FTTH Council Europe will further address the urgent need for FTTH with new initiatives
April 1, 2011
At the General Assembly of the FTTH Council Europe the members have reaffirmed their commitment to continue the mission of the FTTH Council Europe to urge Europe to move to FTTH. With more detailed “Why Fibre & How Fibre” initiatives, the organisation will provide the necessary arguments and data to the broadband stakeholders to build Fibre to the Home networks.
With Chris Holden as re-elected president and four newly elected board members, the FTTH Council Europe is ready to specifically focus on the main questions raised about fibre networks in Europe. The “WHY fibre?” initiative includes end user benefits of fibre connections, including new content and applications. The “HOW fibre?” proposal looks at both public and private financing options, and aims at better understanding the regulatory and policy frameworks.
“During the past years the Council has become an accepted industry body on FTTH topics in Europe,” said Holden. “With our well established network to the European Commission, the regulators and the operators organisations, the FTTH Council Europe is in a perfect position to provide supporting data that will accelerate FTTH adoption in Europe.”
The General Assembly was also the occasion to announce the renewed mandate of the contracted executive team, Hartwig Tauber, Director General, and Nadia Babaali, Communications Director, for the next two years.
“A strong board of directors, a broad support from our 150 industry members and continuity in the person of the President will enable the FTTH Council Europe to implement a compelling working plan in 2011”, adds Hartwig Tauber, Director General, “and we can already promise that the FTTH Conference in Munich on 14-16 February 2012 will include the presentation of several studies with high impact on the fibre market.”
The new Board of Directors consists of the following 9 members:
Chris Holden, Corning Ltd, UK – President of the Board
Karin Ahl, Rala Infratech, Sweden – Treasurer
Eric Festraets, Alcatel-Lucent, Belgium
Pastora Valero, Cisco Systems, Belgium
Rolf Johansson, Ericsson, Sweden
Paul Schwartz, ICOTERA, Denmark
Sophie Pautonnier, Mitsubishi Electric, France
Jouni Heinonen, Plumettaz, Switzerland
Albert Grooten, Prysmian Cables and Systems, The Netherlands
The new Working Committee Chairs are:
Paolo Sebben, Switzerland, Chair of the Business Committee
Wolfgang Fischer, Germany, Chair of the Content and Applications Committee
Cristina Deac, Romania, Chair of the Deployment & Operations Committee
Jan Schindler, The Netherlands, Chair of the Market Intelligence Committee
Hartwig Tauber, Austria, Chair of the Policy & Regulation Experts Group