Fifth annual seminar is world’s leading DSL event and is set to fuel the debate on making the most of DSL with new technologies and standards

Delft, 31 January 2013 – High speed technologies designed to enhance the performance and quality services over DSL will be a major feature at this year’s TNO DSL Seminar. The seminar is now in its fifth year and has become the world’s leading event that focuses solely on DSL. With a comprehensive mix of speakers, sponsors and visitors from across the telecoms spectrum, the Seminar is set to fuel the debate on how to make the most of existing copper infrastructure for the delivery of next generation services.

Speakers already confirmed for the event include Tom Starr, chairman of the Broadband Forum, and Bas van den Heuvel, senior scientist at TNO. Topics will include Vectored VDSL2, mitigating foreign crosstalk in an unbundled loop environment, FTTdp, and G.fast. Improving the user experience and regulatory issues will also feature strongly. Tini Hooymans, member of the TNO Board of Management and member of the Supervisory Board of Royal KPN N.V. will give the opening speech at the seminar. This year for the first time the Seminar will also have a dynamic programme where participants can make suggestions of topics they wish to see covered by using Twitter and LinkedIn groups.

“All the talk this year is about ‘sweating the assets’ and maximising existing infrastructure to keep costs under control and deliver improved services to customers,” said Teun van der Veen, Senior Consultant at TNO. “Our conference programme this year will be more exciting than ever as we seek to highlight a raft of new technologies that are coming along to really drive throughput and quality in the copper network. DSL is thriving and continues to play a leading role in the broadband world – the exciting number of new innovations that push DSL performance to greater speeds are testimony to the exciting future it has.”

The DSL Seminar brings together senior players and technology experts from operators, vendors, researchers, regulatory authorities and businesses. Already the event has attracted a high profile sponsor in Iskratel, the Slovenia-based world-leading supplier of telecommunication equipment and solutions. Iskratel has over 1000 employees and specialises in highly integrated, carrier-class solutions for service providers, based on a unified approach that combines IP-technology-based products and solutions and also supports a smooth transition from legacy technologies. Two further companies, Alcatel-Lucent and Ikanos, have also just confirmed their sponsorship of the seminar.

Andrej Kržišnik from Iskratel said: “We have been involved with the DSL Seminar for several years and have watched the event grow in parallel to the demand for new technologies designed to maximise the use of copper. It covers all important aspects of DSL from legislation and the economics down to the most detailed technical issues. It is THE event for the DSL community. Our sponsorship underlines Iskratel’s position as a global provider of DSL equipment and innovative DSL solutions.”

The DSL Seminar will be co-hosted for the third consecutive year by the Broadband Forum, the global industry body for standards and specifications in broadband. CEO Robin Mersh will chair the event and facilitate the debate during the two days and Chairman Tom Starr is presenting: “The Broadband Forum encourages a range of technologies for the delivery of excellent user experience. DSL is and will remain a cornerstone of any broadband service delivery and we are happy to support this important event and participate in the ongoing debate.”

The DSL Seminar 2013 will be held from 17-19 June 2013 at the Carlton Beach Hotel in Scheveningen, The Hague, Netherlands. With the Seminar’s Earlybird deadline for registration extended to 15th February 2013, visitor numbers are already looking strong. To view the event details and register for the TNO-DSL Seminar, please visit www.tno.nl/dslseminar. To be part of the DSL Debate participants are encouraged to join TNO on Twitter at @DSLSeminar2013 or on LinkedIn at http://www.linkedin.com/groups/TNOs-DSL-Seminar-4800763?gid=4800763&mostPopular=&trk=tyah