Light Reading's Big Telecom Event Showcases the Trends Driving the Future of the Telecom Industry in 2014

NEW YORK, June 19, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- More than 1,500 attendees from across the world, 60% of which were service providers, gathered at Light Reading's flagship event -- the Big Telecom Event (BTE) (bigtelecomevent.com) -- this week in Chicago to hear from telecom leaders, discuss business insights and see real-world, cutting-edge technology demonstrations. 

Industry giants from Deutsche Telekom, Google, Alcatel-Lucent, tw telecom, Sprint, Telefonica, Verizon Terremark, Telus and many others took an in-depth look into the key trends driving the future of the global communications industry. They include: software-defined networking (SDN), network functions virtualization (NFV), cloud services, next-generation communications network planning, small cell architectures, big-data analytics, mobile network security, and mergers & acquisitions (M&A).

"As the global communications industry continues to innovate, our business-of-technology conference allowed telecom executives to learn, experience and have intelligent conversations about monetizing next-gen networks, all while having a little fun," said Stephen Saunders, Founder and CEO of Light Reading.

Saunders added, "We also found that professional connections were easier to make when we tore down the booths and created an 'Innovation Zone' focused on technologies and applications that offer proof of concepts and real-world applications. Our goal is to help provide our audience with the information they need to get business done. We succeeded in that this week."

BTE combined an unrivaled mix of interactive panels and presentations created and hosted by Heavy Reading's industry analysts with more than 60 show floor demonstrations of networking technologies and applications from companies such as Alcatel-Lucent, Ericsson, Huawei and Infinera as well as structured, targeted networking opportunities.

BTE also attracted an unprecedented level of support from industry standards development groups and forums including the ONF, the Internet Society (ISOC), ETSI's NFV ISG, the University of New Hampshire Interoperability Lab (UNH-IOL), Broadband Forum, Dark Fiber Community, IEEE, Small Cell Forum and Smart Rural. 

Here's what attendees had to say about BTE:

• "BTE brought together industry peers for a very collaborative event, with thought-provoking conversation and very appropriate content. We appreciated the opportunity to engage in the discussion," said Jennifer Spaude, director of marketing, Enventis.
• "The quality of the speakers was exceptional, definitely a notch or two above other shows. People were engaged -- they were really leaning in and listening," said Michael Tschirret, marketing director, JDSU.
• "For me, the show attracted the caliber of telecom executive that we wanted to meet with. The right people were here," said Tony Gomez, president and general manager, North American region, ECI.

The Leading Lights awards, the telecom industry's most prestigious awards program and the Light Reading Hall of Fame inductees were announced at an exclusive awards gala.  

The Big Telecom Event will return to Chicago in June 2015.

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About Light Reading
Light Reading (www.lightreading.com) combines its research-led online communities and targeted events portfolio to help those in the global communications industry make informed decisions. Lightreading.com is the ultimate source for telecom analysis for more than 350,000 subscribers each month, leading the media sector in terms of traffic, content, and reputation. Light Reading produces targeted communications events and focused one-day conferences each year for cable, mobile, and wireline executives across five continents.

Media Contact:
Meryl Franzman
Beyond Words Communications Inc.
[email protected] 
617 739 1769

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SOURCE Light Reading