NXTcomm 2008: Everything under the sun

With a high-powered keynote schedule and slew of exhibitors representing the latest technology trends, telecom's mega-event is set to sizzle in Las Vegas

When NXTcomm opens in Las Vegas on June 16, the desert sun won't be the only thing that's hot.

In its second year, NXTcomm has assembled a selection of keynote speakers that lives up to the show's ambition of being more than just a telecom industry event. Sharing the roster with telecom's leading lights will be television producer Mark Burnett, representing the content creators who have become critical to broadband service providers, as well as Richard Green, director of CableLabs, the man spearheading the effort to keep cable operators technologically ahead of their telco counterparts. In addition, Scott McNealy, chairman and co-founder of Sun Microsystems, will represent the growing significance of IT technology in the telecom space.

There also are two non-U.S. executives: Sol Trujillo, formerly of US West but now CEO of Australian carrier Telstra, which has faced its own regulatory and competitive challenges; and Ibrahim Gedeon, chief technology officer for Canadian carrier Telus, known as one of the more innovative incumbent telcos.

There is no shortage of top telecom headliners as well. Randall Stephenson, chairman and CEO of AT&T, returns to the NXTcomm stage, but this year he is joined by Denny Strigl, the president and chief operating officer for Verizon, as well as Dan Hesse, chairman and CEO of Sprint, who just announced a blockbuster WiMAX agreement that put his company in league with Clearwire, Comcast and Google, among others.

Independent telcos will be represented by Jack Cassidy, president and CEO of Cincinnati Bell, while Carl Grivner, CEO of XO Communications, will bring the CLEC perspective. Jagdeep Singh, whose company, Infinera, developed technology that fueled XO's national fiber optic network, among many others, will be part of June 19's keynote group.

The one constant is the NXTcomm mainstage speaker list. The technology panel, headed by Susan Miller, president and CEO of ATIS, this year features Chris Rice, former chief technology officer for AT&T and now executive vice president of shared services for that company, along with Mark Wegleitner, senior vice president of technology for Verizon, and Pieter Poll, chief technology officer for Qwest.

There is also the usual collection of partner conferences covering topics such as broadband wireless and unified communications, as well as summits covering Independent telcos, enterprise executives and eco-friendly telecom trends. Separate conferences explore regulatory issues and investor concerns.

But with all shows such as NXTcomm, a lot of the activity will not be in the meeting rooms and massive presentation halls but on the show floor. More than 500 exhibitors will cover over 200,000 square feet of exhibit space. IP technology will dominate, including IP-based video, voice and data services. Mobile and wireless, as well as fixed/mobile convergence (FMC), also will be hot topics. This year, NXTcomm is featuring four new product pavilions: Broadband Wireless World, IPTV/Content, Green Village and OSS/BSS Corridor.

Much of what goes on at NXTcomm also is of a more practical, down-to-earth nature. This is the show at which power, test and measurement, cabling, and other basics of telecom get their share of attention.

Based on Telephony staff reports, here's a look at the best of what attendees can expect to see.

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