Our members in Latin America and the Caribbean represent a highly diverse group of cable operators – from 16 unique island communities in the Caribbean to 12 equally differentiated countries in North, Central and South America. History, cultures, demographics, economies, competitors and objectives differ – yet all are bound by common technologies that drive a focus on connectivity for our members who are leading providers of broadband, video, digital voice and mobile services. And, they have an equal commitment to making a difference for the customers and communities they serve.
In this first Latin America and Caribbean Summit, CableLabs will bring together C-level executives, technology leaders and subject matter experts from across this progressive region to provide insight, share and learn. It’s all about connections – with CableLabs, with cable operators, with individuals committed to an industry and a region defined by opportunity for growth, innovation and impact.
Speakers
Chris Bastian
Senior Vice President and Chief Technology Officer, SCTE/ISBE
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Gary Brandreth
Vice President of Core and Network Operations, Liberty Latin America
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Bill Chatwell
Director of Video Engineering, Midco
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Ike Elliott
President, Kyrio and Chief Strategy Officer, CableLabs
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Miguel Fernandez
Chief Technology Officer, Telecom Argentina
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Salvi Folch Viadero
Chief Executive Officer, Izzi Telecom
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Rob Howald
Vice President of Network Architecture, Comcast
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Vivek Khemka
Chief Technology and Product Officer and a Senior Vice President, Liberty Latin America
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Ken Klaer
EVP & President Comcast Technology Solutions, Comcast
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Curtis Knittle
Vice President of Wired Technologies, CableLabs
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Roberto López
Industry Outreach and Technical Training Manager, Telecom Argentina
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Phil McKinney
President and Chief Executive Officer, CableLabs
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Balan Nair
President, Chief Executive Officer and a Director, Liberty Latin America
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Chuck Page
Vice President of Access Networks and Supply Chain, Liberty Latin America
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Eduardo Panciera
Manager of Architecture and Technology, Telecom Argentina
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Matt Petersen
Vice President of Access Architecture, Charter Communications
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Damien Poltz
Vice President of Technology Strategy and Networks, Shaw Communications
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Mauricio Ramos
CEO, Millicom
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Josh Redmore
Principal Architect of Wireless Access Technologies, CableLabs
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David Ririe
Senior Director of Access Engineering, Cox Communications
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Karthik Sundaresan
Distinguished Technologist, CableLabs
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Bill Warga
Vice President of Technology, Liberty Global
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Agenda
6:30 - 8:30pmRegistration and Information
6:30 - 8:30pmWelcome Reception
7:00am - 6:30pmRegistration / Information
7:00 - 8:00amBreakfast
8:00 - 8:30amCEO Fireside Chat
A “view from the top” with the CEO leading the business and strategy for Liberty Latin America. Understand the markets served by LLA, the fixed and mobile networks across the LLA landscape, LLA’s technology strategy and its competition. And how Latin American and Caribbean markets differ from their North American counterparts.
Moderator: Phil McKinney, CableLabs
Speaker: Balan Nair, Liberty Latin America
8:30 - 9:30amDOCSIS® 4.0 — The Alphabet Soup of DAA, ESD, FDX, R-PHY . . . and More
DOCSIS 4.0 introduces the capability for symmetric multigigabit service tiers. Migrating to DOCSIS 4.0 requires the HFC network to be either Node+0 for Full Duplex DOCSIS (FDX) or upgraded to 1.8 GHz for Extended Spectrum DOCSIS (ESD). This session will discuss how to get there using these two alternative – and compatible – technologies. And frames the questions critical for the path you choose: Where does your access network need to go? What services are you planning for the future? What is the timing of each step along the way? How important is service convergence over your optical network?
Speakers: Rob Howald, Comcast Curtis Knittle, CableLabs Matt Petersen, Charter Communications
9:30 - 10:30amMSO Technology Roadmaps — How You Get There From Here
Operators discuss their roadmaps for the evolution of their networks – DOCSIS, fiber deep, FTTH, mobile, wireless – together with the business, consumer and technology drivers which define the directions they are taking. Learn not only where they are going, but how they are getting there.
