Catch up on the sessions from the event, as well as the showcases from some of our event partners.
The 18th European Spectrum Management Conference will take place as a fully in-person event on 6 – 7 June 2023, at Sparks, Brussels.
Across 2 days attendees have the opportunity to be involved in discussions on the key spectrum topics for the region and beyond, through interactive sessions, networking opportunities, an exhibition area and much more.
Registration will be opening very soon, in the meantime let us know if you’d like to be kept informed of any updates.
The conference is part of The Global Spectrum Series. The world’s largest collection of regional spectrum policy conferences.
Forum Global Forum Global specializes in policy focused conferences and events, providing a platform for discussion and debate on topical issues across a variety of different sectors. These events are organized with clients and partners and aim to progress ideas and actions on important issues, all within a balanced and neutral setting.Forum Global is the international arm of Forum Europe, which was founded by Giles Merritt, columnist for the International Herald Tribune, and is widely recognized as the leading EU dedicated event provider.Headed by a team of events specialists with over 19 years of experience, Forum Global works successfully with businesses, institutions and governments alike. Its strategic services can maintain and develop your key policy networks, and also deliver forums where key issues can be aired and debated.
Analysys Mason Analysys Mason is a global specialist in telecoms, media and technology (TMT). Since its formation, Analysys Mason has been instrumental in shaping spectrum policy around the world through our wide-ranging studies helping regulators and operators to develop spectrum strategy, efficiently manage spectrum, formulate spectrum licence conditions, value spectrum and prepare for spectrum awards.
With offices in Asia-Pacific, Europe, Americas, the Middle East and Africa we are respected worldwide for our exceptional quality of work, independence and flexibility in responding to client needs. For over 25 years we have been helping clients in more than 100 countries to maximise their opportunities.
Broadcast Networks Europe 
Coleago Consulting Coleago profile for conference website Founded in 2001, Coleago is a specialist telecoms management consulting firm. Our expertise has been developed exclusively within the telecoms sector and delivers a rare combination of telecoms-related commercial and technical skills and experience. Since 2001 we have worked on over 110 spectrum related projects in developed and emerging markets. Since 2017 our spectrum projects included the transition to 5G, including valuating spectrum most relevant for 5G such as 600MHz, 700MHz, 3.5GHz, and mm wave. We advise regulators on spectrum policy, spectrum roadmap, spectrum pricing, spectrum auctions and capacity building on the topic best practice in spectrum auctions. For mobile operators Coleago delivers regulatory advocacy and responses to consultation, spectrum valuation, bid strategy development and live auction support. Coleago also authored complete bid books for spectrum licence awards by means of a beauty contest.
EBU The European Broadcasting Union (EBU) is the world’s leading alliance of public service media (PSM). We have 112 member organizations in 56 countries and have an additional 31 Associates in Asia, Africa, Australasia and the Americas. Our Members operate nearly 2,000 television, radio and online channels and services, and offer a wealth of content across other platforms.
Together they reach an audience of more than one billion people around the world, broadcasting in more than 160 languages. We operate Eurovision and Euroradio services.
Ericsson 
ETNO ETNO has been the voice of Europe’s telecommunication network operators since 1992 and has become the principal policy group for European electronic communications network operators. Its 40 members and observers from Europe and beyond are the backbone of Europe’s digital progress. They are the main drivers of broadband and are committed to its continual growth in Europe.
ETNO members are pan-European operators that also hold new entrant positions outside their national markets. ETNO brings together the main investors in innovative and high-quality e-communications platforms and services, representing 70% of total sector investment.
ETNO closely contributes to shaping the best regulatory and commercial environment for its members to continue rolling out innovative and high quality services and platforms for the benefit of European consumers and businesses.
Federated Wireless Federated Wireless is leading the wireless industry through the shared spectrum revolution, unlocking a spectrum of possibilities by eliminating the decades-old problem of spectrum scarcity. Federated Wireless offers the industry’s first Spectrum Controller, enabling government and commercial users to securely share the same spectrum band for delivering high-performance wireless services without impacting quality of service. Headquartered in Arlington, Virginia, Federated Wireless is removing the multi-billion dollar price tag associated with spectrum access, allowing for the creation of new wireless carriers and business models.
