Cameron Barney LLP
14:15 UK Panorama – AltNet Investment and Fibre Build Malcolm Corbett – INCA
14:25 Opportunities & Challenges for AltNet Investment Oliver Bradley – Macquarie Group
    Sean McLachlan – Aviva Investors
    Ken Campbell – PMP Conseil
    Steve Leighton – Voneus
15:00 Refreshment Break  
15:15 Regulation & Public Policy: Supporting or Hindering AltNet Investment Robert Skinner – Octopus Investments
    James Ratzer – New Street Research
    David Cullen – ITS
    Gita Sorensen – GOS Consulting
15:50 Wrap up  

 

19:00 – late : INCA Golds Awards Dinner

The culmination of our Awards programme, which aims to shine a spotlight on some of the brightest and best in our industry. Across the spring and summer, INCA Members have been invited to submit their nominations to identify the people and organisations that deserve recognition for their innovative projects, outstanding work and remarkable achievements.

Join us for dinner and a celebratory awards ceremony as we find out who has been chosen by our eminent panel of independent judges. Who will be taking home one of the rare and highly prized 'INCA Golds' awards. Not to be missed.

 

Conference Day Two: November 4th

The second day offers a full array of keynotes, panel discussions and break-out workshop sessions.

09:00 Welcome & Introduction Charlotte Holloway – Government Relations Director UK & Ireland, Zoom
09:10 Keynote Ronan Kelly, CTO EMEA & APAC Regions, Adtran
09:30 Meet the Altnets I Chair: Ros Singleton – CEO, Spring Fibre and Chair UK5G Advisory Board
    Darren Woods – CFO, Freedom Fibre
    Mike Lee – CEO, B4RN
    Stefan Stanislawski – CEO, Connect Fibre
     
10:10 Workshops - morning session - a choice of three parallel workshops  
  A: Switching & Wholesale Chair: David Cullen – Group Director, Regulation & Policy, ITS
    Lloyd Felton – CEO, County Broadband
    Robert Walker – Head of Alt-Net Strategy, TalkTalk
    Niall Halpenny – Director of Telecoms, Sonalake
    Toby Treacher – Managing Director, The BroadbandHUB
     
     
  B: Consumer Take-up Chair: Laura Holdgate – Principal Policy Adviser, Which?
    Selina Chadha – Connectivity Director, Networks and Communications, Ofcom
    Till Sommer – Head of Policy, ISPA
    Thomas Martin – Principal Solutions Engineer, Calix
    John Irvine – CEO, WightFibre
    Mike Locke – INCA
    Rob Burles – Head of Regulation and Partnerships, Swish Fibre
     
  C: Labour & Skills Chair: Claire Stanley – Strategic Account Director, ASK4
    Lewis Simington – Director of People Operations, County Broadband
    Chris Sinclair – Principal Telecoms Consultant, Manpower
    Matt Hunter – Managing Director Hellermann Tyton Connectivity
    Adrian Head – Huawei
     
11:00 Networking break  
11:20 Meet the Altnets II Chair: Matt Hunter – Managing Director Hellermann Tyton Connectivity
    Sam Hales – Head of Communications, MS3
    Graham Sargood – CEO, Box Broadband
    Ben Allwright – CEO, Ogi
     
12:00 Keynote Dave Clarkson – Competition Policy Director, Ofcom
12:20 Panel - Competition and Regulation Chair: Alex Blowers – Director of Regulatory Affairs, CityFibre
    Daren Baythorpe – CEO, ITS
    Graeme Oxby – CEO, Community Fibre
    Gita Sorensen – Managing Director, GOS Consulting
    John Irvine – CEO, WightFibre
    Neil McArthur – Founder & CEO, Freedom Fibre
     
13:00 Lunch break  
14:00 Welcome back  
14:10 Keynote: Progress in Reaching the UK Gigabit Target Henry Shennan,  Deputy Director for Broadband Regulation and Investment, DCMS
14:30 Panel: Reaching the Gigabit Target – Industry Views Chair: Tim Stranack – Founder, and Regulatory & Trade Director, Community Fibre
    Matt Agar – Building Digital UK, DCMS
    Rob Burles – Head of Regulation and Partnerships, Swish Fibre
    Dan Butler – Director of Communications and Policy Strategy, Hyperoptic
    Catherine Colloms – Managing Director for Corporate Affairs, Openreach
    Cordia Liu - Head of Regulatory Affairs, Huawei
15:30 Workshops - afternoon session - a choice of three parallel workshops  
  D: The Road to Net Carbon Zero Chair: Daniel Heery – INCA Board Member
    Alison Heppenstall – Co Executive Director at Climate Action for Associations (CAFA)
    Sarah Parsons – Director of Compliance, CityFibre
    Graham Mitchell – Net Zero Programme Lead, INCA
     
  E: Public Sector Innovation Chair: Tracey Sheehan – Director, Convergent Consultancy
    Matthew Guinan – Dura-Line
    Raj Mack – Digital Birmingham
    David Happy – Dorset
    Tom Allen – Cube Ultra Wales - 5G
     
  F: Access To Infrastructure (ATI) Chair: Jeremy Sheehan
    Gita Sorensen – Managing Director, GOS Consulting
    Alex Cleves – DCMS
    Shaun Fensom – Society Secretary, Cooperative Network Infrastructure (CNI)
    Rob Leenderts – The AssetHUB
    Di Howard – Atkins Global
     
16:30 Panel - Scaling Up: Opportunities & Challenges Chair: Charlotte Holloway – Government Relations Director UK & Ireland, Zoom
    Oliver Johnson – CEO, Point Topic
    Alex Blowers – Director of Regulatory Affairs, CityFibre
    Tim Stranack – Founder, and Regulatory & Trade Director, Community Fibre
    John Irvine – CEO, WightFibre
    Ros Singleton – CEO, Spring Fibre and Chair UK5G Advisory Board
    Matt Hunter – Hellermann Tyton
17:10 Conference Wrap-up  

 

Conference Sponsors

We are grateful to our sponsors for their generous support, without which we wouldn't be able to run events like this.

Platinum Sponsor

Adtran

 

Gold Sponsors

ACOME Calix

 

CommScope

 

CorningCommon Wholesale Platform

 

Dura-lineEmtelle

 

Hellermann TytonHuawei

 

IQGEOMills

 

Sonalake

 

Silver Sponsors

ComsofDigpro

 

ESRI UKJurassic Fibre

 

 

GOS Consulting