Moderator: Rob Howald, Comcast
Speakers: Miguel Fernandez, Telecom Argentina Chuck Page, Liberty Latin America Miguel Sol, Megacable
10:30 - 11:00amBreak
11:00 - 11:45amKyrio™ — The Connectivity Community’s Trusted Service Provider
As a subsidiary of CableLabs, Kyrio is focused on the needs of MSOs and their network solution suppliers, bringing the credibility and reliability our customers need. Kyrio will provide an overview of how our testing services integrate with MSO procurement teams, key early learnings from the launch of the “Lifecycle Community Test Program”, how we are extending our Community Service Strategy to include new software and professional services, followed by several example new services that are following this model.
Speakers:
Mark Davies, Kyrio Ike Elliott, Kyrio and CableLabs
11:45am - 12:00pmUpRamp® and CableLabs Security Initiatives
We will profile several innovation companies which have participated in our UpRamp Fiterator program, together with an overview of CableLabs security initiatives, including DOCSIS security, wireless security and collaborative DDoS information sharing project.
Speakers: Kyle Haefner, CableLabs Lisa Schwab, UpRamp
12:00 - 12:30pmTechnology Strategy 1
What is Technology Strategy at CableLabs? We’ll provide a brief introduction to the work of CableLabs’ Technology Strategy team and how to engage with the team and its work.
Bandwidth Utilization and Consumer Behavior. Interested in learning how your network is growing compared to others? Or what applications might be driving usage growth in the future? In this presentation, we cover recent growth of subscriber usage on cable networks globally and use internal CableLabs forecasting work to investigate which applications may drive both downstream and upstream usage in the coming years.
Speakers:
Jacob Malone, CableLabs
Ron Reuss, CableLabs
12:30 - 1:30pmLunch
1:30 - 2:30pmIn-Home Wi-Fi Technologies and Service Strategies – Delivering Customer Experience Where It Matters Most
As technology, customer expectations and the pervasiveness of wireless connectivity advance in the home, is there an evolution of managed Wi-Fi to “2.0”? A discussion of business models, technology, operations, customer experience, back office support – from the cable operator’s perspective.
Moderator:
Josh Redmore, CableLabs Speakers:
Ewam DeFreitas, Liberty Latin America
Israel Madiedo, Izzi Telecom
Vincencio Maya, Millicom
2:30 - 3:30pmCTO Roundtable — Profiles in Technology Leadership
Hear from three of the leading CTOs across our members in Latin America discuss their technology strategies, priorities and experiences, including the integration of complex fixed networks, in-home Wi-Fi networks and mobile networks.
Moderator:
Ken Klaer, Comcast Speakers:
Miguel Fernandez, Telecom Argentina
Vivek Khemka, Liberty Latin America
Miguel Sol, Megacable
3:30 - 4:00pmBreak
4:00 - 5:00pmOperational Transformation 1 — Supercharging DOCSIS Performance
DOCSIS has enabled us to provide 100+ Mbps – and now gigabit – speeds over our broadband networks. To get the most of out of our DOCSIS networks, and to ensure we’re delivering on the speeds to which we have committed to our customers, complex configuration and management is necessary. Fortunately, new tools and approaches are available to help address these challenges. In this session we will discuss the challenges of effectively implementing DOCSIS networks, and how operators are optimizing their DOCSIS networks and leveraging new data-centric tools to ensure we get the absolute best out of our HFC infrastructure.
8:00 - 9:00amCEO Beachside Chat – Of Differences and Similarities Driving Success
CEOs with different networks and profiles – one which operates fixed and satellite networks entirely within Mexico competing against one of the largest telecommunications providers in the world, the other which operates fixed and mobile networks across nine countries in Central and South America and competes against two of the largest telecommunications providers in the world. Each of which is gaining share in its markets. CableLabs’ CEO Phil McKinney will draw out the similarities and differences across these operators – understanding why they succeed in the markets they serve.
