By J. Sharpe Smith, Inside Towers Technology Editor
As the wireless industry grows and evolves, so does the Connectivity Expo, produced by the Wireless Infrastructure Association, which is slated to be held at the Hyatt Regency Orlando, October 4-7. Along with session favorites like “The View From the Top,” Connect (X), as it is called, will feature a diversity of sessions on connectivity opportunities.
“We really expanded the Connectivity Expo, known as Connect (X) to include the entire universe of the connectivity industry, because wireless infrastructure is the way that people connect through all of these different means,” said Jonathan Adelstein, President and CEO, WIA. “We’re seeing more involvement from cable, fiber, network operators, satellite companies, in addition to the wireless infrastructure side, and they all connect together. It is successfully capturing the broader ecosystem that we operate in.”
That means audiences will see familiar faces, such as T-Mobile’s Neville Ray, Digital Bridge’s Marc Ganzi, the FCC’s Brendan Carr and Crown Castle’s Jay Brown. But they will also hear from Amazon’s Head of Global Telecom Industry Solutions, Robin Harwani, Federated Wireless’ VP and GM Sal D’Itri, and Joe Moye, the CEO of Beep, an autonomous mobility company.
“It’s really a broad look at a time when there is unprecedented buildout and investment in wireless infrastructure,” Adelstein said.
The conference will include sessions on private networks, which are driving demand for connectivity, as well. A fireside chat with Kevin Robinson, Senior Vice President of Marketing, Wi-Fi Alliance, with Harry Dewhirst, CEO of Linksys, will delve into how WiFi and 5G will work together for customers.
One keynote speech will feature Azita Arvani, General Manager, Rakuten Mobile Americas, whose parent company built an end-to-end fully virtualized, cloud-native mobile network in Japan.
“Rakuten has done such dramatic, innovative work in Japan, and we’re really interested to see how that applies here,” Adelstein said. “We’re trying to look around the globe to see what lessons we can draw for the future of U.S. wireless innovation, and I think Rakuten is really at the forefront of that.”
WIA Chief Technology Officer Rikin Thakker will conduct a fireside chat with Anand Nandakumar, Founder & CEO of Halo, the autonomous vehicle service. Connected autonomous vehicles will be a big driver of demand for 5G networks sooner than many people think, according to Adelstein.
“Having autonomous vehicle companies like Halo speaking about how they see their services impacting the development of connectivity will give us a window into future investment patterns that we need to be thinking about now,” he said.
While the keynotes set up a vision of the drivers of the industry and the largest movers of capital into the wireless infrastructure, according to Adelstein, the breakouts will provide a deep dive into how the wireless industry will make that vision possible. Topics will include network design, spectrum opportunities, enterprise connectivity, security, regulation, mergers and acquisitions, in-building connectivity, shared networks, broadband, automation, private wireless networks and a lot more.
With the wireless infrastructure industry seeing a great deal of capital investment, the financial community is keenly aware of the show. “We have a lot of people signed up to come to the show from venture capital and private equity and the larger investment community,” Adelstein said. “They are looking to see the latest trends, but also coming to find deals and to connect to people they haven’t seen for a long time.”
WIA is seeing a lot of interest in its show, according to Adelstein, and this event looks to be similar in size to the conferences before the pandemic. “We’re ahead of our anticipated numbers for exhibitors and sponsors, and the golf tournament is back and going strong,” he said.
At this year’s Connect (X), WIA continues its years-long effort, known as the Supplier Diversity Summit, to facilitate discussions between small, diverse suppliers and the largest contracting companies to assist attendees with procurement opportunities to build their small, diverse businesses. Speakers include the National Black Chamber of Commerce, the U.S. Pan Asian American Chamber and the National LGBT Chamber of Commerce.
“We’re seeing the highest level of speakers ever in the Supplier Diversity Summit,” Adelstein said. “We’re proud that a lot of contracts have come out of this event in the past. We’ve seen real progress in the business of the companies that have met with the largest procurement officers of these corporations. And we expect to see even more this year, given the level of participation.”
WIA is requiring all attendees to show either a negative COVID test or proof of vaccination before entering the show. As attendees check-in, registration personnel will conduct temperature checks and an initial verbal screening, which will include rapid PCR tests for attendees if necessary.
“We’re taking the strongest precautions that are available, following all Center for Disease Control guidelines,” Adelstein said. “Keeping our attendees, exhibitors and speakers safe is our greatest priority. We wouldn’t be hosting the show if we didn’t think we could do it in the safest manner possible.”
For more information, and to register for the show, visit: https://www.connectivityexpo.com/.
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