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April 20, 2023

WBBA Barcelona Seminar 2023 Held Successfully

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On 28 February 2023, the World Broadband Association (WBBA) Barcelona Seminar 2023 was held with the theme of Maximising Broadband’s Global Potential, gathering global partners, industry leaders, renowned experts and broadband industry stakeholders throughout the world.

The participants conducted extensive communication and shared ideas, practices and considerations by focusing on the topics of the potential of cloud-based broadband infrastructure to provide flexible and high-quality internet connection globally, and to explore the actions that both industry and government need to take to ensure that digital gains are shared more equitably.

Endorsement from renowned organizations and telecoms operators and vendors across the globe formed the impressive speaker line-up, including Shao Guanglu, Executive Director, President and COO of China Telecommunications Corporation Limited; Martin Creaner, Director General of WBBA; Li Zhengmao, Chairman of WBBA; John Hoffman, CEO and Director of GSMA Limited. In addition, keynote speakers joined the event, including Brennen Smith, Vice President of Technology, OOKLA; Li Jun, Vice President of China Telecommunications Corporation Limited; Stefaan Vanhastel, CTO of Fixed Networks, Nokia. A fireside chat and panel discussion were hosted with the participation of industry leaders, including Paul Morrissey, Advisor at EXFO; Richard Jin, President of Optical Business Product Line, Huawei; Stephen Wilson, Senior Principal Analyst at OMDIA; Tao Qiu, Executive Vice President and CSO of China Unicom.

The WBBA is a multilateral, industry-led association, providing leadership for digital broadband across the next decade. The WBBA provides an open, multilateral organization and platform for future-facing broadband cooperation and partnership across the industry, championing the business, consumer and citizen outcomes that broadband is capable of delivering across the world, through converged network and cloud infrastructure. The WBBA was officially entered into the Swiss Directory of International Organizations in 2022, and held its first board meeting on 26 February, 2023, which gave great significance to WBBA governance improvement and future development.

The seminar advocates that the industry stakeholders actively join forces to promote the prosperous development of cloud network broadband industry. WBBA will play an important role in serving global broadband network operators, vendors, cloud service providers and other stakeholders, uniting the global industry chain, facilitating industry chain communications and exchanges, enhancing technological cooperation, and promoting the innovation and development of the global cloud and network information infrastructure, and to achieve the prosperity of the cloud and broadband industry around the world.

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Martin Creaner
Director General of the World Broadband Association

Martin Creaner is one of the leading strategic thinkers in the global communications industry with a successful career as an executive with Motorola and British Telecom, as well as over a decade as President and CEO of the TM Forum.

Martin currently advises the boards of a number of companies in the communications and high tech industries, ranging from up-and-coming digital economy companies, to market leaders.

Martin has been named among the 25 Most Influential People in Telecom Software by Billing World and has twice been named as one of Global Telecoms Business’ Top 100. Martin holds a Master of Business Administration from Cranfield University, Cranfield School of Management; a Master of Science in Telecommunications from the University of East Anglia; and Bachelor’s degrees in Engineering and Physics from Dublin City University and the University College Dublin, respectively.

Martin is also a recognized thought-leader on digital transformation and the trends of the emerging digital economy. His most recent book “Transforming the Telco” explains the opportunities and challenges that digital transformation presents and outlines how the Telco might navigate this difficult process.

Previous books include “Delivering the Digital Economy”, which outlines the dynamics of the digital economy, and “Frameworx Distilled” & “NGOSS Distilled”, which provide a detailed guidebook to the standards that underpin the Telecom software industry.

Martin was appointed unanimously to the role of Director General by WBBA members.

Martin lives in Cork, Ireland.

Li Zhengmao
Doctor of Engineering, Professor, WBBA Board Chairman

Li Zhengmao, Doctor of Engineering, Professor. He was awarded the title of “Chinese Doctors with Outstanding Contribution” by the Academic Degrees Committee of the State Council & the former State Education Commission, and granted the China Youth Science and Technology Award by the China Association for Science and Technology, and the 2017 Distinguished Industry Leader Award by IEEE; he was inducted into the 2020 IPv6 Internet Hall of Fame and enjoyed special government allowances.