9:00 - 10:00amOperational Transformation 2 — Why Training Has an ROI and ROCX that You Should Care About
Training across all of its dimensions – installation, technical, repair, headend, access networks, in-home Wi-Fi networks – not only makes solid operational sense, it also makes sound financial sense and indispensable customer experience impact. Understand the programs that SCTE has developed with unique application to Latin American operators – and the results that operators in both Latin America and the U.S. have achieved. You will be amazed – as were we.
Moderator:
Bill Warga, Liberty Global Speakers:
Matt Aden, SCTE
Roberto López, Telecom Argentina
Israel Madiedo, Izzi Telecom
10:00 - 10:30amBreak
10:30 - 11:30amFixed-Mobile Convergence and 5G — The Real Story Cable operators are also mobile operators – either MNOs owning and operating their own networks or MVNOs leveraging the network resources of other mobile operators. Our fixed networks provide unique and ubiquitous opportunities to support mobile networks through small cells, fronthaul, backhaul and common core solutions. Understand the strategies – and the technologies that support these strategies – for the convergence of HFC and FTTH networks with mobile networks.
Moderator:
Mariam Sorond, CableLabs Speakers:
Tim Burke, Liberty Latin America
Miguel Fernandez, Telecom Argentina
11:30am - 12:30pmOperational Transformation 3 – Disaster Recovery, Business Continuity, Resilient Networks and Plans that Make a Difference
Natural disasters – in both frequency and intensity – have become the new normal impacting the reliability of our networks. Man-made and human errors can equally result in significant network failures. Developing resilient networks – together with well-developed programs – to minimize damage, downtime, repair and recovery are mission critical to the success of disaster recovery plans. Preparing for, managing and implementing disaster recovery plans are an indispensable part of system operations. Learn what DR planning and strategy operators have developed, their experiences in implementing them – and what they changed following the disasters they managed.
Moderator:
Chris Bastian, SCTE Speakers:
Powell Bedgood, Mediacom
Gary Brandreth, Liberty Latin America
Jim Davies, Charter Communications
12:30 - 1:30pmLunch
1:30 - 2:30pmIP Video Transition — Why, When and How?
How far along is your IP video strategy from a product, economic, marketing and rollout perspective? The alternatives are many – or are they? Mobitv, TiVo, Vubiquity . . . not to mention unicast, multicast and others. Does video continue to make sense from an investment and consumer perspective? Operators will outline their current plans and share their thoughts on their transition to the delivery of IP video services – and what is driving their decisions.
Moderator:
Jeff Chen, CableLabs Speakers:
Bill Chatwell, Midco
Eduardo Dontelli, Millicom
Eduardo Panciera, Telecom Argentina
2:30 - 3:30pmTechnology Strategy 2
Fixed Wireless Access (FWA): Cable’s Opportunities and Economic Considerations. FWA, often dubbed as the pioneering 5G use case, has emerged as an important avenue for cable’s wireline footprint expansion through wireless means. We’ll review our recent FWA analysis, looking at the impact of key parameters such as housing unit (HU) density, market penetration, and propagation/capacity of spectrum bands (sub-6GHz and mm-wave) on FWA deployment economics. We’ll look at sensitivities to these and other key parameters that operators should consider when assessing their own FWA deployment.
Fixed Line Substitution and Mobile-Only Cord-Cutting. As mobile networks continue to improve with the deployment of new LTE and 5G technologies and mobile network operators provide plans with unlimited usage, mobile-only connectivity becomes a better substitute for fixed line service. Strong competition in mobile markets could drive lost customer relationships for cable operators, potentially making mobile-only cord-cutting a riskier trend for the industry than pay TV cord-cutting. In this presentation, we review empirical work by CableLabs showing evidence of consumers pushing fixed line volume over the mobile network and early views on the rate of mobile-only cord-cutting.