GSMA The GSMA represents the interests of mobile operators worldwide, uniting nearly 800 operators with more than 250 companies in the broader mobile ecosystem, including handset and device makers, software companies, equipment providers and Internet companies, as well as organisations in adjacent industry sectors. The GSMA also produces industry-leading events such as Mobile World Congress, Mobile World Congress Shanghai and the Mobile 360 Series conferences.
GSOA 
HPE 
Huawei 
LYA LYA is an expert consultant to the telecommunications and broadcasting industry focused on strategic advice, research and spectrum matters including auctions.LYA’s focus is on providing value-added services in development and implementation of strategy and business plans, investment analysis, support of acquisitions and divestitures, due diligence reviews and financial modelling. We provide regulatory and policy analysis, including expert evidence, and auction consulting services. LYA’s clients include mobile carriers, investors and regulators.LYA has independently developed Auction Platforms supporting different formats (SMRA, CCA, and clock auctions). LYA’s Auction Platforms have been used extensively to conduct mock auctions and simulations leveraging robot bidder capabilities. The Platforms are secure and configurable for use by auctioneers. The LYA team brings experience and expertise across different auction formats, spectrum bands and applications around the world. LYA also offers its clients the ability to conduct private auctions of spectrum licenses or other assets and handles all key tasks supporting the sale.
www.LYA.com
Intelsat Intelsat S.A. (NYSE: I) operates the world’s first Globalized Network, delivering high-quality, cost-effective video and broadband services anywhere in the world. Intelsat’s Globalized Network combines the world’s largest satellite backbone with terrestrial infrastructure, managed services and an open, interoperable architecture to enable customers to drive revenue and reach through a new generation of network services. Thousands of organizations serving billions of people worldwide rely on Intelsat to provide ubiquitous broadband connectivity, multi-format video broadcasting, secure satellite communications and seamless mobility services. The end result is an entirely new world, one that allows us to envision the impossible, connect without boundaries and transform the ways in which we live.
Meta 
Nokia 
OneWeb 
Qualcomm 
SES 
WinnForum 
WiFi Alliance Wi-Fi Alliance is the worldwide network of companies that brings you Wi-Fi, one of the world’s most valued communications technologies. Our vision is to connect everyone and everything, everywhere.
Wi-Fi Alliance drives global Wi-Fi adoption and evolution through thought leadership, spectrum advocacy, and industry-wide collaboration. Our work includes the development of innovative technologies, requirements, and test programs that help ensure Wi-Fi provides users the interoperability, security, and reliability they have come to expect.
Qualcomm 
EWIA 
Senza Fili Senza Fili is an analyst and consulting firm that provides advisory support on wireless technologies and services. At Senza Fili we have in-depth expertise in financial modeling, market forecasts and research, white paper and report preparation, business plan support, strategic advice, and due diligence. Our client base is international and spans the entire value chain. We work with vendors, mobile operators and other service providers, enterprises, system integrators, investors, public agencies, and industry associations. We provide a bridge between technologies and services, helping our clients assess established and emerging technologies, leverage these technologies to support new or existing services, and build profitable business models. Independent advice, a strong quantitative orientation, and an international perspective are the hallmarks of our work.
UWB Alliance
Forum Global Forum Global specializes in policy focused conferences and events, providing a platform for discussion and debate on topical issues across a variety of different sectors. These events are organized with clients and partners and aim to progress ideas and actions on important issues, all within a balanced and neutral setting.Forum Global is the international arm of Forum Europe, which was founded by Giles Merritt, columnist for the International Herald Tribune, and is widely recognized as the leading EU dedicated event provider.Headed by a team of events specialists with over 19 years of experience, Forum Global works successfully with businesses, institutions and governments alike. Its strategic services can maintain and develop your key policy networks, and also deliver forums where key issues can be aired and debated.
