Debating
the connectivity of tomorrow

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Debating the connectivity of tomorrow

‍Prysmian CEO Valerio Battista at the FT-ETNO Summit: fibre is the future

Prysmian CEO Valerio Battista at the FT-ETNO Summit: fibre is the future

The connectivity of the future is based on fibre. That was the message delivered by Prysmian CEO Valerio Battista at the eighth edition of the FT-ETNO Summit, where leading policymakers, regulators, industry executives and investors from Europe and beyond gathered in Brussels to discuss and debate the future role and development of the communication industry.

Mr Battista underlined that “business is based on fibre. The last mile can be based on cables, antennas, and satellite, but the substance doesn’t change. The base is always fibre. Moreover, the network Europe is going to build must be future-proof”.

According to Mr. Battista’s vision, future-proof means infrastructures that must exist for 20-30 years, where the quality of products is essential: “Through quality, we can build reliable networks, with no interruptions to services and a very low latency”.

The meeting took place at a very meaningful time, when technology and mobility have brought about unprecedented opportunities and challenges, and while Europe is moving closer and closer to reviewing the Union’s telecommunication rules that will set the framework for progress in the years to come.

Mariya Gabriel, European Commissioner for Digital Economy and Society, launched a call to look at the big picture and to stay true to the ambition of the founding fathers of European Union: “We need to concentrate our efforts towards connectivity, which is paramount. My goal is for Europe to catch up with today’s leading countries and continents, such as the US, Japan and South Korea”. In his keynote lecture, Jeremy Rifkin, Sustainability Adviser to the European Commission’s presidents, stated that the European Union is the ideal location to explore the opportunities of modern connectivity and shared mobility thanks to the elimination of country borders, since, “technology and digital infrastructures don’t like borders. They just like open space”.

During the summit, regulators, industry executives and journalists discussed the reforms to the Electronic Communications Code (issued in October 2016), alongside the policy priorities of the new European Parliament and their impact on European telecoms, media and technology.

SHOWCASING INNOVATION AT THE IWCS SYMPOSIUM

Held in Orlando, Florida, the IWCS: International Cable and Connectivity Symposium 2017 was the ideal opportunity for Prysmian to present its new, state-of-the-art technologies in cable and connectivity products, processes and applications.

This edition saw over 150 papers and presentations in 20 compelling sessions over three full days, providing great learning opportunities from renowned industry experts.

Expert speakers addressed important issues and economic trends facing the industry, followed by an interesting panel of Chief Technology Officers (CTOs) and industry leaders, who presented their visions for ‘Telecommunications in 2025’.

Marcelo Andrade, Vice President R&D Prysmian, took part as the Group’s representative and pointed out that “the cable world, and the fibre one in particular, is changing rapidly with new technologies, applications and the needs of a digital society. Hyper connectivity, video streaming, autonomous driving, virtual reality, smart homes, convergence, and more will soon dominate our life”.

How is Prysmian Group responding to these changes and challenges? “With new, innovative products and customised solutions, such as high-density cables with flexible ribbon designs, micromodules (Prysmian Flextube®) and multi-loose tube designs that will reach densities well above 5 f/sqmm,” Andrade informs. Together with Andrade’s speech, many colleagues from some of Prysmian’s divisions around the globe – the US, Italy, Netherlands, Spain, France and Brazil – presented their research and thoughts during the event.

Jeff Barker, Director Telecom R&D North America Prysmian, participated as chairperson to the sessions ‘Next Generation Fibre Cable Design’ and presented a series of technical papers to be discussed in seven different technical sessions.

At the event, Prysmian also received the prestigious ‘Jack Spergel Memorial Award for Outstanding Technical Paper’, for its offering entitled ‘Solutions to Improve Optical Fibre Cables Flame Retardancy’ written by Mauro Maritano, Marelli Paolo, Vito Scrima, Giacomo Colombo Serri, and Marta Garcia S. Emeterio.