Speakers:
Jacob Malone, CableLabs
Shahed Mazumder, CableLabs
Senior Vice President and Chief Technology Officer, SCTE/ISBE
Chris Bastian joined SCTE/ISBE in 2015 following three decades of leadership in advanced cable and network security technologies. Chris is responsible for all areas of technology and engineering to ensure that SCTE and ISBE maintain a leadership role in standardizing and operationalizing advanced technology, including the SCTE Standards Program and the SCTE Engineering Committee – as well as groundbreaking efforts such as SCTE’s Energy 2020 program.
Prior to joining SCTE/ISBE, Chris spent 12 years with Comcast, where he served as senior director of converged regional area network engineering for the Comcast Network Engineering Group, executive director of network architecture for the Comcast Technology and Product Group and ultimately as executive director of Comcast’s Xfinity WiFi network. Previously, he had held network operations and engineering positions with RCN and Comcast Cellular Communications, and had spent 10 years in engineering and leadership capacities with the National Security Agency.
Chris holds a B.S. in Electrical Engineering from Penn State University, an M.S. in Electrical Engineering from George Washington University and an M.S. in Technical Management from Johns Hopkins University.
Gary Brandreth
Vice President of Core and Network Operations, Liberty Latin America
Over 25 years of operations experience in building and operating telecommunications networks. Gary has spent the last 20+ years building and operating copper, HFC, fiber and mobile networks in Europe. With the spinoff of Liberty Latin America from Liberty Global, Gary left his role as CNO of Central Eastern Europe to join Liberty Latin America. He heads up core networks and all network operations across 20+ countries in the Caribbean, Central and South America. He lives in Denver, Colorado with his wife and two boys where Liberty Global and Liberty Latin America are headquartered.
Bill Chatwell
Director of Video Engineering, Midco
Bill Chatwell oversees the design, deployment, and maintenance of Midco’s advanced video services and previously held the positions of Video Systems Manager and Digital Video Engineer. He joined the Midco team in 2006 after working at Sencore Electronics for nine years in various roles including Digital Video Application Engineer. Prior to that, Chatwell served on active duty in the US Navy for six years as an Electronic Weapon Systems Technician, working on radar and shipboard weapon platforms. He also served an additional 15 years in the Navy Reserve, retiring in 2012. Chatwell received his technical education while in the Navy and attending classes through the University Center in Sioux Falls, SD. He earned an associates degree in applied management from National American University in 2007. Chatwell also serves on the board of director for the Dakota Territory chapter of the Society of Cable Telecommunications Engineers (SCTE-ISBE).
Ike Elliott
President, Kyrio and Chief Strategy Officer, CableLabs
Mr. Elliott joined CableLabs in 2010 and is responsible for engaging the startup community to source new innovations for the cable industry, and for developing and commercializing game-changing innovations for the cable industry. In addition, his team assesses markets, competition, costs, and technology trends on behalf of CableLabs members. Previously, Mr. Elliott held senior executive operating and strategy roles at Level 3 Communications and Unity Business Networks, and also was president and founder of Practiq Strategy Consultants. Mr. Elliott co-founded the International Softswitch Consortium in 1999 and served as its President and Chairman for three years. He began his career in software development and network architecture, and is an inventor on over two dozen patents and continuations.
Miguel Fernandez
Chief Technology Officer, Telecom Argentina
Miguel Fernandez has been the CTO of Telecom Argentina since November 2017, when the main MSO of Argentine merged with the company of Fixed and Mobile Telephony Telecom Argentina becoming the principal CSP of Argentine and one of the most important of LATAM.
Before this merger, Miguel was during ten years the CTO of CableVisión Argentina. In both companies, he has managed a team responsible for the technology strategy, the investment projects and the operation of the networks and services of both firms. In the new Telecom he manages not only the transformation of its backbone networks, datacenters and fixed and mobile Access Networks but also its Service Platforms.
