Broadband service providers are striving to supply more bandwidth to the home and looking to transition their current access networks to next-generation networks. Cable is going to Docsis 3.0 and xDSL providers are going to VDSL. Some broadband operators have chosen FTTH. This workshop delves into the various new access technologies and investigate how they match up.

Piet Spiessens Senior Vice President, Innovation and Business Development Telenet

Mr. Spiessens has been at Telenet since 1996. During the start-up years, he was responsible for the expansion and operations of the Internet infrastructure. From 2001, as vice president of product engineering, he was responsible for new developments in the fields of broadband Internet, telephony, and digital TV, and in that capacity, he introduced VoIP and interactive digital TV (iDTV). In 2006, Mr. Spiessens became vice president of technology strategy, and he has been in his current role since 2007. He holds a Ph.D. in computer sciences, and from 1993 to 1996, he worked on various R&D projects in the new developments department of Belgacom.

Piet Demeester Professor, Broadband Research Ghent University

Mr. Demeester is heading a research group on broadband communication networks and distributed software. His team is also part of IBBT, a recently established interdisciplinary research institute on broadband technologies and ICT. His current research interests include multilayer networks, QoS, mobile and sensor networks, access networks, grid computing, energy-efficient ICT, distributed software, network and service management, techno-economics, and applications.

Wolfgang Fischer Director, Business Development Cisco

Mr. Fischer is responsible for the business development of service provider infrastructure solutions for Cisco Europe. His main focus areas are broadband access and aggregation technologies and solutions. More specifically, this covers the aspects of fiber, copper, and wireless access technologies, including their respective service delivery architectures. Mr. Fischer has more than 20 years of experience in service provider networking solutions covering ISDN protocols, ATM systems and network architectures, broadband access, voice, traffic, and queuing theory. He holds a Ph.D. in electrical engineering from the University of Stuttgart, Germany.

Jean-Francois Mulé Vice President, IP Technologies and Services CableLabs

Mr. Mulé is responsible for steering the directions of IP technologies and protocol developments across the CableLabs research and development projects such as PacketCable(TM), DOCSIS®, and CableHome®. He is primarily focused on enabling real-time IP communication services over cable broadband networks. Mr. Mulé also leads CableLabs' coordination efforts in standardization with the Internet Engineering Task Force.

Guido Schwarzfeld Head of Business Unit, Broadband Communications NetCologne

Mr. Schwarzfeld is head of NetCologne’s business unit Broadband Communications and is responsible for video, voice and data services. NetCologne is a cable operator in Europe and operates telephony and high speed internet via its TV network since the year 2000.

Marcus Weldon Chief Technology Officer, Fixed Access Division Alcatel-Lucent

Dr. Weldon joined AT&T Bell Labs in 1995, winning several scientific and engineering society awards for his work on electronics and optical materials. In 2000, he started work on fiber-based broadband access technologies, and in 2005, he became the chief technology officer for the broadband solutions business group with Lucent Technologies, where he was responsible for wireline access networks and IPTV. Dr. Weldon was subsequently appointed to his current role following the merger of Alcatel and Lucent in December 2006. He holds a B.S. in chemistry and computer science and a Ph.D. degree in physical chemistry from Harvard University.