Episode 8: Everything you want to know about the fiber network market in Africa

We are pleased to announce this episode's guest Åsa Claesson from RISE – the Research Institutes of Sweden. Åsa is a Senior Scientist and Business Developer at RISE, focusing on hardware within Speciality Optical Fibers, Optical Fiber Sensors, and Fiber Optics in general. The area in focus at RISE is mainly on fiber optic sensing, specializing in developing fiber that can be applied to sensors used in industrial, medical, and other applications.

RISE is an independent, state-owned research institute with more than 3000 employees that work in facilities and labs all over Sweden, also represented in Europe and the US.

Host: Magnus Angermund, Head of Northern Europe, Hexatronic

In this episode of The Fiber Pod, we are happy to announce our guest Gary Bolton, president and CEO of the Fiber Broadband Association (FBA).

The FBA is the largest trade association dedicated to all-fiber-optic broadband. Before FBA, Gary held executive management positions at two successful venture-backed high-tech start-ups as well as at large publicly traded companies in marketing, product line management, and public policy. 

Additionally, Gary is also currently an adjunct professor in business administration and management science at the University of Alabama in Huntsville. He holds an MBA from Duke University and a BS in Electrical Engineering from North Carolina State University. 

Host: Magnus Angermund, Hexatronic

In the eighth episode of The Fiber Pod, we are pleased to introduce our guest Juanita Clark – Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer of the Digital Council Africa. The Digital Council is a non-profit, independent industry association headquartered in South Africa. The Council connects the government, the technology industry, and interested parties across Africa. 

Juanita co-founded the organization in 2010 as she realized the educational need and urged to raise awareness regarding broadband networks in the telecommunications industry. The Digital Council's mission is to help the public and private sector to work together to deliver on the expectations of a gigabit society.

Furthermore, Juanita is a published author who strives to influence the progression of fiber deployment and access to connectivity on the African continent.

Host: Magnus Angermund

In this episode of The Fiber Pod, we take a trip down memory lane when talking to Peter Lo Curzio, Deputy CTO at Hexatronic Cables & Interconnect Systems, as we look back at the fiber technology in the 90s and the advancements up until now. Peter has a long experience in the fiber optic industry as he started at Ericsson in 1995, working in their research lab focusing on developing fiber to the home systems. Tune in to this episode and learn more about how installation cost was significantly reduced with new technology, the break-through of blown fiber solutions, upcoming developments within the fiber industry in the coming years, and much more.

Host: Magnus Angermund

The sixth episode of The Fiber Pod is really something to look forward to for you who is all about forecasts, figures and reports, as we dig into the Ericsson Mobility Report and unlock highlights and conclusions.

We are excited to introduce this episode’s guest, Jonas Näslund, Head of Strategy Development for Business Unit Network Products at Ericsson. Jonas started his career working with research and later moved on to various positions in the US, Germany and Sweden, covering roles from system management for radio to sales positions in multimedia. 

This episode will comprise a lot of facts and figures from the Ericsson Mobility Report, when we drill into some of the details and Jonas shares his point of view on specific topics. We will also take part of some of Jonas’s comprehensive knowledge experiences and his thoughts on development in different parts of our industry. 

Host: Magnus Angermund

In the fifth episode of The Fiber Pod: the mature FTTH market of Spain is at the center of attention, and we’re joined by guest speaker Pedro Abad. Tune in and get insights into FTTH build-out in rural areas, drivers for FTTH deployment, reflections about 5G expansion and much more.

We hope you’ll enjoy this episode!

Host: Magnus Angermund

In this episode of The Fiber Pod, we meet Mikael Ek and talk about the benefits of a national alliance that can provide guidance for network owners on a local market. We are pleased to have Mikael Ek joining The Fiber Pod. He is the CEO of the Swedish Local Fibre Alliance (Svenska Stadsnätsföreningen, SSNF), a role he has had for 13 years. Prior to this position, Mikael has many years of experience from the fiber industry from the operator’s point of view.

Host:
Magnus Angermund

Contact:
magnus.angermund@hexatronic.com

https://www.ssnf.org/in-english/

In the third episode we are taking a deep dive on the submarine cables, when meeting Anders Ljung. He is the Business Manager for Submarine Cable Solutions at Hexatronic Cables & Interconnect Systems, with more than 30 years of experience from the cable industry. We are talking about the subject “Submarine cables”, something that has a huge impact on our daily life, but very few people knows anything about. Anders is sharing his knowledge in all parts from the cables themselves, further to how they are installed, market drivers, interesting facts and figures etc.

Host: Magnus Angermund

In the second episode, we meet Crister Mattsson, a person with a long experience from the fiber optic market, both in Sweden and on an European level. We are discussing the very beginning of the fiber networks in Sweden, how it all started, the drivers behind FTTH and the importance for people to communicate. Crister do also share some memories and experiences from the work with the contribution to the EU commission as an advisor, and from the books we has written, all about fiber and the digital society.

Host: Magnus Angermund

In this episode, we meet Vincent Garnier who is the General Director of the FTTH Council Europe, to discuss what the council is doing to impact the European market towards full-fiber networks. We are discussing the different publications that is produced in the name of the Council, such as the well-known annual Panorama report, together with discussions about market drivers and market trends.

Host: Magnus Angermund