Interesting Insights
& Responses to the Event
VIEWS
It’s been great to see so many regulatory, operational and other perspectives coming together at the NExsT forum and find out where the industry is going. After all, I don’t just work in this industry, but I’m a consumer, too, just like my family and neighbours.
Bill Cook
BANDWIDTH INFRASTRUCTURE ADVISOR AT COOK INFRASTRUCTURE CONSULTING
Lisa Youngers
PRESIDENT & CEO, FIBER BROADBAND ASSOCIATION
5G means a lot of different things to different people - it depends on who you ask. Being part of the work Prysmian is doing is great – they’re an important member and partner of the Fiber Broadband Association and I come across them at nearly all of my speaking opportunities advocating for fibre.
Policy is king
Developing future networks is like building a skyscraper without having any plans. I don’t think anyone knows how much 5G will revolutionize our lives as we move forward. The people who call it ‘the next industrial revolution’ are probably right, as it may well provide the basis for complete connectivity ubiquity. People need to have all the right information in order to make fast decisions that allow them top retain flexibility.
There are quite a few real regulatory hurdles that need to be overcome. Without the right policies taking effect and being monitored, all the plans for improving our economy and society won’t amount to very much. Without access to poles and small cells in place, for example, the network just won’t happen.
Chad Punchard
PRESIDENT, COMSTAR
Cheri Beranek
PRESIDENT & CEO, CLEARFIELD
The only way we are going to accelerate this process is by collaborating with each other. This event is a phenomenal opportunity to be aligned with people who are working on these challenges every day.
NExsT forum: a great platform
5G is foundational for the future our company. It will allow us to keep up with consumer demand and ever-increasing data consumption requirements and also manage our networks more effectively and extend our services for the future. We’ve done several 5G trials. I think this forum is creating a great platform for everyone on the industry to connect and exchange ideas about tackling some of the challenges that come with rolling out 5G and mesh networks. 5G is blurring the boundaries between wire line and wireless. It will be very interesting to see how the industry tackles this.
Shazia Sobani
VICE PRESIDENT BROADBAND, TELUS CORPORATION
Patrick O’ Hare
SVP OPERATIONS, ZENFI NETWORKS
It's interesting that we have such a cross section of the country’s perspectives here. Everybody’s sharing different experiences and learning from each other!
A multitude of drivers
We’ve never before seen multiple drivers all related to the same development, which is what’s happening with 5G. Every single growth event in the history of telecom has only had one or two independent drivers. 5G means so many different things across so many different industries and broadband markets: survival for municipalities, revenue for wireless, monitoring for power utilities, messaging and video for distributed ledger technology providers… Many of the drivers for 5G don't have an end-of-life in sight, so developments will continue for many years to come. We don’t even have an idea of what autonomous vehicles might bring. It’s a great time to be working in this long-term growth area. For us, the biggest takeaway from the Next forum would probably be finding the common drivers across sectors.
Todd Rhen
SVP SALES, COMSTAR
Jennifer Sims
CEO, POWER & TELEPHONE SUPPLY
It’s a real treat to be here with such an international group, looking at everything from interoperability to legislation. Not just from a domestic perspective, but globally. It’s exciting to see the progress being made.
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