Join us for a morning of hard-hitting keynotes exploring the most pressing issues across the international connectivity landscape.

Join us for a morning of experience-sharing, celebration, and strategising with the women of influence from our industry. This is the place to join the conversation with fellow champions for diversity and inclusion and establish lasting connections.

Driven by competition and technological evolutions, carriers globally are increasingly considering or have already begun the process of de-layering to separate infrastructure from services, with the aim of unlocking extra value. However, this raises questions about the long-term viability of unbundling, its impact on capital structures, and the complexities of managing non-vertically integrated models. This panel will bring together the InfraCo, the ServCo, and the NetCo to share the opportunities and challenges of structural and functional separation:

• How does the separation of fixed network assets impact competition, innovation, and service delivery?
• Can non-vertically integrated models create sustainable capital structures, or are they inherently cyclical?
• What strategies can operators employ to maximize the value of a standalone ServCo?
• How are investors viewing each model?

Cast your votes on whether you believe telecom security cultures are sufficiently robust. Then, join the debate and decide afterwards whether your opinion has shifted.

With over $200 billion lost to cybercrime globally last year, telecoms is one industry facing scrutiny, particularly over the ability to protect global networks and data. The rise of cloud adoption and emerging security frameworks such as SASE may provide stronger defences, but are tools such as these enough to keep up with the ever-changing threat landscape and corporate culture challenges. This debate will cover:

• Whether cloud adoption weakens or strengthens telco security, the shared responsibility models, and zero-trust cloud environments
• How SASE and SD-WAN solution implementations have succeeded and failed
• The challenges of embedding mindsets and solutions from the C-suite through to Operations

As demand for our digital infrastructure skyrockets, the resources required for expansion are under increasingly severe pressure. Power grids are strained, suitable real estate is scarce, and fibre deployment lags behind. Can the industry align to solve these critical bottlenecks? This panel will explore:

• How has the data centre power play evolved in the new energy economy? And what role will SMRs play?
• As facility and campus sizes explode, how is location strategy changing?
• Is fibre densification in tier 2 and 3 markets happening quickly enough?

Cast your votes on whether you believe voice is still a pivotal communications channel and line of business. Then, join the debate and decide afterwards whether your opinion has shifted.

The voice industry has been transforming for the past five years, with traffic and revenues steadily decreasing due largely to migration of P2P to OTT channels, along with fraud threats. However, there is a focus on service development and innovation to combat the ARPU decline. After all, the voice industry isn’t going away. This debate will cover:

• The global traffic trends and reimagined role of mobile in emerging markets and other growth routes
• The strategies for sustaining the voice line of business
• Leveraging voice as a verification tool and other use-cases such as emergency services

The C-suite at global telcos is going through a seismic shift in the transition to TechCos. This is characterised by the adoption of interdisciplinary strategies across product, technology, operations, and finance. This panel will explore how these leaders are redefining the previously siloed roles and navigating increased complexity, addressing the following questions:

• How are legacy operational models balanced with AI innovation and platform models?
• What skillsets to tomorrow’s CXOs require?
• How is customer-centricity impacting internal collaboration?

Cast your votes on whether you believe OSS/BSS transformation will be the key to carrier business growth. Then, join the debate and decide afterwards whether your opinion has shifted.

The telecoms industry is investing heavily in OSS/BSS transformation, with Analysys Mason forecasting spend to reach $80 billion by 2028. Modernised OSS/BSS systems promise to unlock network orchestration and automation, enhance customer experiences, and deliver new monetisation opportunities such as 5G. But are these transformative results being realised or are costs merely being added? This panel will explore:

• What are the drivers of growth, and how do they vary globally?
• How is the OSS/BSS vendor landscape changing? and are vendors and carriers aligned on solutions that withstand evolving demands?
• Which upgrades are yielding measurable ROI for carriers?

A 150-billion-dollar question. As carriers face an evolution trajectory beyond offering traditional data transit services, the Network-as-a-Service model could be the key to monetising network assets. In the era of hyper-personalisation and GenAI use cases, some have successfully embraced NaaS, whilst others are still assessing deployment strategies. This panel will address:

• What can be learnt from early adopters?
• Build, buy, or partner – which model has proven most successful?
• How does campus NaaS fit into the broader NaaS ecosystem? And what are the latest updates?

In light of global outages, and as we become increasingly interconnected with systems supporting critical services and cables enabling intercontinental connectivity, securing and protecting our networks has become an imperative. Self-healing, self-provisioning, alive networks are part of the equation, but how do we solve for sustained resilience? This panel will explore:

• How does the role of regulation and investment need to evolve?
• Are network routes diverse enough in critical areas?
• What cost-efficient strategies are being implemented to enhance network topology?
• How do critical infrastructure designations impact business?

A focus on ultra-resilient networks, fibre expansion, and digital sovereignty in Europe is creating a blueprint for next-generation connectivity. By aligning digital infrastructure development with regulatory frameworks like GDPR and projects like Gaia-X, Europe is taking steps towards securing its place as a global digital leader. But can operators balance innovation, compliance, and global competitiveness in this evolving landscape? This panel will explore:

• How are investments in edge, cloud, and IoT presenting monetisation opportunities and fuelling wholesale innovation? and how are these being aligned with data sovereignty rules?
• How can Europe balance regional leadership with international collaboration?
• What role does Europe’s evolving fibre backbone play in international traffic and wholesale markets?

