FDM CCS Insight Predictions for 2027 and Beyond
Thursday 22 October 2026
Our annual Predictions event brings together leaders from across the technology landscape to explore the key trends and innovations shaping the year ahead.
Key themes:
Technology predictions and market outlook
The trends shaping telecom, technology and digital infrastructure over the coming years.
Future broadband and mobile connectivity
Fibre, fixed wireless access (FWA), 5G-Advanced, 6G and satellite direct-to-device services.
AI transformation
Agentic AI, distributed AI and AI-powered networks, devices and enterprise technologies.
Telecom market evolution
Consolidation, competition, MVNO growth, regulation and changing business models.
Connected devices and consumer technology
The evolution of smartphones, wearables, smart glasses and ambient AI experiences.
Open innovation and digital ecosystems
Collaboration, platforms, partnerships and regulation driving the next wave of innovation.
Explore last year’s event
This year’s event features a fast-paced mix of presentations, interviews and panel discussions with senior executives from our partner organizations.
Agenda (subject to change):
| Time | Session | Description | Speakers |
|---|---|---|---|
| 13:00 | Welcome | John Milliken | |
| 13:10 | Keynote: State of the Nation Predictions | Distilling our best predictions and assessing how they will change the technology landscape in the coming years amid consolidation, aggressive competition, regulatory intervention, AI disruption, memory shortages, technological evolution and more. | Ben Wood |
| 13:30 | Presentation: The Telecom Provider Landscape | The telecom market is being reshaped by the consolidation of leading players, brand turmoil, competitive pressure from MVNOs, regulatory interventions and more. This session provides a snapshot of the market and our thoughts and expectations for future developments. | Joe Gardiner |
| 13:45 | Executive Interview | Andrea Dona (Chief Network Officer, VodafoneThree) and Kester Mann | |
| 14:05 | Presentation: Broadband Futures: How Fibre Changes Everything | The broadband market is increasingly dynamic with fibre and FWA intensifying competition. Cable providers are looking to boost their use of fibre. Altnets are innovating with speeds beyond 1 Gbps. FWA is set to see improved performance too, with greater spectrum available. Consolidation is likely as providers seek to achieve greater scale. The session examines market share and pricing strategies using FDM CCS Insight data to understand how these trends will play out. | Jessica Miller |
| 14:20 | Presentation: Connected Device Futures | In the face of RAM shortages, price rises and a personal network of devices embracing ambient AI, our relationship with devices is evolving. Smartphones are increasingly seen as a commodity, offering only incremental improvement year-on-year. New devices such as smart glasses, AI pendants and intelligent earbuds are emerging. This session examines the opportunity in this space and shares our predictions for the connected devices category. | Ben Hatton |
| 14:40 | Break | ||
| 15:15 | Executive Interview | This session examines Qualcomm’s role across devices, networks, the cloud and more as AI proliferates across all touchpoints. As agentic AI emerges as the next clear wave of innovation, we will discuss how agents start to be at the centre of every interaction, and why the arrival of the AI-native network will coincide with the transition to 6G. Ben Timmons will share unique operator perspectives on this challenge given his role working directly with networks and their partners in Europe and beyond. | Ben Timmons (Senior Director of Business Development, Qualcomm) and Geoff Blaber |
| 15:30 | Presentation: Pricing in the Telecoms Market | Spanning both the fixed and mobile telecoms landscape, we examine the current market landscape, the impact of competitive pricing and the outlook for the future. | Hayden Shaw |
| 15:45 | Presentation: Predictions on the Satellite Communications Market | Satellite is one of the hottest topics in the comms industry today. SpaceX continues to disrupt the market, but the competitive landscape remains diverse, with innovative solutions from companies such as AST SpaceMobile, Amazon Leo, Skylo, and others. This panel session seeks to dispel common myths about the technology, featuring contributions from leading players in the global satellite market, with a specific focus the business case for satellite and how direct-to-device technology is a key pillar for future growth. | Luke Pearce |
| 16:00 | Presentation: MVNO State of the Market | We share our thoughts and predictions on the MVNO market landscape, one of the hottest topics in the mobile telecoms space, ahead of a panel session with key market players. | Kester Mann |
| 16:10 | Panel Session: The Ascendancy of MVNOs and Their Market Impact | MVNOs are disrupting the global telecom landscape. From established providers to niche upstarts, the past 12 months has seen a surge in activity. This notably includes the rise of entrants from sectors like fintech, which are entering mobile markets through an app-based approach partnering with enablers. The panel assesses recent developments and future scenarios from a range of different industry perspectives. | Darren Purkis (VodafoneThree), Alex Franks (Tesco Mobile), Christian Banhans (Spusu), Rafa Plantier (Gigs), Chaired by Kester Mann |
| 16:40 | Presentation: The AI Future: Agentic AI, Autonomy, AI Grids and Distributed AI | In the future, AI and AI agents will be everywhere — not only in today’s data centres. AI will be distributed through networks, placing AI nearer to users as part of sovereign AI grids. AI will be built into mobile base stations and throughout operators’ fixed networks. AI will also run on smartphones, PCs, wearables and even tiny IoT devices. This session will explore what AI ubiquity means for making AI resilient, how network connectivity should evolve, and the business opportunities for operators, network suppliers, chipmakers and AI specialists. | Ian Fogg |
| 17:00 | Closing Remarks | ||
| 17:15 – 19:30 | Drinks Reception |
Registration is now closed
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