2023 APEX TECH

Schedule
Location
Speakers
Sponsors

Tuesday 21 March, 2023
8:00 AM – 7:30 PM PST

Day 1 Objectives:
The Future of Connectivity
As airlines confront their need for passenger and crew Connectivity, they need information about all the options available now and in the near future. What do the new developments mean for airlines? E.g., Hundreds of new satellite launches, “multi-orbit” partnerships, and new 5G architecture (not to be confused with 5G cellular!). What will the next generation aircraft terminals look like? Will new flat panel antennas and dual modem boxes dominate airline decisions? And what are the airframers planning? What is meant by service orchestration and why is it important, and what software defined solutions are on the horizon? These and other core issues will be defined and discussed.

Revisiting Inflight Connectivity Quality of Experience
The APEX Connectivity Working Group made great progress in identifying what needs to be measured and reported regarding IFC QoE. But airlines continue to say that their SLAs do not answer their need for knowing the actual customer experience. Some IFC service providers are working on their own methods for reporting QoE, others are working with outside companies to measure QoE. Airlines are also looking for services / processes that can help them not only measure QoE, but also use the data to make business decisions. This session will look at the current status of measuring and reporting QoE and plans for the future. It will also look at the needs of airlines as they grow their IFC services, including offering IFC for free.

New innovations in Inflight Connectivity
Airlines are continually bombarded with new innovations, and considering the long lead times to equip aircraft, they need to make decisions about which products are right for them now and what is coming up in the future. This session will highlight the technologies involved in the new products selected as finalists in the competition for APEX’ most recent Best Inflight Connectivity Innovation award – the latest technology advances in onboard WiFi, LEO antennas, and multi-modem satellite terminals. Then the experts will give their views on where the technology is going next – what to look for next in the areas of WiFi, multi-modem satellite terminals, and innovative antennas.

8:00 AM – 9:00 AM PST – Registration and Coffee

9:00 AM – 9:10 AM PST
Welcome & Introduction

APEX CEO Joe Leader, and Incoming Technology Committee Chair and APEX Board Member, Jonas von Krüchten

9:10 AM – 9:30 AM PST
Keynote Address
An Airline’s Insights

Session Description: An airline member will provide insights into their implementations of WiFi programs, the customer benefits, and the challenges associated.

9:30 AM – 10:45 AM PST
Panel Discussion & Workshop Part 1
The Future of Connectivity – Multi-orbit Partnerships and New Antenna Technologies

This session will look at developments in the IFC industry and help participants to understand new features and technologies.

Moderator: Erik Miller
Panelists: Speakers will include representatives from companies such as Intelsat, Panasonic, Anuvu, OneWeb, Starlink, Stellar Blue, and ThinKom. Airline representatives will also participate.

10:45 AM – 11:15 AM PST – Networking Break

11:15 AM – 12:30 PM PST
Panel Discussion & Workshop Part 2
The Future of Connectivity: Airframers’ View and 5G

The session will look at, among other things, the connectivity plans of Airbus and Boeing and the influence of 5G.

Moderator: Mary Rogozinski
Panelists: Will be announced soon

12:30 PM – 1:30 PM PST – Lunch

1:30 PM – 2:30 PM PST
Panel Discussion & Workshop Part 3
The Future of Connectivity: Choosing a Provider

With airlines installing multiple service providers and technologies, the need to orchestrate these services becomes very important. The session will discuss what is meant by “orchestration” and how to select the best provider.

Moderator: Jennifer Hoil
Panelists: Will be announced soon

2:30 PM – 3:30 PM PST
Panel Discussion
Q of E Metrics

This session will discuss measuring, using and reporting QoE.

Moderator: Mary Rogozinski
Panelists: Expected panelists include representatives from Intelsat, Viasat, Seamless Air Alliance, NetForecast, and airlines currently addressing the QoE of inflight connectivity of their customers.

3:30 PM – 4:00 PM PST – Networking Break

4:00 PM – 5:00 PM PST
Panel Discussion
Open Discussion with Airlines/Service Providers

Airlines will provide their feedback on the previous discussion as well as participate in an open discussion with the audience. A case study by an airline is also planned.

Moderator: Mary Rogozinski
Panelists: Will be announced soon

5:00 PM – 6:00 PM PST
Panel Discussion
New innovations in Inflight Connectivity

In this session, Rich Salter will lead a discussion about the three finalists in the APEX Airline Connectivity Awards.

Moderator: Richard Slater, Jr.
Panelists: Job Heimerikx, AirFi, Eric Tarter, Astronics, Stephen Rice, Stellar Blu

6:00 – 7:30 – APEX Networking Event
Sponsored By:

Wednesday 22 March, 2023
8:00 AM – 5:30 PM PST

Day 2 Objectives:
The Convergence of IFE and Connectivity
Airlines today are faced with more IFE and In-Flight Connectivity (IFC) choices than ever before. The line ‎between IFE and IFC products and suppliers continues to blur. IFE and IFC business models are changing along with the ‎technology. ‎The content supply chain processes are becoming unrecognizable from past models and processes. Once the sole domain ‎of a few IFE suppliers and Content Service Provides (CSPs), does D2C/IFE—and streaming—make airline curated content a ‎thing of the past?‎

8:00 AM – 9:00 AM PST – Registration and Coffee

9:00 AM – 9:15 AM PST
Welcome & Introduction

APEX CEO, Joe Leader, and Incoming Technology Committee Chair and APEX Board Member, Jonas von Krüchten