Panel discussions exploring everything from market bifurcation and the current headwinds to new technologies and a world beyond 432 fibres.

Over the past 12 months, carriers globally have increasingly been deploying AI, and with the prediction that around 75% of customer interactions will be served by AI in the future, more announcements are sure to come. But is enhancement of customer care through AI-as-a-service the only established application, or can AI-enhanced network and services provide sustainable new revenue opportunities?

• What Generative and Predictive AI tools have been successfully deployed across network, CX, and product areas?
• How are commercial challenges being addressed to ensure sufficient market differentiation?
• What approaches and initiatives have been put in place to champion AI within carrier businesses?

• Where are the most significant connectivity gaps?
• How are infrastructure funds and private capital spurring on network upgrades? and how are these investments influencing global subsea and terrestrial networks?
• What are the emerging tier 2 and 3 edge hubs? and how is partnership at the core of these successes?

Satellite connectivity is no longer just a backup for terrestrial networks but a growing part of international connectivity business models. Interoperable networks established in space amounting to ‘fibre in the sky’ could be a glimpse into the future, but first, questions around models for monetisation and partnerships must be answered. This panel will unite carriers and satellite operators to discuss:

• What does a successful multi-stakeholder partnership look like? And how are we building complete and compelling solutions with new constellations?
• What are the challenges around 5G in space and regulation?
• How can NTNs be effectively orchestrated within hybrid network models?
• How are satellite operators positioned to support low-latency applications?

If you’re looking to inform strategic decisions relating to expansion or entry into the Latin American market, this is your chance to hear from in-region experts and ask the burning questions. Three back-to-back 20-minute discussions will delve into several distinct markets including Mexico, Columbia, and Brazil.

With $42.45 billion of funding distributed, BEAD represents a bold step towards universal broadband access for Americans. But as the first projects take shape, stakeholders are asking whether the program’s impact can match its ambition. This panel will discuss:

• How has the new administration impacted funding? And what role are state broadband offices playing?
• What milestones have been reached to date?
• What are the biggest deployment hurdles? And how are we ensuring alignment of projects with affordability, reliability, and scalability goals?

If you’re looking to inform strategic decisions relating to expansion or entry into the Asian market, this is your chance to hear from in-region experts and ask the burning questions. Three back-to-back extended discussions will delve into several distinct markets including Singapore, Malaysia, and Indonesia.

• What potential does an open-access model hold, and what lessons can be learnt from successful instances in other markets?
• How are FTTH projects developing outside of core high-density markets?
• How are collaborations between FWA and fibre providers overcoming deployment barriers?

As the gaming industry expands, traffic is scaling to terabits, and the need for ultra-low latency and fault-tolerant networks is becoming increasingly critical. To deliver seamless experiences, stakeholders across the infrastructure chain including data centre operators, backbone providers, carriers, and hyperscalers, must collaborate to optimize connectivity. The question is: how can they push the limits of internet performance without breaking the economics? The panel will explore:

• How are peering and transit agreements shaping gaming traffic paths and minimizing latency?
• What are the latest hosting and routing strategies delivering real-time performance at global scale?
• What are the long-term benefits and trade-offs of owning v, partnering for backbone network capacity?
• How are wholesale carriers investing to deliver gaming-grade connectivity? And where is the ROI?

The wholesale telecoms industry is on the cusp of a technological revolution. An unprecedented wave of transformation, driven by the rise of AI, 5G-enabled services, and the demand for ultra-low-latency global connectivity is fast-tracking bold, existential decision-making around where to allocate resources. The risks of betting on the wrong trends are high. How can wholesale leaders identify winning strategies? This panel will bring together those at the pinnacle of their fields to share foresight and predictions around the following questions:

• Which future-ready business models and bleeding-edge technologies such as AI-driven networks, quantum communications, and satellite 5G hybrids hold the most promise?
• How will business models evolve? Will integrated digital services and NaaS take off?

• How can carriers position for growth in areas such as edge computing, private 5G and IoT?

Africa’s telecom and data center market has solidified itself as a dynamic opportunity for global investment, and with young, tech-savvy populations and quickening digital infrastructure expansion, key African markets could be primed as major AI hubs. As global cloud providers and enterprises establish a presence, demand grows for resilient, efficient data centers powered by rich renewable energy sources and supported by localised internet infrastructure. Yet, challenges relating to power availability, equitable connectivity, and regulatory alignment remain. This panel will explore:

• How are African markets capitalising on growing interest from global cloud providers to become key AI hubs?
• What is the role of renewable energy in powering Africa’s next generation of sustainable data centres?
• What are the opportunities for international partnerships to strengthen Africa’s role in the global digital economy?
• What is the strategic importance of Africa’s emerging role in global subsea cable routes?

Half a day dedicated to the world of Business Messaging, where you can expect insights from the aggregators, SMS solution providers, carriers, CPaaS platform providers, and OTTs on everything from the outlook and alternatives to A2P, through to security and mobile identity innovations.