Q&A: Dr Peter Charissé, ANGA COM

Peter Charissé, managing director of ANGA COM, talks to Digital TV Europe about the key themes of this year’s event and the central issues facing the industry.

What will be the main themes of the ANGA COM Conference this year, and how do these reflect current trends in the industry?

Hot topics of the exhibition and as well our conference agenda are 5G, the smart city, app TV, Internet of Things, smart home, cloud TV, copyright and personalised TV. Especially this year, big data, artificial intelligence and cybersecurity will be expanded. These keywords reflect the ongoing industry trend of bringing together connectivity and content.

What do you expect to be the stand-out features of the exhibition?

We already count more than 450 exhibitors for 95% of the exhibition space – including leading international vendors like Cisco, Huawei, Nokia, Arris, Appear TV and Commscope. Our exhibitors will particularly showcase latest innovations in the field of fixed mobile convergence and intelligent TV solutions for app TV and personalised TV. All these topics will be discussed at or new International Content Summit and the International CTO Summit.  A completely new feature dealing with digital transformation will be the ANGA International Keynotes.

What do you see as the main priorities facing German cable and telecom operators in a year that will potentially see consolidation in the industry?

Currently we see two fundamental questions: the implications of 5G for the broadband market and the impact of streaming on TV competition. This also raises the question of how the interaction between larger and local providers will develop.

How much progress has the industry made towards offering Gigabit broadband connectivity and what still needs to be done to ensure progress?

Both the fibre roll-out and the upgrading of HFC cable networks have accelerated considerably in recent years. To make even better progress, it is particularly important to have an investment-friendly regulatory framework and a technology-neutral subsidy policy.

What impact do you think the growing penetration of OTT TV players and the response of commercial and public broadcasters will have on the established pattern of TV distribution in Germany this year?

Competition in the field of television and content distribution will continue to intensify. Network operators will therefore have to further diversify their own offerings. This applies to IPTV and OTT, but also in particular to time-shifted and personalised services. This will be one of the main topics to be discussed at our new International Content Summit with C-level experts from Eutelsat, Freenet, HD+, M7, Metrological, Nordija and Synamedia. The requirements on the level of broadband technology will be addressed at our International CTO Summit with, among others, Liberty Global, TDC Group, Tele2 and Vodafone. Both summits will be held on June 4.

ANGA COM takes place at the Köln Messe from June 4-6. Click here for details.