Check Out the Agenda

Attendees at The Path to 4G will enjoy insight-packed panels, dynamic keynotes, and in-depth presentations. Please check back often, as we are updating the agenda daily.

Agenda

10:30 AM - 11:00 AM
Registration

11:00 AM
Chairman's Opening Remarks

Sue Marek, Editor-in-Chief, FierceWireless

11:05 AM - 11:45 AM
Opening Keynote Presentation: A Fireside Chat
Late last year Verizon Wireless launched LTE services in 39 markets covering 110 million POPs.  Now the company is turning its focus toward attracting customers, expanding its LTE device portfolio to include smartphones and expanding its coverage beyond those initial markets. The person behind Verizon’s LTE charge is David Small, the newly appointed CTO of Verizon Wireless. During this fireside chat, Small will talk with FierceWireless editor in chief Sue Marek about the company’s progress and the challenges ahead.

David Small, Senior VP & CTO, Verizon Wireless
Sue Marek, Editor-in-Chief, FierceWireless

11:45 AM - 12:30 PM
Panel Session: Differentiating 4G Networks and Services
Whether the 4G network is LTE, WiMAX or even HSPA+, operators must be able to distinguish their 4G networks from the competition and from their existing 3G offerings.  Is bandwidth the driving force or are applications king?  Are devices or smartphones the differentiator?   How are operators communicating the value of 4G to consumers?  And more importantly, is it working?

Confirmed Panelists:
Mark Collins, SVP, Voice & Data Products, AT&T Mobility
Hope Cochran, CFO, Clearwire
Chris Pearson, President, 4G Americas
Todd Rowley, VP of 4G, Sprint
Dan Warren, Director of Technology, GSMA
Sue Marek, Editor-in-Chief, FierceWireless [MODERATOR]

12:30 PM - 1:30 PM
Lunch: Sponsored by Ericsson


1:30 PM - 2:15 PM
Panel Session: Optimizing Video for 4G 
High-quality video content is starting to  migrate to mobile and this trend is forcing wireless carriers to turn to video optimization and compression technologies to manage data traffic from YouTube, Hulu and other video providers. Although this issue is happening on 3G networks, it’s anticipated to become even more urgent as 4G networks are launched. How will carriers handle video traffic?   This panel will delve into the various solutions.

Confirmed Panelists:
John Giere, Senior VP, Products & Marketing, Openwave Systems, Inc.
Chris Koopmans, Founding Engineer, VP, Product Development, Bytemobile
Sunil Marolia, VP, Product Management, Smith Micro Software
Iyad Tarazi, VP Network Development & Engineering, Sprint
Mike Dano, Executive Editor, Telecom Group, FierceMarkets [MODERATOR]

 

2:15 PM - 3:00 PM
Panel Session: Monetizing 4G Networks
What types of pricing scenarios are emerging as operators migrate to 4G?  Will tiered pricing or unlimited data pricing dominate in the 4G world?  Many in the industry believe the true winners in the 4G battle are those operators that can creatively bundle and price services to attract more customers and achieve higher ARPUs.  What are the various options?   How can operators communicate to consumers the bandwidth they are using and its value?

Confirmed Panelists:
Randy Fuller, Director of Strategic Marketing, Tekelec
Grant Lenahan, VP Strategist, Service Delivery; Chief Strategy Office, Telcordia
Manish Singh, VP, Product Line Management, Continuous Computing
Philip Marshall, Ph.D., Chief Research Officer, Tolaga Research [MODERATOR]

3:00 PM - 3:15 PM
Presentation: Ericsson

The Networked Society, Delivering the Experience that Consumers Demand
The vision of the networked society with 50 billion connected devices supporting rapidly growing urban centers creates opportunities that have never been seen before.  These realities require scaling in three dimensions: capacity, signaling and devices/applications.  Mr. Antoun will outline the opportunities and demonstrate how the network can meet them by scaling in all three dimensions simultaneously. 

Georges Antoun, Head of Product Area IP & Broadband Networks, Ericsson

3:15 PM - 4:00 PM
Panel Session: Backhaul: A 4G Network Differentiator?
Operators are quickly realizing that in order for their 4G networks to perform at an optimum level, they must have the necessary backhaul assets in place to meet the data traffic demands. How are operators culling together various backhaul technologies to ensure peak network speed?  How are operators using their backhaul assets to differentiate themselves from the competition?   And finally, with analysts estimating that mobile data demand will grow exponentially in the next 5 to 10 years, how are operators going to ensure they have enough backhaul capacity to meet growing demands?

Confirmed Panelists:
Paul Obsitnik, SVP of Business Development, BridgeWave Communications
Nicola Palmer, VP - Network, Verizon Wireless
Jay Stewart, Director of Ethernet Solutions, JDSU
Iyad Tarazi, VP of Network, Sprint
Andy Walker, Director of Portfolio Solutions, Ciena
Emmy Johnson, Founder & Principal Analyst, Sky Light Research [MODERATOR]

4:00 PM - 4:15 PM
Presentation: AIRCOM International

Managing the data explosion with LTE and multi-technology SON
As data volumes from mobile devices continue to explode at phenomenal rates,  operators need to  plan ahead to avoid capacity shortfalls. With 4G and heterogeneous networks mobile operators are given a new ‘toolkit’  to meet the challenge. Decisions need to be made; what is the optimum design for 4G? How do you evolve backhaul and core networks? How to build trust in SON? AIRCOM’s CTO, Steve Bowker will highlight key issues, the importance of maintaining network quality, and discuss multi-technology SON.

Steve Bowker, CTO, AIRCOM International

4:15 PM - 5:00 PM
Closing Keynote Presentation: Building Next Generation Networks, Lessons from the Bonneville Speedway
When it comes to building a next generation network with the best overall customer experience, what lessons can we learn from the people who set land speed records at the famed Bonneville Speedway? Kris Rinne, AT&T’s Senior Vice President of Architecture and Planning, outlines AT&T’s HSPA+ and LTE network evolution and provides insights on the importance of heterogeneous networks.

Kris Rinne, Senior VP—Architecture & Planning, AT&T

5:00 PM
Chairman's Remarks & Show Recap

Sue Marek, Editor-in-Chief, FierceWireless

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