Network expansion and upgrades, customer relationships, cybersecurity, fighting robocalls, finding new revenue streams — there’s a lot for small and rural mobile network operators to tackle these days. The Competitive Carriers Associations’ Annual Convention is jumping right in to all of those topics and more at an in-person event in Phoenix, Arizona next week.
Monday, the day before the convention officially begins, is filled with workshops focusing on guiding small and rural carriers through the federal rip-and-replace reimbursement program, with virtual or in-person presentations from Federal Communications Commission representatives, regulatory experts and equipment vendors. In July, the FCC gave final approval to a $1.9 billion program to assist United States operators with the costs of removing equipment from Chinese vendors Huawei and ZTE from their networks — a move that FCC Acting Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel called “a daunting task.”
“It’ll be a great opportunity for our carriers that are right in the heart of the $1.9 billion reimbursement program to find out what the FCC is saying,” said Steve Berry, president and CEO of CCA.
Berry noted that CCA hasn’t had an in-person event in two years, and in that time period, there have been multiple enormous broadband expansion funding programs launched as well as newly urgent developments around cybersecurity, 5G, fixed wireless access technology and robocalls, and accuracy in broadband mapping. All of those are addressed in sessions at next week’s show. On Tuesday, CCA kicks off the day with a carrier executive roundtable as a keynote panel. Additional keynote speakers over the two-day event include executives from T-Mobile US, Nokia, Ericsson, Mavenir, Interop, Syniverse and TNS. The full agenda of keynotes and sessions is available here, and the keynotes will also be live-streamed for those unable to attend the show in-person.
“We have assembled top mobile executives to deliver keynotes and participate in our educational conference program, and they’ll share their unique perspectives on the future of the mobile ecosystem,” said Berry. “I look forward to meeting industry colleagues and innovative companies who will share lessons learned over the past 18 months and best practices that will guide us into the new year.”
As usual, the CCA show also includes specific roundtables for carrier executives, with specific member-only roundtables for chief marketing officers, chief technology officers, and chief financial officers to share experiences, issues and lessons learned. Berry said that while CCA expects overall attendance to not be quite as large as past shows, that he has heard from an encouragingly large number of its carrier members eager to attend for the first chance to meet in-person since the beginning of the pandemic, amid intense pressure on their businesses to expand and upgrade services.
In terms of what to expect for Covid-19 mitigation, the event venue, the Phoenix Convention Center, does not have a mask requirement. However, CCA attendees will be asked to show either proof of vaccination or a negative Covid-19 test within 72 hours prior to check-in. CCA is encouraging masks and alternative hand-shakes.
“We’re hoping that not only to have a good turnout, but that everyone will use caution and have a safe experience,” Berry said.
