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 such as provider backbone transport (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 and observations from industry analysts.

Ken Davison Vice President of Marketing Meriton Networks

Mr. Davison has more than 25 years of telecom experience. 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.

Steve Gringeri Senior Principal Member of Technical Staff Verizon

Michael Kennedy Managing Partner Network Strategy Partners

Mr. Kennedy helps incumbent and new entrant service providers improve the profitability of their service offerings, systems vendors create business cases in support of their marketing efforts, and service providers and enterprises develop network architectures. Recently he has developed TCO models that demonstrate the business case for incorporating Ethernet technology into optical transport systems and for optical burst technology. Mr. Kennedy also has conducted extensive economic modeling studies of the total cost of ownership of optical networks in support of triple-play service offerings.

Ashish Vengsarkar Chief Executive Officer Nistica

With more than 15 years of business and technical leadership in optical devices, subsystems, and networks, Mr. Vengsarkar comes to Nistica from his position as vice president of global business development with Meriton Networks. He founded the ROADM pioneer Photuris, which merged with Mahi Networks in 2004 and Meriton in 2005. Mr. Vengsarkar led product management for metropolitan optical networks at Lucent Technologies and led the WaveStar OLS 400G system launch from controlled introduction to general availability. He began his career at Bell Labs, where he designed and developed optical fiber devices and subsystems.