Aphaia attended FOAN 2022, which was held in Valencia (Spain) on the 11th and 12th of October.
The 10th International Workshop on Fiber Optics in Access Networks (FOAN) took place in Valencia on 11-12th October, in an all-day event which was organised jointly with the International Congress on Ultra Modern Telecommunications and Control Systems (ICUMT). FOAN 2022 was the first fully in-person edition since FOAN 2019 in Sarajevo, after FOAN 2021 online-Ljubljana hybrid edition. This year remote participation was only available for two speakers in countries with strict travelling restrictions.
The agenda and the topics
FOAN 2022 brought together scientists and experts from academia and industry from more than 20 countries across the world, who had the opportunity to present the latest developments and research in the field of fiber optics technologies aimed to end-users, including individuals and businesses. Authors and participants had the chance to share their thoughts and discuss access networks, regulatory impact, xPON interoperability, backhaul, sensors, photonic integrated circuits in access and metro networks, optical wireless and radio over fiber and IoT, among other topics.
FOAN 2022 was the 10th edition of the workshop after the successful workshops in Moscow (2010), Budapest (2011), St. Petersburg (2012), Almaty (2013), Brno (2015), Lisbon (2016), Munich (2017), Sarajevo (2019) and Ljubljana (2021).
Aphaia’s participation
Aphaia was invited to deliver a talk on the regulations impacting the data generated by Internet of Things (IoT) devices.
Aphaia’s presentation offered a review of the different regulations that govern the data generated by IoT devices, both personal and non-personal data. Together with the GDPR, stakeholders should also now take the proposed Data Act into consideration when developing, marketing and using IoT devices. The Data Act regulates the rights and obligations granted to and imposed on users, manufacturers and public bodies with regards to the data generated by IoT devices, aiming at ensuring fairness in the digital environment, in parallel to the separate rights and obligations set out in the GDPR.
Industry players will be required to put in place measures that allow users of connected devices to gain access to data generated by them and to share it with third parties, enhancing the GDPR right of access and right to data portability and making it applicable to any data generated by the product, both personal and non-personal data. Whereas these rights should be enabled by design and by default, there are some exemptions with regards to the type of companies that are subject to these obligations and some exclusions and limitations apply to the eligible third-parties to receive the data and to the manner it can be used.
A joint GDPR-Data Act assessment is recommended as an effective tool to help organisations to determine their obligations towards the IoT-generated data, sorting it by personal and non-personal data categories and identifying the applicable requirements in light of the nature and type of processing.
Social events
Together with the presentations, tutorials and technical talks, participants enjoyed a number of social events which allowed them to continue the discussion in a more relaxed context.
FOAN is an industry-reference workshop that give participants the opportunity to learn about the latest developments and research in the area and also to take part in the discussions in an international and rich environment. We had an awesome time at FOAN 2022 and are grateful to the team for this amazing experience.
Does your company have all of the mandated safeguards in place to ensure the safety of the personal data you collect or process? Aphaia can help. Aphaia also provides both GDPR and Data Protection Act 2018 consultancy services, including data protection impact assessments, and Data Protection Officer outsourcing. We can help your company get on track towards full compliance. Contact us today.
