The Broadband Forum’s board of directors has selected industry veteran Craig Thomas to be its next Chief Executive Officer.
Thomas will be responsible for leading the Forum at what is a pivotal time for the global broadband industry, reshaping it to transition from connectivity-driven to delivering standards for intelligent, services-led networks that prioritise the user experience.
Thomas’ term as CEO will start on 1 January 2024, following current Managing Director Ken Ko’s retirement at the end of the year. Thomas has been with the Forum since 2020, serving as Vice President of Strategic Marketing and Business Development. His experience in the telecoms vendor and service provider industry includes roles at Calix, Tellabs, Tiscali UK Business Services, Cosine Communications, Ericsson, and Alcatel / Newbridge Networks.
Thomas says: “We are entering a new era for broadband where speed is no longer a constraint for subscriber services. Innovations in broadband connectivity allow the industry to capitalise on the potential of broadband beyond residential connectivity services. We can create additional QoE-sensitive monetized lifestyle services for consumers and open up the broadband network to be a ubiquitous one that also meets business, IoT, and converged services demands.
“The Broadband Forum and our members remain focused on driving a broadband ecosystem that end-to-end has increased service differentiation, intelligence, and agility from the cloud all the way to the user's device. Open standards and open software are critical to how operators will build these new, efficient networks.”
John Blackford, Broadband Forum Chairman adds: “Craig's selection as CEO was a natural choice for Broadband Forum and we are confident the leadership transition will be smooth. During Craig’s time with the Forum, we have seen a 10-year high in membership and contributions from companies large and small, representing innovative vendors, application and content providers, and network and service providers.”