The metro network is changing. With the growth in Ethernet services and the general growth in business and consumer bandwidth, some industry experts predict that Ethernet plus an end-to-end tunneling technology like PBT will replace MPLS, and that OTN will replace SONET/SDH.

This session examines the key drivers behind the move by network operators to NGN architectures. Fundamentally this is a shift from closed ring (FOADM/ROADM) architectures to a switched optical layer that integrates the packet processing intelligence into the optical transport domain. The session will explore how this migration is likely to unfold and which technologies offer the best fit depending on network requirements. The session draws upon the real-world experience carriers migrating toward OTN, as well as observations from the industry analysts.

Ken Davison Vice President Meriton Networks

Mr. Davison has more than 25 years of experience in the telecom industry. For the past 15 years, he has held numerous senior management roles in marketing, sales, product management, and business development, with responsibility for corporate worldwide activities. Prior to joining Meriton Networks, Mr. Davison held senior positions at Siemens AG; Newbridge Networks, and several telecom start-ups, including DragonWave and Critical Telecom.

Robert Cubbage Product Manager, Optical Group Huawei Technologies (USA)

Mr. Cubbage has more than 20 years of experience in the telecommunications industry and was a primary contributor to the SONET/SDH standard. He held key leadership position in ANSI T1X1 and has led the telecom industry through participation in the ATM Forum and OIF at the physical layer. At Huawei, Mr. Cubbage's current responsibilities include establishing a new technology that serves as the foundation of the next-generation vision for a fully converged packet network.

Michael Howard Principal Analyst and Co-Founder Infonetics Research

Mr. Howard is recognized worldwide as one of the industry's leading experts in emerging markets, service provider network market trends, and user buying patterns. He started working on operating systems and programming language compilers for ARPANET, which later became the Internet, and then created network accounting at Tymshare/Tymnet in the 1970s. He led the First Interstate Bank project that developed the world's first pre-Internet in-home banking system. Mr. Howard founded Infonetics Research in 1990, and today he focuses on optical technologies from the service provider edge to the core, metro Ethernet, and access networks.

Alberto Paradisi Manager of Innovation in Telecommunications Networks CPqD

Mr. Paradisi received the Laurea degree in electronics engineering from the Universita of Genova, Italy, in 1990, and the Ph.D. in electronics engineering from the Politecnico di Torino in Turin, Italy, in 1993. From 1993 to 1999, he was a consultant for the International Telecommunications Union in the area of optical device modeling and design at the CPqD in Telebras, Brazil. In 1999, Mr. Paradisi joined the CPqD Foundation, Campinas, SP, Brazil, where he was first involved in the research and development in fiber-optics system area, then was a manager of the optical communication systems division.

Orlando Tadeu Ruschel Technical Team Leader for Development Brasil Telecom, Transport Network Evolution Strategies

Mr. Ruschel has more than 30 years of experience in the telecommunications sector, mostly in the transmission field. He has held many technical positions with telecommunications operators such as CRT and, more recently, Brasil Telecom. Mr. Ruschel developed works in engineering, planning, and lately in technological evaluation of radio and optical systems.