The Strand Palace Hotel, London

[Satnews]  GVF Connectivity 2016: Air, Sea, Surface, and Rail: Evolving the "New" New Verticals, which will take place on 16th February at the Strand Palace Hotel, London, is the third in the Connectivity conference series organized by the GVF-EMP Partnership. The program will comprise keynote presentations together with panel sessions spanning the four key themes of Technologies; Services; Mobile and the Cloud; and, Developing Applications and Building User Verticals.

The context of the event is that of being connected to the Internet, whenever you want, wherever you are, wherever you’re going to, and however you’re getting there, with broadband data speeds that meet the service delivery goals and user expectations of today’s rapidly evolving digital telecommunications marketplace—a marketplace that has directly engaged with ever greater personal geographical mobility.

Support for the event comprises some 20 speakers and panelists, over 90 registered delegates, sponsoring organizations and supporting associations. Inmarsat (Principal Sponsor), Hughes(Corporate Sponsor), and Advantech Wireless (Guest Sponsor) are joined in their support by the Airline Passenger Experience Association (APEX) and the Broadcasting & Satellite Network—the UK Affiliate of the SSPI (BSN-SSPI).

Opening the program will be a keynote presentation from Joe Leader, Chief Executive Officer, APEX, entitled Airline In-Flight Connectivity: The New Paradigm of Passenger Experience'. In advance of his keynote Mr. Leader commented, "Results from a recent global passenger survey conducted by APEX showed that Wi-Fi rated highest among passengers in improving airline ratings, with 41percent stating they would be willing to pay for Wi-Fi connectivity." Mr. Leader continued, "This is a critical data point for airlines, as the ones that make the most ancillary revenue are those that lead in connected passenger experience.  My keynote will discuss the opportunities and competitive advantage available to airlines willing to be bold and pave the way in providing passengers a unique and personalized experience."

Also featuring in a keynote presentation slot entitled ‘Merging Broadband Satellite, Fiber & Wireless into Seamless Ecosystems & Unified Value Chains’ will be Andy Lucas, Chief Technology Officer, Harris CapRock Communications.

The 2016 event will build upon the agenda of the previous two ‘Connectivity’ events. The program is as follows: