18 January 2011

Optical Communications Industry Leaders to Convene for OSA Executive Forum Optical Technology - Transforming Business Models and Networks

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact:
Lyndsay Meyer
The Optical Society
+1.202.416.1435
lmeyer@osa.org

Keira Shein
WilkinsonShein Communications
410.363.9494
keira@wilkinsonshein.com

Optical Communications Industry Leaders to Convene for OSA Executive Forum: Optical Technology – Transforming Business Models and Networks

Alcatel-Lucent's Basil Alwan and AT&T's Simon Zelingher to keynote leading forum highlighting key topics for optical communications executives

WASHINGTON, Jan. 18 – The Optical Society (OSA) today announced the speaker lineup for its 2011 Executive Forum, "Optical Technology - Transforming Business Models and Networks." Speakers from Alcatel-Lucent and AT&T will keynote the event, while leaders from Cisco, Comcast, Facebook, Google, Juniper Networks, Verizon, and other companies will offer their perspectives on various panels. Sponsored by OSA and held in conjunction with OFC/NFOEC 2011, the Executive Forum provides industry executives with networking opportunities, and insights and analysis from the optical communications field's leading business and financial experts on tomorrow's trends and opportunities.

This year's Executive Forum, being held March 7 at the Los Angeles Convention Center, will feature a focus on IP and optics. According to ACG Research, IP-based services and applications will dominate the future traffic mix across wireline and wireless networks. In looking beyond traditional assumptions and striving for the most efficient and profitable transport infrastructure for the coming wave of applications, collaboration and cross-layer visibility between IP and optical transport networks will play a key role.

Leading the discussion of the future of IP and optics and its impact on carrier's networks, will be keynote speakers Basil Alwan, President, IP Division and Head of Portfolio Strategy, Networks Group at Alcatel-Lucent, and Simon Zelingher, Vice President - Global Optical, IP & Data Planning, Design, & Development at AT&T Laboratories. Alwan will discuss how proper coordination of IP and optical technologies will enable an infrastructure that is up to the service providers' challenge of profitable network scaling in his presentation titled "Which is it: IP over Optical, IP vs. Optical or IP+Optical?" In his talk, "AT&T Network (R)evolution," Zelingher will cover how new technologies and software will enable AT&T's network to be flexible and responsive to the needs of underlying applications such as cloud computing and video distribution and will lower cost by being both adaptive and responsive to changing capacity needs.

Additional Executive Forum topics to be discussed include business model innovations and technical requirements to support those new models, as well as a view into the state of the optical components market.

Panel discussions include:

Panel 1: IP and Optics Integration: Challenges and Next Steps
Carriers and their suppliers discuss both the challenges of IP and optics integration and the opportunities for future capabilities. Speakers include:

• Vijay Gill, Senior Manager, Engineering and Architecture, Google
• Scott Mountford, Principal-Network Planning Engineer, AT&T Services, Inc.
• Hans-Juergen Schmidtke, Chief Architect for Optical & Transport, Juniper Networks
• Glenn Wellbrock, Director of Optical Transport Network Architecture & Design, Verizon

Panel 2: Business Model Innovation
Speakers on this panel will showcase their respective approaches to applying technologies and business models to tap new opportunities in, for example, infrastructure as a service (aka cloud computing), mobile broadband, backhaul, and submarine.
Speakers include:

• Shamim Akhtar, Director of Network Architecture and Engineering, Comcast Corp.
• Donn Lee, Senior Network Engineer, Facebook
• Peder Ulander, Chief Marketing Officer, Cloud.com

Panel 3: Developing the Technology Edge: Requirements to Support New Business Models
With new business models emerging, what technologies and ecosystems are required to support them now and in the future? Executives from systems companies will address the market opportunities and questions related to the technology needs to support business models and networks.
Speakers include:

• Stuart Barnes, Chief Technical Officer, Xtera Communications
• John Dunne, Chief Technology Officer, Intune Networks
• Bill Gartner, Vice President and General Manager, Access & Transport Technology Group, Cisco Systems, Inc.
• John Roese, Senior Vice President, North American R&D Center, Huawei Technologies

Panel 4: Where is the Optical Components Market Going?
Industry executives will address business structure opportunities and challenges and projections on how business models will change in five years to support customer and technology trends.
Speakers include:

• Alain Couder, President and Chief Executive Officer, Oclaro, Inc.
• David Heard, President of Test & Measurement, JDSU
• Bikash Koley, Senior Network Architect, Google
• Rajiv Ramaswami, Executive Vice President & General Manager, Infrastructure & Networking Group, Broadcom Corporation
• Jerry Rawls, Chairman of the Board, Finisar

A detailed program schedule and speaker bios are available on the OSA website.

EDITOR'S NOTE: To register to attend OSA's 2011 Executive Forum as press, contact Lyndsay Meyer, lmeyer@osa.org or 202.416.1435, or Keira Shein, 410.363.9494 or keira@wilkinsonshein.com.

About OSA
Uniting more than 106,000 professionals from 134 countries, the Optical Society (OSA) brings together the global optics community through its programs and initiatives. Since 1916 OSA has worked to advance the common interests of the field, providing educational resources to the scientists, engineers and business leaders who work in the field by promoting the science of light and the advanced technologies made possible by optics and photonics. OSA publications, events, technical groups and programs foster optics knowledge and scientific collaboration among all those with an interest in optics and photonics. For more information, visit www.osa.org.

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