Li served as Vice-Chairman of China Institute of Communications, Vice President of Internet Society of China, Vice-Chairman of the Association of Communications Across the Taiwan Straits, Vice-Chairman of All-China Environment Federation, Board member of GSM Association (GSMA), Board Director of Next Generation Mobile Networks (NGMN) Alliance, Executive Director of Global TD-LTE Initiative (GTI), Vice President of China United Communications Corporation Limited, Vice President of China Mobile Communications Corporation Limited, and President of China Telecommunications Corporation Limited.

Membership Enquiries

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Members

China Telecom Corporation Limited (“China Telecom” or the “Company”, a joint stock limited company incorporated in the People’s Republic of China with limited liability, together with its subsidiaries, collectively the “Group”) is a large-scale and leading integrated intelligent information services operator in the world, providing wireline & mobile telecommunications services, Internet access services, information services and other value-added telecommunications services primarily in the PRC.

As at the end of 2020, the Company had mobile subscribers of about 351 million, wireline broadband subscribers of about 159 million and access lines in service of about 108 million. The Company’s H shares are listed on the Main Board of The Stock Exchange of Hong Kong Limited (the “Hong Kong Stock Exchange” or “HKSE”).

Members

Founded in 1987, Huawei is a leading global provider of information and communications technology (ICT) infrastructure and smart devices. We have approximately 197,000 employees and we operate in over 170 countries and regions, serving more than three billion people around the world.

Huawei’s mission is to bring digital to every person, home and organization for a fully connected, intelligent world. To this end, we will: drive ubiquitous connectivity and promote equal access to networks to lay the foundation for the intelligent world; provide the ultimate computing power to deliver ubiquitous cloud and intelligence; build powerful digital platforms to help all industries and organizations become more agile, efficient, and dynamic; redefine user experience with AI, offering consumers more personalized and intelligent experiences across all scenarios, including home, travel, office, entertainment, and fitness & health.

Members

At Nokia, we create technology that helps the world act together.

The world is facing fundamental challenges. Pressure on the planet is increasing, productivity is stalling and access to opportunity remains stubbornly unequal. Technology is central to the solution.

Through technology leadership and trusted partnerships, we deliver critical networks to help address global issues.  We have the power to bring together the world’s people, machines and devices, sensing and acting in real time at massive scale. Our critical networks go beyond connectivity to enable self-optimizing, intelligent systems both locally and globally.

With our customers we deliver solutions that respond to climate change through more efficient use and re-use of the world’s resources, restore productivity growth by bringing digital to the physical industries it has not yet reached and provide more inclusive access globally to work, healthcare and education.

We create meaningful interactions to drive human progress.

Members

The technology world as we know it, is changing faster than ever. In a dynamic and complex landscape, the stakes are high, and the challenges and opportunities are real.

At the start of 2020 we formed Omdia by unifying the depth and breadth of expertise from Informa Tech’s legacy research brands: Ovum, IHS Markit Technology, Tractica and Heavy Reading. This empowered us to serve the technology industry like never before.

Today, we help organizations make better technology choices for their business and enable technology innovators to better understand and reach the markets they hope to serve.

Members

Swisscom is Switzerland’s leading telecom provider and one of its foremost IT companies, headquartered in Ittigen, close to the capital city, Bern. Its subsidiary Fastweb has built up a strong position on the Italian market. Swisscom brooks no compromise when it comes to serving customer needs; it focuses on service and quality and invests massively in the networks of the future.

Members

Openreach Limited runs the UK’s digital network. We’re the people who connect homes, schools, hospitals, libraries, businesses – large and small, broadcasters and governments to the world. It’s our mission to build the best possible network with the highest quality of service, and make sure that everyone in the UK can be connected. We’re a wholly owned subsidiary of BT Group and our customers are the 650+ communications providers who sell phone, broadband and Ethernet services to homes and businesses.

Openreach is made up of four divisions – service delivery, fibre and network delivery, strategic infrastructure development, and headquarters.

Our 35,000 people are hugely experienced, resourceful and innovative. They tackle complicated engineering problems – from coordinating works with councils, highways agencies, energy suppliers and landowners, to installing and maintaining the complex kit that provides fibre broadband services. They go the extra mile and take on any challenge to build a better, faster and more affordable network that helps our customers stay connected.