Objective
The telecommunications industry is currently in a state of profound change in terms of industry structure and supply chain. The public internet, personal computing and communication devices, and the development of new wireless technologies are all contributing to the emergence of new convergent services, new network architectures, and new industry business models. The MET Executive Development Program (EDP) gives participants an interactive opportunity to gain a solid appreciation of the industry structure and dynamics, taking into consideration the regulatory and competitive landscape.

This is the third year that the EDP program is offered. This year's focus will be on the critical regulatory, business, technology and architectural factors that will impact the future of the telecommunications industry. While an overall assessment of the global service provider and equipment vendor industries will be given, special emphasis will be placed on the future of the North American scene, especially the implications to the Canadian telecom and cable operators.

The EDP program leverages the strengths of the university and its industry partners by featuring lectures from leading academics, industry experts, and top executives. The program is also structured to provide ample opportunities to work and network with other participants from various areas of the industry.

Keynote Speakers

Industry Sponsors
Bell Canada, Rogers Communications, AT&T Canada, Sprint Canada, Alcatel Networks, Lucent Technologies, Nortel Networks, and Industry Canada

Please also see the Program Schedule

Program Overview

Program Details

Day 1: June 2, 2003

Day 1 of the program is primed by Professor Tony Yuen and Professor Alberto Leon-Garcia.

Current Telecom/IT Industry Structure and Dynamics
The first day of the program will give an overview of the current telecommunications industry structure and dynamics of both the service providers and equipment vendors. The intention is to bring participants up to speed on the current issues and events, and to crease a common framework for subsequent workshops and discussions. Day 1 also touches on other related IT/Internet and cable/media industries that participate in the build-up of the network-based information infrastructure.

Day 2: June 3, 2003

Day 2 of the program is primed by Professor Joseph R. D'Cruz of Rotman and Professor Tony Yuen

a.m. - Competitive Differentiation in the IT/Telecom Industry
The morning of the second day will address the emerging business models and strategies, particularly those that have significant implications on the IT/telecom industry's value chain and supply chain. Dell, eBay, Cisco and Microsoft will likely be used as real-time case studies. The strategies and tactics of operating under the current hyper-competitive environment will also be briefly covered.

p.m. - Telecom/IT Industry Supply Chain
The afternoon of the second day will zero-in on the front-end of the supply chain. The electronic manufacturing service (EMS) industry will be featured, as part of the trend towards outsourcing. Dan Shea, Chief Technology Officer, Celestica, and a member of the MET Advisory Board, will be the keynote speaker. Dan will discuss the direction that the EMS industry is heading, as well as the operation priorities of Celestica.

Day 3: June 4, 2003

Day 3 of the program is primed by Professor Joseph R. D'Cruz of Rotman and Professor Tony Yuen.

a.m. - Regulatory Impact on Industry Structure
The morning of the third day will discuss the short-term impact and the long-term impact of government policies and regulations. Both the U.S. situation (FCC and Telecom Act) and the global scene (WTO and foreign ownership) will be covered. The airline industry will be used as a case study on how the pitfalls of other factors can adversely impact the good intention of deregulating an industry.

p.m. - Applying IT Technologies within the Telecom Industry
The afternoon of the third day will examine the importance of IT to the telecom industry, especially in the current environment where rapid deployment of new services has become the norm rather than the exception. The specific challenges of network and service management within the telecom industry will be addressed. The keynote speaker will be Michael Cole, VP Solutions and Process Delivery, Bell Canada.

Day 4: June 5, 2003

Day 4 of the program is primed by Professor Alberto Leon-Garcia and Professor Tony Yuen.

Telecom Network Architectures and Services
The fourth day of the program will touch on the design and evolution of networks and network-based services. The approach taken will be to examine the various architectural trade-offs as a starting point, taking into consideration some of the more promising emerging standards and technologies. These tradeoffs will then be expanded to include the deployment of these architectures to offer next generation network services. The keynote speaker of the day is Greg Mumford, Chief Technology Officer, Nortel Networks.

Day 5: June 6, 2003 (a.m. only)

Day 5 of the program is primed by Professor Tony Yuen.

Future of the Telecom Industry
The fifth day of the program is the morning only. It will provide an overall summary of the key observations and findings of the first four days. There will also be a special session focusing on the future of the North American telecom industry in general and the Canadian situation in particular. The special session will be kicked off by Larry Shaw, Director General International Business Branch, Industry Canada, and a member of the MET Advisory Board.

This webpage was developed by Kairous World and was last updated on March 3, 2005 11:08 . Copyright ©2003, University of Toronto.