Salvi Folch Viadero
Chief Executive Officer, Izzi Telecom
He obtained his bachelor’s degree in Economics in 1991 from the Instituto Tecnologico Autonomo de Mexico (ITAM), and an MBA from the London Business School in 1994.
Between 1989 and 2000 he held several positions in different agencies of the Mexican Government, including the Central Bank, the Ministry of Finance, and the Banking and Securities Commission. He first joined Grupo Televisa in 2000, as CFO for Televisa´s internet venture. In 2002 he was appointed as Vice President of Financial Planning. In 2004 he was appointed as Televisa’s CFO. From November 2017 to date he has been serving as izzi´s CEO.
Rob Howald
Vice President of Network Architecture, Comcast
Dr. Howald has over 30 years of technology and executive experience in commercial and military communications systems. He is a Comcast Fellow in the Next Generation Access Network Organization, focused on the evolution of cable systems and services, future network architectures, and emerging broadband technologies. He has held similar roles at ARRIS, Motorola, and General Instrument in Cable, and was the Vice President of Engineering at Xytrans, specializing in millimeter wave products for cellular backhaul and homeland security.
Dr. Howald has taught graduate courses in communications and wireless systems engineering, has published over 150 papers, and has multiple patents issued. He has a BSEE and MSEE from Villanova University, a Ph.D. in Electrical and Computer Systems Engineering from Drexel University, and a Master’s of Business Administration (MBA) from DeSales University.
Vivek Khemka
Chief Technology and Product Officer and a Senior Vice President, Liberty Latin America
Vivek is the Chief Technology and Product Officer and a Senior Vice President of Liberty Latin America. He is responsible for Liberty Latin America’s Technology & Innovation (T&I) team across the company’s different markets driving the IT, product development, and network platforms.
Vivek joined Liberty Latin America in September 2018. prior to joining Liberty Latin America, Vivek was Executive Vice President and Chief Technology Officer for DISH Network and worked at Danaher, Motorola, and McKinsey & Co.
Ken Klaer
EVP & President Comcast Technology Solutions, Comcast
Ken Klaer is Executive Vice President of Comcast Technology Solutions and Strategic Infrastructure.
Ken leads the Comcast Technology Solutions organization, which is focused on four lines of business, including wholesale, syndication, video platform and ad delivery. In addition, he heads the Strategic Infrastructure team, which is responsible for video and infrastructure, including the transition to all IP video distribution, as well as the Comcast India Engineering Center (CIEC), Comcast’s first facility in India, located in Chennai.
Ken joined Comcast in 2014 as Senior Vice President, Premises Technology, leading the team that developed innovative devices to deliver Comcast’s video, voice, data and cross-platform applications to customers’ homes. He went on to lead the Technology Strategy & Operations team and played a pivotal role in opening the CIEC.
Previously, Ken spent eight years with Cisco Systems, first as Senior Director and General Manager of the International Cable TV Set-top, and later as Senior Director, Business Development Connected Devices. He helped lead the service provider video technology group, overseeing the development and execution of product strategies and global go-to-market models for consumer premises equipment. He also held leadership roles in general management, business development, product service management and production control at Scientific Atlanta, which Cisco acquired in 2005.
Ken has served on the boards of RDK (Reference Design Kit) Management LLC and the CCAD (Combined Conditional Access Development) organization. He was a member of the Board of the YMCA in Peachtree Corners, Ga., from 2007 to 2013, and he was named Volunteer of the Year in 2011. In 2015, Ken was inducted into the Cable TV Pioneers, which recognizes those who have played a key role in building the systems and MSOs within the cable broadband industry.
Ken earned his bachelor’s degree in industrial engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology, and he is a designated APICS Certified Production & Inventory Control Manager (CPIM).
