21923 - SCTE Broadband Aug2023 COMPLETE v1 (1)

52 Vol. 45 No. 3 - September 2023 Issue What’s your vision for the role as you take over, what you are hoping to achieve? RM: Well, first of all, I’m certainly not planning a revolution. I think the council has proven its value to the industry over the years and my goal is to build on this positive legacy. My predecessor, Eric Festraets, did a great job, so I want to continue the work he and the team have started. Business conditions and technology is constantly changing and I do think it’s important to ensure that the council remains relevant for the market. For example, as fibre is deployed across Europe, the Council needs to continue it shift from fibre advocacy to supporting the industry long-term. The fibre roll out in Europe is arguably mission- accomplished now; certainly the awareness is there. What role does the FTTH Council Europe play now that its most pressing objective has been met? RM: It’s true that fibre rollout in Europe has been growing significantly and is now well above 50% as the council’s Panorama reports show. But it’s worthwhile to highlight that there remain significant differences in coverage on a country by country level so certainly that work is not over. At the same time we started making a shift towards prioritising adoption now, because this is still lagging. As an industry organisation, we need to play a bigger role in helping the market increase fibre adoption across Raf Meersman is known to many as the founder of automated planning software company Comsof, based in Ghent, Belgium. Acquired last August by IQGeo, the company has gone from strength to strength over the past ten years and Raf, Senior Vice President at IQGeo has recently been elected as President to the Board of Directors at the FTTH Council. A voluntary role, Raf took time out to talk to Broadband Journal about his recent appointment and vision for the Council going forward. The Presidential Suite By Melissa Cogavin, Managing Editor, SCTE Interview with Raf Meersman, President, FTTH Council Europe from the industry Raf Meersman. EMEA General Manager, IQGeo