Around the World with Global Broadband Futures Conference

The nbn™ project | Published on 2 February 2018
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Late last year, the Global Broadband Futures Conference brought together leading lights from many of the world’s largest telecom companies.
Here are some of the international experts from companies all over the world sharing the challenges and opportunities they’re facing as they roll out next generation broadband networks on their home turf.

Deutsche Telekom


“Our customers don’t buy a pound of fibre or a pound of copper. They buy broadband and we are delivering that.”

Bruno Jacobfeuerborn, Group Chief Technology Officer, Deutsche Telekom

Just like NBN Co, Deutsche Telekom began its ambitious plans to connect German citizens to fast broadband by rolling out a full fibre to the home network.

Watch our video to see the company’s Group Chief Technology Officer, Bruno Jacobfeuerborn, explain how their decision to change tack and instead adopt a mixed technology approach has resulted in a cheaper, more efficient and faster delivery to end users.

Chorus New Zealand


“We feel it’s very important to move people onto the best possible technology.”

Martin Sharrock, Head of Network Technology, Chorus New Zealand

New Zealanders’ love affair with the benefits fast broadband can bring is underlined by the fact that no matter what technology they are using, data consumption is through the roof.

Chorus New Zealand Head of Network Technology, Martin Sharrock, discusses the challenges of maintaining New Zealand’s long history of commitment to broadband connectivity for all. This includes how the company is handling the challenges of rolling out a full fibre network, while simultaneously enticing people to migrate from existing services such as VDSL.

Cox Communications


“The goal is to have a ubiquitous network.”

Jeff Finkelstein, Executive Director of Advanced Technology, Cox Communications

For a cable operator, Atlanta based Cox Communications has broken new ground by not only boosting its infrastructure using next generation DOCSIS 3.1 technology, but doing so in conjunction with a targeted fibre optic rollout.

Watch our video to hear more from Executive Director of Advanced Technology, Jeff Finkelstein, as he explains Cox’s strategy of delivering a first-class broadband network that allows flexibility in delivery, while offering customers a transparent experience no matter what the technology.

Korea Telecom


“For customers, they don’t really care about the technology. They care about the service and quality.”

Byungki Oh, VP Global Business Development, Korea Telecom
 

Many people view South Korea as a broadband paradise where every resident enjoys superfast internet speeds courtesy of fibre delivered direct to their door. However, as Korea Telecom VP Global Business Development, Byungki Oh, explains in our video, the reality is a little different. There are many competitive and financial challenges involved in delivering universal Gigabit speeds to residents in this apartment-heavy society. To overcome these, the company is complementing its full fibre network with a new technology dubbed 'GiGA Wire'. This new technology is delivering the same blistering speeds as fibre over existing copper lines.

Openreach


“Remember of course that, like yourselves [NBN Co], we’re a wholesaler, so we’re very much dependent upon how our retail customers see this product and where they put it in their bundle of services that they take to market.”

Mike McTighe, Chairman, Openreach
 

Mike McTighe, the Chairman of UK broadband wholesaler, Openreach, has a simple response to suggestions the island nation is lagging behind other European countries such as Spain, Portugal and France when it comes to superfast internet delivery… focus on the outcomes. For the UK this means current average speeds of 36Mbps; a target of 95 per cent of homes having access to superfast speeds by the end of the year and steadily increasing consumer adoption rates of superfast technologies. Watch our video to hear more from Mike about Openreach’s plans for the future and what needs to happen to take broadband in the UK to the next level.

Assembly Research


“What we are seeing now is a sort of general acceptance that you are probably going to rely on a mix of different technologies in order to achieve that end game of getting fibre to everybody.”

Matt Howett, Founder & Principal Analyst, Assembly Research

Many countries watched in envy and followed NBN Co's early ambitious plans to roll out an all-fibre network to the nation. Now, many of these same countries have come to realise, like NBN Co, that the best way to achieve universal broadband connectivity is via a multi technology approach.

No one knows this better than Matt Howett, Founder & Principal Analyst at UK telecoms research firm, Assembly Research. In our video, Matt shares his considerable insights into the challenges and opportunities in the global world of fast broadband.