9:15 AM – 9:45 AM PST
Keynote Address
An Airline’s Insights

Session Description: Keynote topic and speaker will be announced soon

9:45 AM – 11:00 AM PST
Panel Discussion & Workshop Part 1
The Convergence of IFE and Connectivity: The Evolving Content Delivery Supply Chain

Panelists will look at today’s content delivery and its movement into the cloud.‎

Moderator: Michael Childers
Panelists: Representatives from Panasonic, Thales, ABOVE, Spafax, Touch, ifectv and others will discuss the topic

11:00 AM – 11:30 AM PST – Networking Break

11:30 AM – 1:00 PM PST
Panel Discussion & Workshop Part 2
The Convergence of IFE and Connectivity: The Evolving Content Delivery Supply Chain

Panelists will look into caching content at the edge of the network, and the technology behind it.‎

Moderator: Michael Childers
Panelists: Representatives from Viasat, Netskrt, Thales, and members of the SVTA Open Caching Working Group

1:00 PM – 2:00 PM PST – Lunch

2:30 PM – 3:30 PM PST
Panel Discussion & Workshop Part 3
The Convergence of IFE and Connectivity: The Road Ahead for a Fully-Integrated Supply Chain

Members of the previous panels discuss what the future of fully-integrated IFE and connectivity looks like.‎

Moderator: Michael Childers
Panelists: Representatives from Viasat, Netskrt, Thales, and members of the SVTA Open Caching Working Group

3:30 PM – 4:00 PM EST – Networking Break

4:00 PM – 5:30 PM PST
Panel Discussion
Inflight Advertising Opportunities in the Streaming Environment

Significant expansion of ad-supported D2C is taking place. Matt Blay, Inadvia, discusses what opportunities this may offer D2C/IFE.

Moderator: Matt Blay
Panelists: Different advertising delivery experts to be announced soon

Thursday 23 March, 2023
8:00 AM – 5:30 PM PST

Day 3 Objectives:
Inflight Advertising, Content Security, and Smart Metadata
The morning will be devoted to a two-part Inflight Advertising Workshop that will focus on unlocking the four advertising revenue drivers – Scale, Data, Access to Demand and Ease of Execution campaigns & how IFEC can trade on its unique attributes for advertisers (content, environment, quality of audience, etc.) The afternoon sessions will begin with a two-part Content Security Workshop moderated by the Trusted Partner Network (TPN), and featuring SMEs from the major studios. The newly re-organized TPN now moves content security into the cloud, and has announced new Best Practices in content security that impact airlines, post-production providers, and content integrators.

8:00 AM – 9:00 AM PST – Registration and Coffee

9:00 AM – 9:15 AM PST
Welcome & Introduction

APEX CEO, Joe Leader, and Incoming Technology Committee Chair and APEX Board Member, Jonas von Krüchten

9:15 AM – 10:30 AM PST
Panel Discussion & Workshop Part 1
Inflight Advertising Workshop
Matthew Blay, Inadvia, leads the discussion among experts from the field of IFE advertising that looks at programmatic advertising, shifting business models, and privacy and the deprecation of the third party cookie—new opportunities for revenue generation in IFE.

Moderator: Jonas von Krüchten, AERQ, and Matt Blay, Inadvia
Panelists: André Valera, Touch, Dirk Ottens, AERQ, Cyril Jean, PXCom

10:30 AM – 10:50 AM PST – Networking Break

10:50 AM – 12:00 PM PST
Panel Discussion & Workshop Part 2
Inflight Advertising Workshop

Moderator: Jonas von Krüchten, AERQ, and Matt Blay, Inadvia
Panelists: André Valera, Touch Inflight, Dirk Ottens, AERQ

12:00 PM – 1:15 PM PST – Lunch

1:15 PM – 2:45 PM PST
Panel Discussion & Workshop Part 1
TPN Best Practices for Content Security

Moderator, Terri Davies, President of Trusted Partner Network. Panelists are invited to look at TPN/d migration into the cloud, and what the newest Best Practices mean for IFE and early windowing.

Moderator: Terri Davies, Trusted Partner Network (TPN)
Panelists: Brian Epperson, Warner; Michael Menlo, Sony; Bryan Ellenburg, Paramount; Jerome Prescod, Disney

2:45 PM – 3:15 PM PST – Networking Break

3:15 PM – 4:15 PM PST
Panel Discussion & Workshop Part 2
TPN Best Practices for Content Security

Moderator: Terri Davies, Trusted Partner Network (TPN)
Panelists: Brian Epperson, Warner; Michael Menlo, Sony; Bryan Ellenburg, Paramount; Jerome Prescod, Disney

4:15 PM – 5:00 PM PST
Presentation Part 1
“Smart” Metadata in the Content Delivery Supply Chain
Andy Beer, The Hub, looks at how new Language Metadata Tables (LMT) will prevent errors in media file delivery, while representatives from Fabric offer a case study in “smart” metadata and how it impacts rights management and asset delivery in IFE.

Moderator: Rob Delf and Donna Estandiary, Fabric Data

5:00 PM – 5:30 PM PST
Presentation Part 2
“Smart” Metadata in the Content Delivery Supply Chain

Moderator: Andy Beer, Spafax

Location

Sheraton Gateway Los Angeles Hotel
6101 W Century Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90045
Booking link coming soon.

Speakers

Coming soon.