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April 30, 2024
""By leveraging Ookla's expertise and the collective efforts of the WBBA, we are poised to make significant strides in advancing broadband advocacy and development on a global scale.""
Kevin Hasley
Kevin Hasley
Vice President, Strategic Initiatives at Ookla

Driving Global Broadband Progress Through Ookla's Expertise and WBBA Advocacy

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Leveraging Ookla's Expertise to Advance Broadband Advocacy and Development

By Kevin Hasley - Vice President, Strategic Initiatives at Ookla

As Vice President at Ookla and the chairman of the WBBA's broadband advocacy working group, I've had the privilege of leveraging Ookla's deep industry expertise to drive meaningful progress in the global broadband landscape. Ookla's mission to measure, understand, and improve connected experiences has been a guiding force in my approach to leading this important working group.

At the heart of Ookla's work is a steadfast commitment to neutrality, accuracy, and independence in our analysis and reporting. This unbiased perspective has been invaluable in the advocacy efforts of the WBBA's working group, as we strive to develop a set of compelling arguments for why investment in broadband development is crucial for any given region.

Ookla's recognition as a trusted provider of connectivity intelligence and our role in defining global telecommunications standards have further strengthened our ability to contribute to the goals and initiatives of the WBBA. Our customers rely on us to help identify underserved areas, determine where to invest broadband funding, and optimize network operations. This wealth of experience allows me to guide the conversations and outputs of the Broadband Advocacy group, ensuring they have the maximum impact on the market.

The collaboration between Ookla and the WBBA has been mutually beneficial, with Ookla sharing our global broadband performance and insights to aid the WBBA's objective of overcoming industry challenges and supporting the drive towards the provision of broadband networks and services for all. As we look to the future, I'm particularly excited about exploring how AI can play a role in guiding broadband investment decisions, a topic that the working group is actively exploring.

By leveraging Ookla's expertise and the collective efforts of the WBBA, we are poised to make significant strides in advancing broadband advocacy and development on a global scale. I'm honored to be a part of this important work and look forward to the continued collaboration and progress that lies ahead.


Interested in getting involved with the WBBA's important broadband advocacy work? Enquire about membership HERE to connect with industry leaders like Kevin and be part of our member-led community driving meaningful change. Together, we can accelerate broadband access worldwide.

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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.

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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”).

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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Key Messages
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Recommendations
The Importance of Greater Broadband Investment​
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