Curtis Knittle
Vice President of Wired Technologies, CableLabs
Dr. Curtis Knittle is the Vice President of Wired Technologies at CableLabs, the non-profit research & development lab funded by the global cable industry. Curtis and his team are responsible for specifying scalable deployment solutions in both hybrid fiber coax and all-fiber access networks for CableLabs’ member companies. DOCSIS® technologies, Full Duplex DOCSIS, Distributed CCAP Architectures, and Point-to-Point Coherent Optics are a few current high priority projects under his leadership.
Prior to joining CableLabs, Curtis led an engineering team at Harmonic, Inc to develop the world’s first CMTS-in-a-node and Ethernet-switch-in-a-node, both solutions representing the first instantiation of what today is called deep fiber distributed architecture solutions for the cable industry. Currently, Curtis is the Chair of the IEEE 802.3ca 50G-EPON task force, helping to usher in the first 50 Gb/s PON solution.
Curtis holds a Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering from the University of New Mexico, and Master and Bachelor of Science degrees in Electrical Engineering from Colorado State University.
Roberto López
Industry Outreach and Technical Training Manager, Telecom Argentina
Currently, Roberto is manager of Industry Outreach and Technical Training at Telecom Argentina, his management includes the development of training plans for technicians who work in the Regional Operations of the company and It is important to highlight also his expertise in the relationship with the Industry, Cable Operators and organizations from abroad, contributing to the business by the development of knowledge and innovation.
His professional career includes experience in Telecommunications and Avionics in the Argentinian Air Force and he has worked in Cable Operators as Manager of Audit, Laboratory, Quality of Materials, Standards and Technical Training. Furthermore, we can mention his performance as a teacher at the UAI – InterAmerican Open University.
Roberto is an Electronic Engineer in Telecommunications and Television, he has got his degree at the National Technological University, located in Buenos Aires Argentina and he has completed a postgraduate degree in Health and Safety at the UBA – University of Buenos Aires, Argentina.
Phil McKinney
President and Chief Executive Officer, CableLabs
Phil McKinney is President and CEO of CableLabs. In this capacity he heads the research and development organization responsible for charting the cable industry’s technology and innovation roadmap.
Prior to joining CableLabs, he was the vice president and chief technology officer of the $40 billion (FY12) Personal Systems Group at HP. He was responsible for long-range strategic planning, research and development (R&D) and product roadmaps for the company’s PC product lines, including mobile devices, notebooks, desktops and workstations. In addition, Phil was founder and leader of HP’s Innovation Program Office (IPO). The IPO was chartered to identify, incubate and launch adjacent and fundamentally new technologies, products and services that would become the future growth engines for HP.
Recently (February 2012), Phil released his first book on innovation and personal creativity titled Beyond The Obvious, published by Hyperion. The book is available in hardcover, digital and audio formats. The book will soon be available in Russian, Chinese, Portuguese (Brazil), Korean and Japanese.
His influence on innovation and creativity includes:
Sharing his expertise in innovation and creativity, free of charge (in an approach he refers to as “paying it forward”) through his award winning podcast Killer Innovations™ (available on iTunes). It has been named by CIO Insight as a “must listen” podcast.
Vanity Fair named him the “The Innovation Guru”
MSNBC and FOX Business both call him “The Gadget Guy”
His uncanny ability to predict what’s coming next caused him to be dubbed as the “chief seer” by The San Jose Mercury News.
He was named as one of the “25 Most Influential People in Mobile Tech” by LAPTOP Magazine.
He is a contributing columnist for Forbes where he writes the column “The Objective” for Forbes.com
Phil serves on the:
Advisory Board for Hacking Autism
Board of Directors for The Computer History Museum
Executive Board of the Santa Clara County Council for the Boy Scouts of America
Balan Nair
President, Chief Executive Officer and a Director, Liberty Latin America
Balan Nair is president and Chief Executive Office of Liberty Latin America. Liberty Latin America is an integrated telecommunications company, focused on the Caribbean Islands and Latin America.