Forum Global Forum Global specializes in policy focused conferences and events, providing a platform for discussion and debate on topical issues across a variety of different sectors. These events are organized with clients and partners and aim to progress ideas and actions on important issues, all within a balanced and neutral setting.Forum Global is the international arm of Forum Europe, which was founded by Giles Merritt, columnist for the International Herald Tribune, and is widely recognized as the leading EU dedicated event provider.Headed by a team of events specialists with over 19 years of experience, Forum Global works successfully with businesses, institutions and governments alike. Its strategic services can maintain and develop your key policy networks, and also deliver forums where key issues can be aired and debated.
Forum Global Forum Global specializes in policy focused conferences and events, providing a platform for discussion and debate on topical issues across a variety of different sectors. These events are organized with clients and partners and aim to progress ideas and actions on important issues, all within a balanced and neutral setting.Forum Global is the international arm of Forum Europe, which was founded by Giles Merritt, columnist for the International Herald Tribune, and is widely recognized as the leading EU dedicated event provider.Headed by a team of events specialists with over 19 years of experience, Forum Global works successfully with businesses, institutions and governments alike. Its strategic services can maintain and develop your key policy networks, and also deliver forums where key issues can be aired and debated.
LS telcom
Forum Global Forum Global specializes in policy focused conferences and events, providing a platform for discussion and debate on topical issues across a variety of different sectors. These events are organized with clients and partners and aim to progress ideas and actions on important issues, all within a balanced and neutral setting.Forum Global is the international arm of Forum Europe, which was founded by Giles Merritt, columnist for the International Herald Tribune, and is widely recognized as the leading EU dedicated event provider.Headed by a team of events specialists with over 19 years of experience, Forum Global works successfully with businesses, institutions and governments alike. Its strategic services can maintain and develop your key policy networks, and also deliver forums where key issues can be aired and debated.
Forum Global Forum Global specializes in policy focused conferences and events, providing a platform for discussion and debate on topical issues across a variety of different sectors. These events are organized with clients and partners and aim to progress ideas and actions on important issues, all within a balanced and neutral setting.Forum Global is the international arm of Forum Europe, which was founded by Giles Merritt, columnist for the International Herald Tribune, and is widely recognized as the leading EU dedicated event provider.Headed by a team of events specialists with over 19 years of experience, Forum Global works successfully with businesses, institutions and governments alike. Its strategic services can maintain and develop your key policy networks, and also deliver forums where key issues can be aired and debated.
Forum Global Forum Global specializes in policy focused conferences and events, providing a platform for discussion and debate on topical issues across a variety of different sectors. These events are organized with clients and partners and aim to progress ideas and actions on important issues, all within a balanced and neutral setting.Forum Global is the international arm of Forum Europe, which was founded by Giles Merritt, columnist for the International Herald Tribune, and is widely recognized as the leading EU dedicated event provider.Headed by a team of events specialists with over 19 years of experience, Forum Global works successfully with businesses, institutions and governments alike. Its strategic services can maintain and develop your key policy networks, and also deliver forums where key issues can be aired and debated.
Forum Global Forum Global specializes in policy focused conferences and events, providing a platform for discussion and debate on topical issues across a variety of different sectors. These events are organized with clients and partners and aim to progress ideas and actions on important issues, all within a balanced and neutral setting.Forum Global is the international arm of Forum Europe, which was founded by Giles Merritt, columnist for the International Herald Tribune, and is widely recognized as the leading EU dedicated event provider.Headed by a team of events specialists with over 19 years of experience, Forum Global works successfully with businesses, institutions and governments alike. Its strategic services can maintain and develop your key policy networks, and also deliver forums where key issues can be aired and debated.
