Keynotes Lined Up For CCA’s Virtual Annual Convention on October 21

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CCA’s Annual Convention will take place online this year on Wednesday, October 21.  This one-day event brings together policy makers and technology innovators including Senator Roger Wicker, Congressman Frank Pallone, and FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr, and executives from Ericsson, Interop Technologies, Mavenir, Nokia, T-Mobile, and TNS to discuss policy issues, technology innovation, and business strategies important to competitive carriers. There is no charge to attend CCA’s Annual Convention but participants still have to register here. Further details on the keynote times, speakers and panels can be accessed here.

“I am delighted to welcome Senator Wicker, Congressman Pallone, and Commissioner Carr to the keynote stage, and we look forward to working with them on important policy initiatives,” said Steven K. Berry, president and CEO of CCA. “This has been a year of innovation and transformation for the nation and for the competitive carrier ecosystem, and I am looking forward to hearing from our speakers on critical issues such as 5G implementations, access to spectrum, and ensuring all Americans have access to critical mobile broadband services.”

The Convention’s educational program will feature sessions focused on urban and rural 5G deployments, spectrum opportunities and demands, monetizing IoT, marketing strategies, smart cities, and VoLTE strategies for the future. 

Exhibitors will feature innovative products and services, and attendees will be able to interact to set up meetings with exhibitors and fellow attendees through the virtual platform.

The Convention’s keynote program begins at 10:00 a.m. ET and features a welcome address from Steven K. Berry, president and CEO of CCA followed by Senator Roger Wicker (R-MS), Congressman Frank Pallone (D-NJ), and FCCCommissioner Brendan Carr, who will address policy initiatives important to competitive carriers. T-Mobile’s Neville Ray will follow to discuss T-Mobile’s leadership, momentum, and progress accelerating 5G for all. Ericsson North America’s VP of Network Product Solutions, Paul Challoner, will round out the morning program at 11:00 a.m. with a discussion on virtual RAN and beyond. 

The 12:00 p.m. ET keynote session, “Can OpenRAN Hit Its Stride?”, will feature John Baker, SVP business development, Mavenir; Jeff Blum, EVP, external and legislative affairs, DISH; and Diane Rinaldo, executive director,Open RAN Policy Coalition. Rob Pegoraro, contributor to FierceWireless, will moderate, and the session is sponsored by Mavenir. Panelists will examine how software is being used to tie together components from different suppliers and how OpenRAN promises an end to vendor lock-in and elevated pricing. They also will discuss how OpenRAN can be a positive solution for security-minded policymakers. 

The keynotes continue at 2:00 p.m. ET with a discussion between Interop Technologies’ President and CEO John Dwyer and VP of Product Management, Josh Wigginton, who will discuss the lifecycle of operator messaging and outline a path for operators to secure their role in 5G messaging.

At 2:15 p.m. Mike Keegan, CEO, TNS will sit down for a fireside chat with Steven K. Berry to discuss robocall prevention measures such as the TRACEDAct and the STIR/SHAKEN Call Authentication framework.  

John Harrington, SVP, US majors accounts of Nokia, will close out the keynote program at 2:30 PT with remarks entitled, “Networks are what keep us going.” 

The educational program will feature four tracks: technical, business development, marketing/customer service, and policy and will include speakers from Bluegrass Cellular, Carolina West, Cellcom, C Spire, Dynamic Lifecycle Innovations, Ericsson, the FCC, Google, Mavenir, NetNumber, Nokia, Pioneer Cellular, REDCOM Laboratories, Samsung, Shentel, Statflo Inc., T-Mobile, U.S. Cellular, World Wide Technology, Viaero, and more. 

CCA is the leading association for competitive wireless providers and stakeholders across the United States. Members range from small, rural carriers serving fewer than 5,000 customers to regional and nationwide providers serving millions of customers, as well as vendors and suppliers that provide products and services throughout the wireless communications ecosystem.  

CCA’s 2021 Mobile Carriers Show will take place March 29-31 in Louisville, Kentucky and CCA’s 2021 Annual Convention will take place September 20-22 in Phoenix, Arizona. 

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