Brussels, 19 June 2024. The FTTH Council Europe has yesterday seen the election of a new President, Treasurer and Board of Directors at the organisation’s Spring General Assembly. Advancing full fibre network deployment and adoption, while successfully migrating customers from outdated copper connections, are some of the key action items facing the organization, now the election process has been completed.
Ms Roshene McCool takes over from outgoing President Raf Meersman and will begin a one-year term at the head of the organisation. In her new role, she will support the Board of Directors and Committees and Working Group to ensure Europe has an optimal regulatory environment. With FTTH Council Europe’s support, this environment can deliver the objectives of the Digital Decade and foster the digital transformation of all European economies.
“The current regulatory framework has been very effective in incentivising investment in fibre in Europe, but improvements can always be made,” Roshene McCool said. “Following the General Assembly, our focus will be on our four key objectives: facilitating the deployment of fibre networks, increasing incentives to invest in the sector, maintaining a competitive environment and supporting a green transition from copper to fibre.”
The new Board of Directors will also help drive further cooperation and coordination between vendors and other stakeholders within the organisation, while liaising with policymakers, investors and operators to best develop a digital, sustainable Europe.
“I am very much looking forward to building on the great work of Raf Meersman and to be working with our new board and everyone here at the FTTH Council Europe to do everything we can in pursuit of our mission of bringing ubiquitous full fibre-based connectivity to the whole of Europe,” Ms Roshene McCool continued. “Our new board’s vision remains clear: fibre remains the best option for transforming and enhancing the way we do business, interact and connect with everything, everywhere. To be successful, everyone from vendors and operators to investors and regulators have a part to play. This is why the FTTH Council Europe is so valuable, providing guidance and education to ensure everyone remains aligned.”
The election of six new FTTH Council Europe Board Directors, six Committee Chairs and one Working Group Chair also took place during the General Assembly meeting. Full details of the new Board and a list of Committee Chairs are detailed at the end of this release.
The two-day event also saw ADTRAN’s Principal Sales Engineer, Barbara Tonarelli become the first winner of the new Member Engagement Individual Award. The award has been designed to celebrate and recognise the outstanding contributions of the organisation’s individual members. The winner was chosen by the Board of Directors from a shortlist of nominations made by Committee Chairs, for her outstanding performance, service, hard work, and dedication to the activities of the association and committee contribution in the past several years.
