As the latest advances in coherent optics approach the performance and spectral efficiency thresholds imposed by the Shannon limit, the question for service providers increasingly becomes how to obtain performance gains and reductions in network TCO in new and innovative ways. This is particularly true of performance-optimized coherent optics used in long-haul and subsea networks, where longest reach, highest system capacity and highest spectral efficiency over fiber have been the drivers for each successive generation of coherent technology advances. At the same time, pluggable coherent optics optimized for low power are finding increasing use in metro and regional network applications, with expected evolution in module capacity, pluggable form formats and use cases.
Outlining the practical implications of the Shannon limit in this webinar, the panelists from Heavy Reading and Nokia will:
- Take an in-depth look at the current state and future trajectory of coherent optics
- Explore the bifurcation of coherent optics evolution along two tracks: high-performance optics and low-power pluggable optics
- Discuss how the expanding range of pluggable coherent optics will increasingly complement performance-optimized coherent optics across a range of applications in access, metro and regional/long-haul networks in both optical and IP networking platforms
Sterling Perrin, Senior Principal Analyst – Optical Networks & Transport, Heavy Reading | 
Szilárd Zsigmond, Senior Director HSEO Subsystems, Optical Networks, Nokia | Sterling has more than 20 years' experience in telecommunications as an industry analyst and journalist. His coverage area at Heavy Reading is optical networking, including packet-optical transport and 5G transport. He also authors Heavy Reading’s Metro Optical Networking Market Tracker and Core Optical Transport Market Tracker. Sterling joined Heavy Reading after five years at IDC, where he served as lead optical networks analyst, responsible for the firm's optical networking subscription research and custom consulting activities. Prior to IDC, Sterling worked for Standard & Poor's, where he delivered global industry analysis on a range of IT segments. He is a former journalist and editor at Telecommunications Magazine. In addition to chairing and moderating many Light Reading events, Sterling is a NGON & DCI World Advisory Board member and past member of OFC’s N5 Market Watch Committee. Sterling is a highly sought-after source among the business and trade press.
close this windowSenior Director, High-Speed Electro-Optics subsystem Product/Portfolio/Strategy/Sales where he is responsible for overall product/portfolio strategy and component sales. Leading multiple teams covering different aspects of subsystem components from DSP to optical frontend leading the silicon photonics programs through the former Elenion PLM team and related engineering rules. Responsible for the go-to-market strategy, and business development, for subsystems products. Szilard has extensive knowledge of optical communication systems and expertise in fiber-optics communication, high-level modulation formats, coherent transmission, and digital signal processing.
close this windowKervin Pillay serves as CTO of Automation for Cisco’s Mass Infrastructure Technology business unit helping service providers redefine their automation strategy in rapidly evolving and competitive markets. Kervin holds a Bachelor of Science in Electronic Engineering and Executive Business Leadership and Entrepreneurship qualification from Harvard Business School. He is a specialist in telecommunications with 19 years of experience across fixed, mobile, and IP technology with an increased focus on defining and evangelizing new methodologies in communications. Kervin is also an active participant in the IETF as a co-author on a DIAMETER RFC.
close this windowJohn serves as President of BitPath, a consortium of broadcasters that is planning the transition of member stations to ATSC 3.0 ("NextGen") and developing platforms to support new businesses that exploit the advanced capabilities of the NextGen broadcasting standard. BitPath is creating a nationwide data distribution network leveraging the enormous data distribution capacity of hundreds of leading television broadcast stations.
Prior to joining BitPath John was a partner in the Washington, D.C. office of Pillsbury, a global law firm with a leading technology practice, where he primarily focused on counseling clients in telecom, media and technology sectors. He was deeply involved in matters related to the development and regulatory approval of ATSC 3.0.
A "go-to" advisor on spectrum matters, before joining Pillsbury John led a large satellite and wireless network development group. He has also served in executive positions with NBC, Lockheed Martin, and New World Communications Group. He is the inventor or co-inventor of four patents related to wireless and satellite spectrum and secure authentication.
Winston Caldwell received his Bachelor of Engineering degree in electrical engineering from Vanderbilt University and his Master of Science degree in electrical engineering from the University of Southern California. He is a licensed Professional Engineer in the state of California with over twenty-five years of electrical engineering experience. He is the Vice President of Advanced Engineering at Fox Corporation. In the past, he has served as a Systems Engineer in the servers and storage industry with EMC Corporation and as a Senior Engineer in the aerospace industry with the Boeing Company.
close this windowMadeleine Noland is the President of the Advanced Television Systems Committee Inc. Widely respected for her consensus-building leadership style, she chaired the ATSC technology group that oversees the ATSC 3.0 next-generation broadcast standard before being named ATSC President in May 2019. Previously, she chaired various ATSC 3.0-related specialist groups, ad hoc groups and implementation teams since 2012.
A 15-year industry veteran, Noland held key technology management and standards roles at Backchannelmedia Inc., Telvue Corp. and LG Electronics. She received TV NewsCheck's "2019 Futurist" Women in Technology Award and was named one of 2018's "Powerful Women in Consumer Technology" by Dealerscope magazine. In 2016, she received the ATSC’s highest technical honor, the Bernard J. Lechner Outstanding Contributor Award. She graduated cum laude from the University of Massachusetts
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Ralph Brown founded Brown Wolf Consulting LLC after retiring from CableLabs® where he was CTO and responsible for leading CableLabs’ Research and Development staff in delivering innovative technology to the cable industry. In this role, he led research and development in a broad range of areas, including: Hybrid Fiber-Coax, Optical, and Wireless Network Technologies, as well as Open Source Software, Security, and Technology Policy. In this capacity, he was responsible for leading opportunities for convergence across all of CableLabs programs. During this period he also served on the Board of Directors for SCTE/ISBE, the Digital Living Network Alliance (DLNA), the Open Connectivity Foundation (OCF), and Kyrio®.
Prior to CableLabs, Mr. Brown worked for [email protected] as Chief Architect, Set-top Systems where he worked on broadband applications for set-top terminals and entertainment devices. Before joining [email protected], he worked for Time Warner Cable as Chief Software Architect in their Advanced Engineering Department where he worked on the Orlando Full Service Network and was a key contributor the Time Warner Cable Pegasus Program.
Mr. Brown earned a master’s degree in Electrical Engineering from Massachusetts Institute of Technology. His Master’s thesis was in the field of Speech Recognition. He received his bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering, Summa Cum Laude, from North Carolina State University.
