Agenda
09.30 - 10.10
TMT Leadership Panel – Increasing the top line and navigating the next phase of investment in infrastructure and services
Leaders from key global TMT and Telecom operators discuss the most critical issues facing the industry: the twofold pressure of 5G deployment and related ROI opportunities, the explosion of new network separation strategies, and exploring new paths to growth.
- Hunting for growth – where are leading TMT operators finding success in boosting new areas of revenue growth, innovation and digitalisation?
- 5G Investment – What are the benefits and risks? Estimating return on investment
- Infrastructure build and separations – the shift away from absolute network self-provision
- M&A opportunities and how antitrust views are shaping consolidation strategies
10.25 - 11.00
Beyond Digital Infrastructure – Investing in infrastructure convergence for 5G and beyond
Key investors and industry leaders assess transactions and investment strategies across the four critical pillars of digital infrastructure: wireless towers, small cells, data centers and fibre – and look at how these will enable the growth of smart cities and the wider digital economy.
- Assessing the 4 verticals: which investments are proving most effective in towers, small cells, data centres and fibre?
- Transactions and valuations – where is M&A happening, what are the drivers, and how are valuations developing into 2020?
- Traditional PE firms buying infra assets – the changing profile of investors, access to finance, and the value chain
- The future towerco – how can tower operators tap into the next wave of connectivity?
- How can governments support and promote further investment in communications infrastructure, and accelerate the growth of Smart Cities?
11.30 - 12.10
TMT M&A Panel – How are mergers and acquisitions shaping the global TMT sector?
Leading heads of TMT M&A from industry, investment banks and private equity investors discuss the next wave of transactions in TMT, and assess the best strategies for leading and negotiating complex deals in a rapidly changing market
- How are M&A deals changing and what are the next big trends that will impact TMT transactions globally?
- Who is leading investment in the sector and what are the key deal drivers, and opportunities for convergence and consolidation?
- How is access to financing, changes in valuations and regulatory conditions shaping deal flow?
- What impact are disruptive technologies having on the TMT industry at large, and how is that impacting M&A?
12.25 - 13.00
Enterprise Cloud and Internet Infrastructure - Who is leading the next phase of hyper growth?
Enterprise cloud and datacentre leaders, investors and financiers discuss how the role of hyperscalers are shifting market dynamics, where capital is available for investment, and which opportunities exist in areas such as edge computing
- Future growth in services and infrastructure layers, and the increased segmentation of the cloud infrastructure marketplace
- Hyperscalers – opportunities for partnerships, and the impact on wider investment trends and new business models
- Private equity versus operator – who is buying, building, consolidating? What makes sense at what stage of the life cycle and how are valuations and financing options changing?
- Moving to the edge – how can data centre companies adapt to take advantage of edge computing, and who will capture the value?
- How transition to the cloud is driving demand for remote hosting and a boom in bandwidth, processing and datacenters
14.00 - 14.50
Breakout Sessions - 1
Each breakout session takes place in a private room led by an industry expert. Chatham House Rules Apply. Choose from 6 options.
Option 1
Financing TMT – How are debt and equity financing options changing?
Finance heads, investment bankers and investors assess evolving trends in global debt and equity markets.
- Acquisition, LBO and capex financing – how are pricing and conditions changing?
- Scaling up – how can high growth and mid-cap companies increase access to capital?
- How has the growth of infrastructure funds changed the market?
- Greenfield investments – in what ways can investors mitigate construction risk?
- Regulatory risk – where are the challenges and opportunities?
- Equity Capital Markets – what’s the 2020 outlook?
Option 2
Urban Connectivity – Small Cells, 5G and Building Smart Cities
5G promises to reduce costs and offer unparalleled connectivity options. Underground transport networks, stadiums and shopping centres are all deploying carrier neutral small cells to increase connectivity and move towards 5G. Leaders from telecom operators, plus local and national government and other stakeholders discuss the opportunities of urban connectivity.
- To what degree will 5G roll-out rely on small cells?
- Why are we seeing increasing numbers of non-Telco investment in urban connectivity?
- What business models will work for deploying small cells on rooftops and lampposts?
- Is the current permitting regime adequate for widespread small cell installation?
- What are the next steps towards enabling Smart City infrastructure?
- How can industry and local authorities collaborate to support the introduction of 5G?
Option 3
Managed Services, Cloud and ICT – How is the market developing?
Leaders from managed ICT, hosting, unified comms and cloud services and infrastructure providers and investors discuss fast growth opportunities in the sector and strategies for investment.
- How is the sector developing on the services layer, and which subsectors are showing most growth potential and consolidation opportunities?
- Cloud computing as an enabler of digital transformation – assessing drivers of cloud adoption
- How is the growth of hyperscalers affecting the marketplace and where are the opportunities for partnerships?
- The changing identity of buyers: who is leading M&A and investment in managed ICT and cloud services, and how is this changing?
- The infrastructure layer - how is the digital infra ecosystem changing in response to a soaring demand for data?
15.00 - 15.50
Breakout Sessions - 2
Each breakout session takes place in a private room led by an industry expert. Chatham House Rules Apply. Choose from 6 options.
Option 6
The Internet of Things - Applications, services and innovations
IoT offers clear opportunities for the communications sector and a new wave of applications. In this discussion leaders and investors from the communications and IoT sector will discuss the best ways to win value in this competitive space and look at how use cases are developing throughout the value chain, across areas from connectivity solutions and industry 4.0 & 5.0 to connected vehicles, facilities management and building the connected supply chain.
- Consumer vs Industrial IoT - how are both sides of the industry developing and which business models are working?
- How are investments and transactions already impacting IoT, and how will 5G change that?
- Connected cars, buildings and industry 4.0/5.0 - assessing opportunities throughout the value chain
- Which other revenues streams could be developed based on consumer experience?
- Building Smart City Infrastructure - where the opportunities?
16.35 - 17.10
5G Leaders Panel – Assessing ROI, unlocking value and building the ecosystem
Industry leaders assess the state of play on 5G spectrum auctions, analysis of cash-on-cash returns and outlook on funding, plus how partnerships and the wider 5G environment are developing.
- 5G Impact – When and where will the biggest impacts take place ?
- Spectrum – how are valuation benchmarks developing, and what different approaches to allocation and pricing are regulators taking?
- Partnerships – the increase in 5G RAN-sharing and the pooling of passive infrastructure
- Developing the road to full 5G commercialisation – core networks, small cells, edge computing, mobile switching, virtualisation, real-time analytics and machine learning
- Funding and ROI – medium term planning for the next five to seven years
17.25 - 18.00
The Fibre Leadership Panel – Assessing the race to full fibre coverage and investment
An explosion in fibre rollout and dealmaking; soaring EBITDA multiples; multi-billion dollar spending plans; a new wave of market participants; and a collective political will to move towards full fibre coverage. This panel brings together leading operators and investors of fiber and high-speed broadband networks to discuss the opportunities
- Leading the pack – how how to pick the winners and assess investor returns in the race to full fibre coverage
- Consolidation – what will be the trigger for increased dealmaking and partnerships in the alt-net market?
- How to assess and manage capex costs and ROI, and hunt out the right opportunities
- Carrier Neutral Open Access Networks – which business models are working, who will own the value chain, and what role should governments have?
- What type of partnerships are mobile carriers looking into to densify their networks?
