Canadian experts and leaders left a notable mark at the Telecom Review Leaders’ Summit 2024, contributing to key discussions on women’s leadership in tech, network cloudification, AI, cybersecurity, and infrastructure strategies. Their insights highlighted Canada’s leading role in driving innovation and security within the global telecommunications ecosystem.
The following distinguished speakers represented Canada at the summit in Dubai:
- Ibrahim Gedeon, Executive Director at GuardianSafetyNet
- Shazia Sobani, Vice President of Fibre Networks at TELUS
- Monty Hamilton, Chief Product and Marketing Officer at TELUS Digital
- Maria Stebneva, Head of Sales in Canada at Juniper Networks
- Tony Geheran, President of Strategic Broadband Consulting
- Chief Nishan Duraiappah of Peel Regional Police
TELUS’s Take on Gender Equality and AI
One of the standout contributions came from TELUS’s Shazia Sobani, who moderated the Women in ICT panel, emphasizing the importance of gender diversity in the industry. The discussion focused on creating inclusive workplaces and ensuring women have equal opportunities in leadership roles.
Sobani noted that achieving a gender parity in the ICT sector could unlock a USD 12 trillion value and boost organizational profitability by 27%.
TELUS Digital’s Monty Hamilton participated in the panel exploring AI’s impact on telcos and consumers. Hamilton pointed out the significance of 5.5G’s low latency capabilities, which can be leveraged to enable AI-driven applications in autonomous vehicles and public safety. The TELUS executive noted, "With 5.5G low latency, you can take a lot of the compute power in every vehicle and put it on the edge."
Notably, TELUS’s Fuel iX platform became the first ISO-accredited AI platform, achieving privacy by design and setting standards for responsible AI practices. “We’ve moved beyond the tipping point, and this new chapter is empowering us to unlock even greater potential in product development,” Hamilton stated.
Guardian SafetyNet and Peel Regional Police Delve Into Cloudification and Cybersecurity
Guardian SafetyNet, a Canadian cybersecurity firm, made a strong impression across multiple panels. Speaking on the "Panel Powered by AWS: Unlocking the Potential of Network Cloudification," Dr. Ibrahim Gedeon touched on the operational and customer-centric aspects of cloudification as well as the industry’s need to embrace vendor flexibility.
Dr. Gedeon also explored the potential of GenAI in predictive analytics and network optimization, an area being widely adopted by the ICT industry at present. Despite this, he highlighted the challenges of monetizing new technologies, and criticizing the lack of progress in actual “network slicing.”
Cybersecurity was another crucial topic, with Guardian SafetyNet and Peel Regional Police contributing to this discussion. Chief Duraiappah discussed the “tsunami of data” his team deals with daily, emphasizing the value of vendors in helping communities. “Policing isn’t just about responding to emergencies; it’s about preventing them before they happen,” he noted.
From the digital side, Dr. Gedeon added that firewalls alone are not enough in today’s threat landscape, with threats coming from all directions. To protect what matters the most, collaboration between vendors and customers is essential.
Juniper Networks’s Expertise on Cloud and Infrastructure Strategies
In a discussion on hyperscalers in the cloud market, Juniper Networks’s Maria Stebneva addressed the growing influence of hyperscalers in telecom. The exponential growth in traffic generated by hyperscalers emphasizes how rapidly the industry is scaling. Stebneva also pointed out the growing importance of sustainability in these collaborations, as hyperscalers like AWS, Azure, and GCP have pledged to achieve carbon neutrality by 2040.
During a panel on infrastructure deployment, the human dimension was another key theme. Stebneva stressed the importance of specialized expertise to tackle complex use cases and advocated for an adaptable education system to keep pace with technological advancements. “It starts with clear business goals,” she said, “and trickles down to defining infrastructure requirements and building expert teams to meet those challenges.”
Juniper is best known for building networks that can scale to meet the needs of the smallest regional and largest global service providers around the world. The company’s reputation in this field is built on a foundation of technical expertise, innovative design, and a deep understanding of the challenges faced by large-scale network operators—from access and metro layers to the multi-service edge, across the core, and throughout data centers.
Strategic Broadband Consulting’s Perspective on Infrastructure Sharing and Security
Infrastructure deployment is at the heart of digital transformation, yet it faces many challenges due to the increasing complexity of the digital ecosystem. In line with this, Tony Geheran noted the critical need for comprehensive security frameworks that integrate seamlessly with business operations. "Security isn't a siloed effort; it's about aligning technology stacks and partners with policies that ensure resilience," he stated, stressing the importance of continuous testing and collaboration across stakeholders.
Geheran also pointed out the strategic imperative of infrastructure sharing and future-proofing. Drawing on his experiences in Canada, he highlighted how collaborative initiatives, like shared cell towers, could reduce costs and accelerate network rollouts. However, he acknowledged that similar collaboration on fiber networks and other advanced technologies remains limited, leaving opportunities untapped.
Canada: A Key Player in Global Telecom
Canada’s prominent presence at the Telecom Review Leaders’ Summit 2024 showcased the nation’s thought leadership in gender diversity, cloud computing, AI integration, cybersecurity, and infrastructure planning. The active engagement of Canadian experts across multiple panels reinforced their commitment to shaping the future of telecom, emphasizing security, efficiency, and inclusivity. As the industry evolves, Canada remains a key player in advancing global telecom innovations.
