The Southern African Telecommunications Networks and Applications Conference (SATNAC) proudly announced today that Honorable Minister of Communications, Yunus Carrim, has confirmed that he will deliver the opening address at the conference.
Hosted by Telkom, the three-day conference will see captains of industry deliver a number of keynote presentations around the conference theme: "Broadband - A catalyst for sustainable economic development and promoting digital inclusion."
Says conference chairman, Alphonzo Samuels: "SATNAC is well known as the meeting place for industry leaders and academia to discuss emerging trends and topical issues facing the ICT industry.
"This year, again, we have attracted sponsorship of the industry's top players who see the great value that the conference brings," adds Samuels.
SATNAC's diamond sponsors include: Alcatel-Lucent, ASAJE, Cisco, Coriant, Huawei and Nokia Solutions and Networks.
Alpheus Mangale, Managing Director Cisco South Africa, says: "SATNAC 2013 comes at an opportune time, and we are therefore delighted to be joining forces with Telkom to support the event as a Diamond sponsor. Our goal is to work with private and public sector organisations in South Africa to help further define, as well as participate in, the country's agenda for accelerating national broadband rollout, and supporting the government's vision to achieve this by 2020 is key to Cisco's strategy.
"It is events like SATNAC that will continue to bring to the forefront the vital role broadband acceleration will play in helping organisations throughout South Africa to benefit from the new level of opportunity to be created by technology growth and innovation, and over the next few years, we will see organisations evolving to thrive in the new environment.
"Cisco is at a very exciting, pivotal place, being at the forefront of the Internet of Everything (IoE), an era where the Internet has the potential to dramatically improve the lives of everyone on our planet," he adds.
A keynote speaker at this year's SATNAC, Luis Martinez-Amago, is Alcatel-Lucent's President for EMEA. He will be sharing results of Alcatel-Lucent's own research and experience from work on broadband projects with other operators worldwide.
"This year's SATNAC theme is very relevant and important to the current national debate in South Africa regarding the National Broadband Initiative. We will be sharing results from our own research into quantifying the viability and social impact of a national broadband programme in various countries. We are very happy to participate in SATNAC and to contribute to that important debate," says Martinez-Amago.
Speaking to the theme of the conference, Mikko Lavanti, Chief Customer Officer, Coriant, says: "Building real broadband networks will improve quality of life in remote locations and provide the capability to offer better education and healthcare services. The networks will also help create new job opportunities.
"Coriant is very proud to be part of SATNAC 2013 and we look forward continuing to support SATNAC and its objectives, in collaboration with major South African operators such as Telkom, building industry-leading optical transport networks for the future of South African communications," adds Lavanti.
The conference starts with a Welcome Function on Sunday evening. The traditional icebreaker golf day will begin at 9am on Sunday at the De Zalze Winelands Golf Estate.
BDTV, the official broadcast partner for the conference, will broadcast the plenary sessions live and will also broadcast a highlights package in the week after the conference. Summit TV is available on DSTV Channel 412.
All registrations have to be completed online (www.satnac.org.za). Information on hotel accommodation can also be found on the Web site.
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