Evolving Connectivity 2018 – Thursday 26 April 2018 at the Motorcycle Museum, Birmingham
This year’s event focuses on the first major upheaval of spectrum change since the digital switchover. More of the ultra high frequency (UHF) is being allocated for mobile use, so UK terrestrial TV is making the necessary changes required.
For many, this heralds what they see as a migration of our TV viewing to a broadband delivery in the long-term. For the immediate future it is time when UK households will need guidance on coping with channel changes. It is a pivotal time in our history as the CAI celebrates 40 years of representation.
Current senior executive of the CAI, Tim Jenks, will start proceedings at Evolving Connectivity 2018 by introducing his replacement, Peter Sealey, who will outline how he sees the industry’s leading confederation develop within a new framework of audiovisual delivery.
Pete Sealey will overlap with the retiring Tim Jenks by joining the CAI payroll on 6 April. This will hopefully allow a smooth transition into when Tim Jenks ends his 24 years of CAI service on the 18 June this year.
Returning for another gaze into his crystal ball is the Digital TV Group’s chief executive, Richard Lindsay-Davies. He will again look at how the audiovisual market is developing.
Following on closely will be another chief executive, Ben Roome, who heads up DMSL/at800. Charged with mitigating the effects of the next frequency auction, Ben will brief the industry on how the viewers needing aerial attention as a result of the 700 MHz re-allocation will be handled.
Graham Plumb, Ofcom’s principal broadcast specialist, will give the regulator’s view of the same topic. Freeview’s market director, Owen Jenkinson, makes a welcome return to talk about how Freeview remains a major success story despite the pundit view-point that internet–based TV is soon to be the major platform as frequency spectrum is eroded.
SES Astra vice president of new technology and standards, Thomas Wrede, brings an update on where UHD and 4K has reached along with how signal distribution is adapting to the new satellite receiver technology capable of delivering UHD.
Couple all this with the UK’s only nationwide exhibition dedicated to signal reception and networking and you have an unmissable event for the industry calendar.
The plan and details of the event timings are still under review. The CAI has a dedicated website holding all the latest information relating to the event taking place on Thursday 26 April at Birmingham’s Motorcycle Museum.