Forum Global Forum Global specializes in policy focused conferences and events, providing a platform for discussion and debate on topical issues across a variety of different sectors. These events are organized with clients and partners and aim to progress ideas and actions on important issues, all within a balanced and neutral setting.Forum Global is the international arm of Forum Europe, which was founded by Giles Merritt, columnist for the International Herald Tribune, and is widely recognized as the leading EU dedicated event provider.Headed by a team of events specialists with over 19 years of experience, Forum Global works successfully with businesses, institutions and governments alike. Its strategic services can maintain and develop your key policy networks, and also deliver forums where key issues can be aired and debated.
Aetha Consulting 
NERA Economic Consulting
Forum Global Forum Global specializes in policy focused conferences and events, providing a platform for discussion and debate on topical issues across a variety of different sectors. These events are organized with clients and partners and aim to progress ideas and actions on important issues, all within a balanced and neutral setting.Forum Global is the international arm of Forum Europe, which was founded by Giles Merritt, columnist for the International Herald Tribune, and is widely recognized as the leading EU dedicated event provider.Headed by a team of events specialists with over 19 years of experience, Forum Global works successfully with businesses, institutions and governments alike. Its strategic services can maintain and develop your key policy networks, and also deliver forums where key issues can be aired and debated.
Forum Global Forum Global specializes in policy focused conferences and events, providing a platform for discussion and debate on topical issues across a variety of different sectors. These events are organized with clients and partners and aim to progress ideas and actions on important issues, all within a balanced and neutral setting.Forum Global is the international arm of Forum Europe, which was founded by Giles Merritt, columnist for the International Herald Tribune, and is widely recognized as the leading EU dedicated event provider.Headed by a team of events specialists with over 19 years of experience, Forum Global works successfully with businesses, institutions and governments alike. Its strategic services can maintain and develop your key policy networks, and also deliver forums where key issues can be aired and debated.
Forum Global Forum Global specializes in policy focused conferences and events, providing a platform for discussion and debate on topical issues across a variety of different sectors. These events are organized with clients and partners and aim to progress ideas and actions on important issues, all within a balanced and neutral setting.Forum Global is the international arm of Forum Europe, which was founded by Giles Merritt, columnist for the International Herald Tribune, and is widely recognized as the leading EU dedicated event provider.Headed by a team of events specialists with over 19 years of experience, Forum Global works successfully with businesses, institutions and governments alike. Its strategic services can maintain and develop your key policy networks, and also deliver forums where key issues can be aired and debated.
Forum Global Forum Global specializes in policy focused conferences and events, providing a platform for discussion and debate on topical issues across a variety of different sectors. These events are organized with clients and partners and aim to progress ideas and actions on important issues, all within a balanced and neutral setting.Forum Global is the international arm of Forum Europe, which was founded by Giles Merritt, columnist for the International Herald Tribune, and is widely recognized as the leading EU dedicated event provider.Headed by a team of events specialists with over 19 years of experience, Forum Global works successfully with businesses, institutions and governments alike. Its strategic services can maintain and develop your key policy networks, and also deliver forums where key issues can be aired and debated.
Rita Wezenbeek, Director, Connectivity, DG CONNECT, European Commission Rita Wezenbeek joined the European Commission in 2002. Before moving to DG CONNECT in December 2020, Rita was the head of DG Competition’s Anti-Trust and Telecommunications Unit, in charge of applying the European competition rules in the area of electronic communications. Between 2010 and 2017, Rita was the head of DG Competition’s unit dealing with Retail Financial Services and Payment Systems. The unit ia. dealt with the investigations against MasterCard and Visa and was responsible for the competition elements of the legislative processes leading to the adoption of the Interchange Fee Regulation and the Payment Services Directive II, opening the EU payment services market for non-bank players.
Before joining the Commission, Rita worked for sixteen years as a private lawyer, specialized in European and corporate law, at the Dutch/ Belgian law firm Nauta Dutilh. During fifteen years, she also was a Member of the Commission on European Integration, an independent advisory body on foreign policy to the Dutch government and Parliament.
