Lynn Smullen-Volz is Senior Director, International and Domestic Wholesale Sales, for CenturyLink. Ms. Smullen-Volz has been in the global telecom and IT industries leading successful sales and business development teams for more than 23 years. She has been actively involved with the Pacific Telecommunications Council since the early 2000s. Ms. Smullen-Volz is currently the Co-Vice Chair of the PTC Advisory Council and participates in the Membership and Succession Planning, along with Vision and Mission sub-committees. She is also a volunteer advocate for the National Brain Tumor Society.
What value does PTC hold for you?
PTC, both the organization and the PTC Annual Conference, holds great value to me. It has been a critical part of my career and professional development for the last 15 years. The PTC Community is a close network of colleagues and friends who come together at the annual conference with a shared mission to meet, network, and help advance our industry. The PTC Annual Conference is where I go to connect with industry leaders and customers from around the globe. It is arguably the single best telecoms conference of the year bringing together thought leaders in business, academics, and government from over 80 countries. Unlike any other peer organization, PTC is a non-profit organization whose stated mission is to improve the lives of people in the Asia-Pacific region with programs such as the PTC Academy, Young Scholar Program, and PTC Projects.
What one network-related development do you think will have the greatest impact on our industry?
I believe the continued expansion of 5G and related growth in IoT, AI, and blockchain will have the greatest impact on our industry as well as the world. These technologies are fundamentally changing how we communicate and interact, conduct business with each other, between businesses, and with machines. With over 30.7 billion connected IoT devices projected by 2020, this technological evolution brings expectations and a need for secure, scalable, flexible, and reliable networks, in addition to IT infrastructure and applications. This represents one of the most significant growth opportunities for our industry.
What technology breakthrough do you most want to see?
Teleportation. I spend a significant amount of time traveling for work and teleporting would be a great improvement to my work/home-life balance! Until we solve for teleportation, I’ll settle for the successful launch of Elon Musk’s Hyperloop train system from New York to DC with hopes for an additional cross-country segment connecting the east and west coasts of the United States.
About CenturyLink:
CenturyLink (NYSE: CTL) is the second largest U.S. communications provider to global enterprise customers. With customers in more than 60 countries and an intense focus on the customer experience, CenturyLink strives to be the world’s best networking company by solving customers’ increased demand for reliable and secure connections. The company also serves as its customers’ trusted partner, helping them manage increased network and IT complexity and providing managed network and cyber security solutions that help protect their business.