Balan is an experienced and proven business executive with more than 20 years in the telecommunications industry. He has been a part of the Liberty family of companies since 2007, when he joined Liberty Global as its Senior Vice President and Chief Technology Officer. He most recently served as Executive Vice President and Chief Technology and Innovation Officer. In this role, he was responsible for overseeing Liberty Global’s worldwide network, as well as Technology and Innovation operations, including Product Development, IT, Network Operations, Mobile Operations and Global Supply Chain functions. He was also responsible for Corporate Strategy and Venture investments. Balan was an executive officer of Liberty Global and sat on Liberty Global’s Executive Leadership Team and the Investment Committee.
Prior to joining Liberty Global, Balan served as Chief Technology Officer and Executive Vice President for AOL LLC, a global web services company, from 2006. Prior to his role at AOL LLC, he spent more than 12 years at Qwest Communications International Inc., most recently as Chief Information Officer and Chief Technology Officer.
Balan has a long history of working in the telco industry, the web world and now the cable and media industry. He sits on the boards of Charter Communications, a leading cable operator in the United States, Liberty Latin America and Adtran Corporation. He graduated from Iowa State University, with a Masters in Business Administration and a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering. He holds a patent in systems development and is a Licensed Professional Engineer in Colorado.
Balan has also been inducted into the Cable Hall of Fame.
Chuck Page
Vice President of Access Networks and Supply Chain, Liberty Latin America
Chuck Page is the Vice President of Access Networks and Supply Chain for Liberty Latin America with responsibility across 21 consumer and over 30 B2B markets delivering the new build and capacity investment for both fixed and mobile networks, managing supply chain logistics & warehouse management and service delivery investment. Chuck joined Liberty Latin America in January 2018 prior to joining Liberty Latin America, Chuck was Vice President Access Networks for Cable & Wireless, General Manager for ADTRAN LATAM and worked at Qwest and USWest Communications.
Eduardo Panciera
Manager of Architecture and Technology, Telecom Argentina
Eduardo is a senior expert in multimedia information and computing systems, and Telecommunication Networks. He is graduated as an Electronic Engineer with specialization in computer and control systems, in Buenos Aires University(UBA). Then, he did a postgraduate specialization on Telecommunications in the same university. He has other postgraduates’ courses in Project Management and Management Development Program.
He has been in the industry for almost 20 years and has been working in operations, engineering and planning areas with technologies such as MPLS, DOCSIS, GPON, 4G, Video, IMS, Home Network, SDN/NFV. During last years, he has been strongly dedicated to lead the development of DOCSIS, FTTH and mobile access networks, the Core&Backbone networks architecture, and to the new IP video service platform for Telecom.
Nowadays, as Manager of Architecture and Technology, he is leading a team in Telecom that is in charge of evolution of service platforms, the fixed and wireless access services, as well as the convergent transport network, moving the architecture towards VNFs based on microservices.
Matt Petersen
Vice President of Access Architecture, Charter Communications
Matt Petersen serves as Vice President of Access Architecture for Charter Communications. In Matt’s current role, he is responsible for architecture, standards and strategy of the access network. Over the last 13 years at Charter, Matt has been one of the key contributing individuals for the development of the National Backbone, DOCSIS technologies, Commercial Solutions, and New Product offerings. Matt has held numerous positions at Adelphia, Comcast and Charter over his 19 year career. He has studied at the University of Buffalo earning a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration.
Damien Poltz
Vice President of Technology Strategy and Networks, Shaw Communications
As the Vice President of Technology Strategy and Networks, Damian Poltz is responsible for the development, alignment and communication of Shaw’s technology strategy, and the design, planning and evolution of Shaw’s wireline networks and infrastructure.
Throughout his 21-year career at Shaw, Damian has served in strategic leadership roles including: Director of Network Technology, Sr. Director Communication Systems, Director IP Application Services, Sr. Manager Video Application Development and Manager of Multimedia Communications.
