With two packed days already behind you, Thursday 11 June will bring a fresh wave of energy to the Helsinki Music Hall. Day Three of TNC26 continues to cover some of the event’s most compelling threads: the human side of our infrastructure and the technical frontiers that our community continues to push.
What to expect on Day Three
We’ll start early with the BoF Below the Sky: Building Resilient Terrestrial Time, which will explore how to use existing fibre infrastructure to distribute ultra-precise time signals independently of satellite systems.
Collaboration is always a central TNC theme, and the BoF From Regional Experience to Global Collaboration takes it to its logical conclusion: it explores how NRENs are building bridges across continents – what it takes to align policies, infrastructure and ambitions across very different contexts.
The community will also turn the lens inward with the Equality, Diversity and Inclusion BoF, which will create a space for an honest conversation about who is in the room – and who isn’t – and what our community can do to change that.
On a more technical level, Bending Light to Our Will will dive into optical networking, from programmable photonics to new approaches in wavelength management. Conducting the Service Sympony will focus on how NRENs manage and deliver an increasingly complex portfolio of services to increasingly diverse user communities. This session looks at the tools, frameworks and human processes that keep everything in tune. Building Smarter Networks will bring together perspectives on AI-assisted operations, automation and network intelligence. As our infrastructure grows more complex, the question is no longer whether to bring intelligence into the network, but how.
And, of course, Lightning Talks (Strike Two): five-minute bursts of ideas, projects, provocations and calls for collaboration from across the community. Fast, varies and often memorable, we will hear on the topics of financial diversification, AI-driven meteorological decisions, finding meaning in log data, how gen-AI is used in the University of Helsinki, the narrative of what we do as GÉANT, women empowerment, network automation, cross-continent collaboration, and AI scrapers.
The Closing Plenary sets the stage for the final stretch of TNC26: a moment to reflect on the conversations of the week and start making plan for what comes next!
Not registered yet?
Regular Passes are available until 5 June 2026 (midnight CEST). Please note that to attend side meetings you need a separate ‘Side Meeting Pass’. If you’d like to bring a guest to one of the Social Events, you can purchase a pass for them.
Joining remotely? No problem.
All conference sessions and plenaries will be livestreamed free of charge on the TNC26 website during the event days. There will be no online pass, registration, or access code needed; simply visit the website and be part of the action from wherever you are.
Whether you’re attending in person or online, TNC26 promises another unforgettable week of collaboration and community spirit.
Check out our overviews for Day One and Day Two at TNC26.
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