The refreshed agenda is facilitating fibre deployment; more incentives to invest in it; fostering a competitive environment and a green shift from copper to fibre
The FTTH Council Europe has elected a new President, Treasurer and Board of Directors at the organisation’s 2024 Spring General Assembly.
Roshene McCool (pictured above) takes over from outgoing President Raf Meersman and will begin a one-year term at the head of the organisation. She will support the Board of Directors, Committees and Working Group in pressing for an “optimal regulatory environment” in Europe.
The FTTH Council Europe’s new executive has put the digitalisation of European economies at the top of its agenda.
Regulatory framework
McCool notes, “The current regulatory framework has been very effective in incentivising investment in fibre in Europe, but improvements can always be made.
“Following the General Assembly, our focus will be on our four key objectives: facilitating the deployment of fibre networks, increasing incentives to invest in the sector, maintaining a competitive environment and supporting a green transition from copper to fibre.”
The new Board of Directors will also strive to further cooperation and coordination between vendors and other stakeholders within the organisation, and liaise with policymakers, investors and operators to gain the best outcome for a digital Europe.
McCool continued, “[F]ibre remains the best option for transforming and enhancing the way we do business, interact and connect with everything, everywhere. To be successful, everyone from vendors and operators to investors and regulators have a part to play. This is why the FTTH Council Europe is so valuable, providing guidance and education to ensure everyone remains aligned.”
At the Council’s 2024 Spring General Assembly, ADTRAN’s Principal Sales Engineer, Barbara Tonarelli became the first winner of the new Member Engagement Individual Award.
She was chosen by the Board of Directors, from a shortlist of nominations made by Committee Chairs, for her outstanding performance, service, hard work and dedication to the activities of the association and committee contribution in the past several years.
New Board of Directors
• Roshene McCool, Senior Market & Technology Development Manager at Corning Optical Communications – President
• Hans Lötzer, Director for Project Finance Analysis at Hamburg Commercial Bank – Treasurer
• Francesco Nonno, Director of Regulatory and European Affairs at Open Fiber
• Christian Priess, Head of Central Europe, Africa, Middle East & Submarine Cable at Hexatronic Group
• Andreas Waber, CEO at Swiss Fibre Net
• Stefano Fogli, Business Development Director EMEA at Adtran
• Xavier Renard, Marketing Director at ACOME
• Carl Pertry, Director of Business Development at Nokia
• Suzanne Tracy, CTO at SIRO
New Committee and Working Group Chairs
• Market Intelligence – Domenico Dichiarante, Head of Operational Marketing at Open Fiber
• Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion – Barbara Tonarelli, Principal Sales Engineer at ADTRAN
• In-Home Broadband Excellence – Maarten Egmond, CTO at Genexis
• Deployment & Operations – Patrick Faraj, Senior Product Manager – Centralized Fiber Test Systems at VIAVI Solutions
• Sustainability – Jeroen Kanselaar, Manager ESG at Eurofiber
• Investors – Thomas Miller, Executive Director at Hamburg Commercial Bank
• Policy & Regulation – Arturs Alksnis, Public Affairs Director at FTTH Council Europe
• Open Access – Niall Halpenny, Commercial Director at Sonalake