Damian holds an MBA from Cornell University and Queen’s University, and a B.Sc. in Computer Science from the University of Calgary.
Mauricio Ramos
CEO, Millicom
Mauricio was appointed CEO of Millicom in April 2015.
Before joining Millicom, he was President of Liberty Global’s Latin American division, a position he
held from 2006 until February 2015.
Previously Mauricio was a Partner and Vice President at Investment Banking Services Ltd. (IBS),
and Assistant Director of the Deutsche Morgan Grenfell office in Bogota, Colombia.
During his career at Liberty Global, Mauricio held several leadership roles, including positions as
Chairman and CEO of VTR in Chile, Chief Financial Officer of Liberty’s Latin American division and
President of Liberty Puerto Rico.
Mauricio is also a Member of the Board of Directors of Charter Communications (U.S.).
He is a dual Colombian and U.S. citizen who received a degree in Economics, a degree in Law, and
a postgraduate degree in Financial Law from Universidad de Los Andes in Bogota.
Josh Redmore
Principal Architect of Wireless Access Technologies, CableLabs
Josh Redmore is Principal Architect, Wireless Access Technologies at CableLabs (Louisville, CO), where he focuses on developing Proactive Network Maintenance protocol standards. Josh is also involved in antenna performance research, spectrum coexistence, Community Wi-Fi, Next Generation Hotspot standardization, and user experience optimization. He holds task-group leadership positions in the Wireless Broadband Alliance and Wi-Fi Alliance – most recently launching the Wi-Fi CERTIFIED Data Elements program. Prior to CableLabs, Josh spent eight years leading a global support organization for VoWi-Fi products, and a further ten in wired networking. He holds a M.Eng. in Engineering Management from the University of Colorado and serves as the Vice President of the Colorado Science and Engineering Fair board of directors.
David Ririe
Senior Director of Access Engineering, Cox Communications
David Ririe serves as a Senior Director in the Access Engineering group for Cox Communications in Atlanta, GA. He has worked in various engineering roles for Cox Communications starting as an Network Engineer in the Omaha, NE market 16 years ago. He has lead the team through a number of transitions and upgrades on both the DOCSIS and PON technology platforms in that time. He began his telecom career in the U.S. Air Force working on various communications and data networking platforms in the air and on the ground.
Karthik Sundaresan
Distinguished Technologist, CableLabs
Karthik Sundaresan, Distinguished Technologist at CableLabs, is responsible for the development and architecture of cable access network technologies. He is the technical lead and long-time contributor to various DOCSIS technologies (FDX, D3.1, D3.0, RPHY, eDOCSIS, L2VPN, PCMM). He is focused on MAC and IP layer protocols, with recent research in areas around Profile Management, Low Latency, SDN/NFV implications for the cable access network and the application of Machine learning to data from cable networks.
Previously, he developed hardware designs for MPEG encoders, analog video decoders and cable modems at Conexant Systems, and developed embedded software for telecom networking equipment at Carrier Access. Karthik holds a Master of Science in Electrical Engineering (University of Colorado, Boulder) and is (ISC2) CISSP certified. He is the past Chair of the IEEE Communications Society, Denver Chapter.
Bill Warga
Vice President of Technology, Liberty Global
Bill Warga is Vice President of Technology at Liberty Global plc. His primary responsibilities include research and evaluation of new innovative technologies as it relates to Liberty’s business, strategic and operational objectives. With decades of experience in both the broadcasting and cable industries, Mr. Warga is currently serving in leadership positions across the cable industry’s initiatives and consortiums including: Chairman of SCTE/ISBE Board of Directors, RDK Management LLC, CableLabs Technical Advisory Committee and CableLabs European CTO advisory committee. He also a member of the SCTE/ISBE Foundation Board, as well as various technical advisory boards of fortune 500 companies.
