Retiring Telfonica Global CTO Enrico Blanco was presented with a special award for his visionary leadership and outstanding contribution to the fibre industry at last week’s FTTH Conference.
The award was presented in front of an audience of decisions makers, investors, regulators and technical leaders from across the global connectivity sector at Europe’s leading fibre summit which was held in Amsterdam’s RAI conference centre. Nearly 3,000 delegates attended the event across three days of networking, collaboration, and knowledge-sharing.
Mr Blanco was presented with his award by FTTH Council Europe Director General, Vincent Garnier who paid tribute to Enrico’s contribution; “For the past two decades, Enrique has been a driving force behind the fibre revolution in Spain and across Europe, shaping the digital future for millions. Today, as he prepares to step into a new chapter and enjoy some well-deserved rest, the industry comes together to say: thank you, Enrique!”
The annual FTTH Awards recognise the outstanding support of companies and individuals that have actively contributed to the acceleration of FTTH in Europe during the last 12 months. Also winning awards in 2025 were Irish fibre-to-the-building broadband providers Siro who won the Operator Award, Marta Wojchiechowska, CEO of Fibrehost was awarded the FTTH Individual Award for her commitment to advancing FTTH implementation and Dutch network design experts Yungo picked up the Champion of Diversity award.
“These awards celebrate the outstanding achievements within the FTTH ecosystem over the past year. Each nominee showcased exceptional innovation and commitment, driving the advancements in fibre adoption across Europe,” said FTTH President Roshene McCool. “We look forward to seeing how these efforts will pave the way for further FTTH adoption and uptake across the continent.”
5 companies took home FTTH Innovation Awards from Amsterdam. The FTTH Innovation Awards sit alongside the FTTH Awards and recognise the most significant and innovative FTTH products and solutions that are shaping Europe’s digital future. Winners in 2025 were Adtran, Corning, Deepomatic, IQGeo, and Nokia.
Keynote speeches were made from the plenary stage by Cristina Gonzales, Managing Director at KKR, Wouter Stammeijer, Board Member & Group Chief Operating Officer at KPN, Vodafone Portugal CEO Luís Lopes, Nicolas Thomas Chief Executive Officer of Free (Iliad France) and newly elected Executive Vice President of the European Commission Henna Virkkunen who outlined the EU’s strategic objectives and action plans for achieving the 2030 Digital Decade targets.
“It is very encouraging to see the new European Commission maintaining its commitment to put fibre at the heart of European digital infrastructure for years to come, aligning with our aims at the FTTH Council Europe” said Roshene McCool, President at the FTTH Council Europe.
A full summary of the event, including award winners, reports and presentations from the FTTH Conference 2025 can be found here: https://ftthconference.eu/