New Location is a Hit for the 74th Annual IWCS Cable & Connectivity Industry Forum

A new location was just one of the novelties for the 2025 edition of the annual IWCS Cable & Connectivity Industry Forum. This is the first time IWCS has hosted its conference at the David L. Lawrence Convention Center in Pittsburgh and overall, the event was a resounding success. “I liked how easy it was to navigate from the hotel to the show and the location within the city” said one attendee, echoing sentiments of many. Additional special event novelties included Cable Manufacturer Spotlight presentations and trend sessions focused on sustainability, AI, and smart grid connectivity.

The trend sessions have been an emerging feature to IWCS in the last few years. The session format was familiar, but several topics and key presenters’ messages were truly unique. IWCS continued the highly relevant themes of sustainability and grid reliability from last year, plus a new session focused on artificial intelligence and machine learning used in communication network infrastructure, plus the data center innovation needed to support it. Artificial intelligence was a prevalent topic throughout the overall Forum, including its re-emergence during the trend sessions focused on smart grid reliability.

IWCS added these new sessions to add a fresh perspective to the event. They touch upon emerging trends, opportunities, and challenges to be aware of within the cable industry and downstream implications such as installation, user experiences, and public policy. Rashmi Varma, CEO of QuantaWatt, and moderator of the smart grid session, summarized the objective of these new sessions, “IWCS continues to bridge the gap between innovation and implementation.” She continues, “IWCS ensures the industry isn’t just aware of emerging trends—but is actively shaping how those trends redefine reliability, resilience, and collaboration across the end-to-end ecosystem.”

For example, the diverse backgrounds of presenters and panelists in the “Powering the Grid of the Future—Smart Connectivity, Resilience & Innovation” session included perspectives from a utility service provider, cable manufacturer, telecom carrier, infrastructure software provider, and IoT tech company. Travis Kavulla from NRG Energy framed the conversation through the lens of energy policy, market dynamics, and grid modernization. Sergey Golubtsov from Prysmian added the infrastructure and connectivity dimension, emphasizing the role of electronic and optical sensing, along with digital twinning, to enable reliable, high-bandwidth power networks. Chris Bondurant from SAC Wireless bridged the power and communications sectors, highlighting how wireless integration supports field deployment, grid monitoring, and edge connectivity. Rishi Sharma from Faclon Labs introduced a data-driven approach through AI-enabled sensors and predictive analytics for smart grid management, while Craig Cavey from Talon Aerolytics contributed the aerial inspection and asset-digitization perspective, showing how drone and imaging technologies improve grid resilience.

Together, the participants’ complementary expertise—spanning policy, physical infrastructure, wireless communication, data intelligence, and field automation—created a holistic discussion on how to build the resilient, intelligent, and connected grid of the future. Dr. Bianca Hydutsky, Global Technology Director of Advanced Performance Materials at The Chemours Company, and moderator of the AI-focused panel says, “I am excited to lead and learn from this dialogue at IWCS, where we can discuss the need for a network of innovation—where connectivity fuels intelligence, and intelligence transforms connectivity.” IWCS is already planning the special trend sessions for next year’s program.

Dialogue inspiring the rapidly changing and highly critical industry was not limited to the trend sessions. The keynote address during the Plenary Luncheon, delivered by Donal Hanrahan of X3T in Ireland, examined the effectiveness of wholesale broadband infrastructure that balances public policy objectives to bridge the rural-urban divide with commercial viability. And during the Executive Session, expert speakers shared economic and supply chain outlooks, including a look at the effect of international tariffs on American cable production. Executive speakers also shared important topics impacting the cable and connectivity industry, highlighting data centers, the need for greater speeds and reliable connectivity, and how fault-managed power, known as Digital Electricity^™, can complement traditional PoE transmission to support unparalleled demand and efficiency for energy and data.

The Technical Symposium, which is the cornerstone of the event, featured over 80 technical research papers and posters over the course of four days. Technical innovations included copper and fiber optic cable design, materials and additives, cable manufacturing, fiber reliability, codes and standards, power delivery, and specialty applications. Authors presented their research in one of 11 technical sessions categorized by topics or as poster displays. As always, audience members had the opportunity to ask the presenting authors questions about their research at the conclusion of each presentation. IWCS makes the Technical Papers that were presented available for ongoing research and education. Additionally, select technical presentations are shared throughout the year in the IWCS Webinar Series.

The Supplier Exhibition^™ included 87 exhibitors, many of which are long-time exhibitors at IWCS, as well 15 new participating companies. Exhibitors showcased products integral to the production of cables including: compounds, masterbatch, chemicals, marking inks, reels, packaging, fiber, fillers, tapes, yarns, testing equipment, connectors, design software, and more. Exhibitors shared sentiments about the tremendous value of efficiently organizing on-site meetings with current and prospective customers from around the world, in addition to exhibiting their products and services to attendees. Many of the suppliers have already reserved their booth for the 2026 edition of the IWCS Forum.

Attendees and exhibitors alike were pleased with the “Innovation Hub” that was centrally located within the Supplier Exhibition^™. This area included the traditional Supplier Spotlight Presentations, which featured product presentations from 12 unique suppliers on topics including, but not limited to, materials for cables in data centers—to sustainable cable packaging—to optical fiber coatings.  The following day, Cable Manufacturer Spotlights allowed three global leaders—Corning, YOFC, and HFCL—to update attendees on new challenges and opportunities affecting the cable industry and how their products can support growing needs.

IWCS deeply appreciates the support from its annual sponsors, Board of Directors, Symposium Committee, exhibitors, authors, presenters, and attendees who are critical to the success of the Cable & Connectivity Industry Forum. The next IWCS Forum will take place Sunday, November 1–Wednesday, November 4, 2026, at the Gaylord Palms Resort & Convention Center in Orlando, Florida, USA. To celebrate 75 years of IWCS, the event will include special enhancements that commemorate the decades of innovation and networking that IWCS has been able to facilitate thanks to critical support from individuals and industry partners. IWCS encourages international travelers to secure a valid VISA for USA travel, as wait times for VISA applications may be lengthy.