Ryan McCowan joins workshop on protecting PON networks from core to customer at FTTH Conference 2026
Session will examine how operators and vendors can strengthen PON security to protect service quality, reduce risk and improve operational resilience
- Speakers: Ryan McCowan, VP of global technical sales at Adtran; Ade Brittain, VP of customer insight and innovation at Technetix; Damian Johnstone, senior manager of access platform engineering at Virgin Media O2; Kevin Noll, principal architect at CableLabs; Mike Emmendorfer, VP of technology solutions at Calix; Thomas Nogues, executive advisor at CableLabs
- Topics: Protecting PON networks from core to customer
- When: Tuesday, April 14, 4 p.m. BST
- Where: FTTH Conference 2026, Excel London, London, UK https://ftthconference.eu
Passive optical networks are becoming the backbone of high‑capacity FTTH deployments, supporting massive traffic volumes and an expanding mix of residential and commercial services. As these networks scale, new exposure points are emerging across the access domain, from unauthorized access and data interception to service theft, performance degradation and challenges linked to regulatory compliance. Securing PON infrastructure requires strong automation, identity control, interoperability across multi-vendor environments and continuous monitoring of service quality. Operators must also consider commercial risk, operational cost and ROI as they design architectures capable of resisting evolving threats while sustaining high‑reliability Gigabit services.
In this discussion, Ryan McCowan will join a group of industry experts to examine the technical and operational priorities that shape PON security from core to customer. They will explore how operators can strengthen authentication, protect service delivery and apply automation to reduce response times across large‑scale fiber deployments. They will assess how decision metrics such as time to serve, take‑up, churn and return on capital influence investment in secure access architectures. They will also highlight approaches that enhance interoperability and operational resilience. Attendees will gain practical insight into building secure, scalable PON environments that maintain service integrity and support long‑term business performance.