Fear, doubt and uncertainty abound in the telecom sector like never before. Pretty much every part of the communications networking services and technology sector is looking over its shoulder at something threatening, whether it be new services rivals (such as the OTT players) or new technology practices (particularly around virtualization) that don't conform to the tried and tested ways of the telecom sector.

One option is to ignore the upheaval and hope for the best. Do that, though, and the service providers and vendors facing major challenges today will implode, crushed by external forces and internal fighting. So that's not an option -- unless, of course, a slow and painful demise is your bag.

The alternative, of course, is to embrace change and build something new and better from the emerging business models and technologies that are emerging. That's why Light Reading has organized its Big Telecom Event (BTE) in Chicago (June 17-18), to address the challenges facing all sorts of industry players.

The tagline for the event is "Next-gen tech meets business logic" because what we're aiming for is an event that brings the industry's creative forces together to figure out how to embrace change and create new opportunities to build successful businesses that make sense in the second decade of the 21st century. A key part of that process is networking and sharing, and we'll be encouraging as much of that as possible at BTE.

Some of the questions we'll be asking and topics we'll be covering include:

If we answer any of the above questions during BTE (apart from the last one, sadly) then we'll have taken a decent step forwards. Of course, there are thousands of other questions to be answered too. If you're at BTE, be sure to ask them.

You can check out the full agenda for BTE (including an afternoon of pre-conference workshops on Monday June 16) at the Big Telecom Event website -- there are too many amazing presenters and panel sessions to even begin to mention here.

Light Reading will, of course, be there in force and reporting on what's happening at the event. All our coverage from the show, including our pre-BTE coverage and post-event analysis, can be found at our dedicated BTE industry show news site.

You can also check out what's happening on Twitter with the hashtag #BTE2014.

If you're heading to BTE, then see you there (and maybe in the Billy Goat Tavern, or a sports bar showing the World Cup games, over the weekend). If you're not going, then check out the show site to see what you're missing. I can guarantee there will be news and views revealed during BTE that will change the course of this industry -- don't miss out.

— Ray Le Maistre, , Editor-in-Chief, Light Reading