Insights

Somos Attends Incompas Policy Summit

Feb 20, 2018

Snowstorms only kept a portion of attendees from the 2018 Incompas Policy Summit in Washington, D.C., a gathering of technology leaders and members of Congress and representatives from the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) focused on telecommunications policy and emerging technology. Somos Head of Strategic Relations, Industry Relations & Public Policy, Catherine Palcic said the event was timely and filled with well-informed speakers that made the trip worthwhile.

“Incompas did a great job of choosing speakers who came from a wide variety of different business models. It showcased how technologies in broadband and networks are critical to the economy,” Palcic said.

During the afternoon schedule, one panel focused on the future of telecommunications: expanding beyond its traditional borders and into the innovative world of smart devices. Three female panelists from Verizon, ADT, and British Telecom in the Americas spoke specifically on the device revolution happening inside homes across America in their panel: “Competition Comes Home: How Connected Devices and the Internet of Things Will Shape the Future.”

In this panel, Verizon is exploring how drones can make cities smarter by sensing air quality and potential shooter situations. Meanwhile, ADT is investigating how connected fire alarms can keep families safer by automatically turning off air conditioning systems and unlocking the front door for fire rescuers. And British Telecom in the Americas wants to see how connected devices can monitor livestock, from how much sunlight and water they consume, to how much energy they exert over the course of a day.

“It was eye-opening to see the strides that are being made there,” Palcic said.

During the Streaming Revolution: Content & Services in an Over-the-Top World panel, David Morken from Bandwidth called out the importance of voice services for powering delightful customer experiences through home assistants, like Amazon’s Alexa and Google Home. While some may say that voice is a lost medium, others point to advances in artificial intelligence and the increasingly human experience of talking to a smart assistant that’s becoming popular in Over-the-Top (OTT) services. He cited improving recognition interfaces as proof that voice is here to stay as a mainstream way of interacting with technology.

Overall, the innovations and progress happening in the telecommunications realm are exciting for Somos as we look to the future. Creating satisfying customer experiences over smartphones is just the beginning for the industry. We’d like to congratulate Incompas on an informative and thoughtful summit!