The panel will review established and emerging trends of network convergence with specific focus on the role of optical networking as an enabler. Speaker will address convergence across technology domains and layers including access and core domains, IP and optical layers, packets and circuits, transport and IT.

• What is the current status of deployment of Optical Networks? What are the benefits already achieved and expected?
• Are optical networks still considered as "fat, dumb pipes"? What is their evolving role in network services provisioning?
• How optical networks interface with other network technologies (routers, wireless, IT etc.)? How interfacing could evolve to convergence?
• What are the key enablers (technology, market, regulation, standards etc.) towards fully converged optical networks?
• What are the main remaining challenges and what the industrial innovation roadmap should be considered in order to drive cross-layer and cross-technology convergence with optical networks?
• For which network domains full optical network deployment makes a realistic proposition?
• What are potential benefits and roadmap for deploying optics in Data Centre, Cloud Infrastructures?
• Does SDN makes sense for the photonics layer? How will the traditionally controlled/managed optical layer evolve to SDN service architectures? How optical network operators and vendors will adapt?
• Could large scale European optical test-beds be of relevance to accelerate convergence, innovation and deployment?

Sergi Figuerola received the MSc. in Telecommunications Engineering by the Technical University of Catalonia (UPC, January 2002) and holds a Masters in Project Management from Universitat Ramón Llull (2004). He joined i2CAT on 2004 to create the Distributed Applications and Networks Area, and since April 2013 he is the Technology and Innovation Director at i2CAT. Previously, he spent three years working in research activities within the optical communications group from the UPC. Since then, he has been involved in many EC research projects, PHOSPHORUS, FEDERICA, GEYSERS (as technical manager) and MANTYCHORE (as project coordinator). Currently he is the coordinator of the IRATI project and co-chair of the CaON cluster. His interests are on IaaS, NaaS and converged networks.

Matthew Finnie drives the company's advanced services strategy, including developing the platform that has allowed the company to launch its industry-leading VOIP, Ethernet and Media products. Trained as an electrical engineer, he helped develop early IP-product innovations, including one of the first commercial applications of VOIP a decade ago. As head of the Enterprise Service Development Group at Vocaltec, he worked with European/US carriers and multi-national corporations to launch converged communication services. Matthew was also the co-founder of US-based Internet start-up Insitu, which developed real-time IP collaboration tools. Matthew has degrees in electrical and electronic engineering and marketing.

Juan Pedro Fernández-Palacios received the MS in Telecommunications Engineering from Polytechnic University of Valencia in 2000. In Sept. of 2000 he joined Telefonica I+D where he is currently leading the Core Network Evolution unit. He has been involved in several European projects such as NOBEL, NOBEL-2, STRONGEST and MAINS as well as in the design of core network architectures in the Telefónica Group. Currently he is coordinating the FP7 project IDEALIST as well as the standardization activities within CAON cluster, where he is acting as co-chair.

Ori Gerstel is a Principal Engineer responsible for identifying opportunities for integration of routers and transport technologies. Before joining Cisco in 2002, Ori held senior architecture positions at Tellabs and Nortel, where he architected the first mesh optical network and the first fully switched optical network respectively. He started his work in optical networking at IBM, where the first commercial DWDM system was developed. For his contribution, he was awarded the grade of IEEE Fellow. Ori serves as editor-in-chief for the primary journal for optical networking (JOCN) and as a steering committee member for the OFC/NFOEC conference. Ori holds a Ph.D. degree from the Technion.

Dave Payne joined BT labs in 1978 where he worked on very early FTTH project s and later on single-mode fibre optical access networks. He was co-inventor of TPON the first passive optical network or PON. In the late 1990s he moved into business and in 1999 he took over running the optical and broadband research teams at BT where the proposals for current ideas on LR-PONs evolved. In 2005 he was awarded the BT Martlesham Medal for his contribution to optical networks. In 2010 David joined the Centre for Telecommunications Research (CTVR) as Professor of Optical Networks at Trinity College Dublin. In 2012 a bid for the DISCUS FP7 call 8 project was successful and he is now also coordinator of the DISCUS project. He has recently joined Aston University on a part time basis as Professor of Optical Networks

Adrian Farrel serves as one of two Routing Area Directors in IETF. Adrian has been heavily involved with the IETF for a number of years and is the author of over 50 RFCs. He was amongst the leaders in the development of a number of key Internet technologies including GMPLS - the control plane for optical networks, and the PCE - a functional component for computing paths through traffic engineered networks. He has also nurtured the development of routing for low-power and lossy networks (LLNs), and is helping to create a working group for the Interface to the Routing System (I2RS) a new approach to dynamic management of routed networks. Adrian co-founded the start-up Aria Networks and runs a successful consultancy company, Old Dog Consulting, providing advice on implementation, deployment, and standardization of Internet Protocol-based solutions.