Gilles Brégant Director General, ANFR Born in Chambéry (France) in 1963, Gilles Brégant graduated from Ecole Polytechnique (1986) then from Telecom ParisTech (1988). Following a 7-year-career at France Telecom research center, Gilles Brégant led the transition project from “Minitel” electronic directory to its companion web site, www.pagesjaunes.fr. He was then appointed technical adviser to the Minister in charge of Research (1996-1997). He had to coordinate international projects and themes in relation with information technology. He then worked for the department of trade and industry as deputy director in charge of Prospective. He was appointed secretary general of the ministerial task force “Digital Economy” (2001-2005). He was then appointed Technical Director of Conseil supérieur de l’audiovisuel (the French Media Regulator) in 2005. Gilles Brégant is the CEO of ANFR since 2011. He was elected President of RSPG in November 2011.
Alex Kuehn, Head of Spectrum, BNetzA After a state exam of law at the University of Osnabrück, Mr Kühn has been working since 1998 in the area of legal internship (e.g. at Regional Court) of the Federal Network Agency, Germany; changing to national and international spectrum regulation on different levels in 2005. Nowadays he is the deputy head of section for international affairs and utilization concepts. His responsibilities cover strategic frequency utilization concepts and the transposition of those to the international level of CEPT, EU and ITU. Doing this and having been active in the preparation of three WRC’s, national and on CEPT CPG level, Mr Kühn participated in a number of international Groups, also as Head of the German Delegation. He has also chaired several groups and subgroups in the ITU and CEPT. Since 2005 he is responsible for national preparation of the WRC’s and served as CPG Vice-Chairman from 2010 to 2013 and as CPG chairman from 2013 to 2015.
Mr Kühn has been appointed as Chairman of the CEPT CPG in March 2016.
Mario Maniewicz, Director, Radiocommunications Bureau, ITU Mr. Mario Maniewicz was elected Director of the ITU Radiocommunication Bureau at the ITU Plenipotentiary Conference 2018 in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. He took office on 1 January 2019.
Mario Maniewicz is an electronic engineer specialized in telecommunications. He has been with the ITU for over 30 years, where he has held various positions of responsibility in the Radiocommunication and Development Bureaux as well as in ITU Regional Offices.
As Director, Mr. Maniewicz is responsible for the management of the Radiocommunication Bureau, which organizes and co-ordinates the work of the Radiocommunication Sector whose aim is to ensure the rational, equitable, efficient and economical use of the radio-frequency spectrum and satellite orbits.
Alexandre Kholod, Chairman, CEPT Conference Preparatory Group Dr. Alexandre Kholod is Head of International Frequency Planning at the Swiss Federal Office of Communications OFCOM. In this role, he leads Swiss preparations for World Radiocommunication Conferences and is also responsible for international satellite coordination.
Alexandre has assumed various chairing and drafting tasks in both CEPT and ITU. He serves currently as Chairman of CEPT Conference Preparatory Group.
Alexandre holds a PhD degree in mathematics and physics from the Belarussian State University of Informatics and Radioelectronics and a Dr. Habilitation degree from the Aix-Marseille University.
Luigi Ardito, Senior Director, Government Affairs, EMEA, Qualcomm Luigi Ardito is currently working as a Senior Director of Government Affairs EMEA at Qualcomm. He is contributing to driving the Qualcomm spectrum and regulatory policy agenda in Europe dealing with various government entities and industry organizations.
He is also the Chairman of Digital Europe Spectrum Group and a part of GSA Spectrum management team.
Prior to joining Qualcomm, Luigi worked at Sony Corporation both in Japan and in the UK for over a decade. He has additionally gained a professional experience at France Telecom and at the Italian Public Broadcaster RAI. Luigi has extensive experience in the Media and Telecom industry as well as the Semiconductor Industry gained through his assignments at Qualcomm, Sony, France Telecom and RAI.
Jennifer McCarthy, VP, Legal Advocacy, Federated Wireless Jennifer McCarthy is responsible for the Federated Wireless regulatory and government affairs agenda. Jennifer is a telecommunications regulatory attorney with over 25 years of experience in the wireless sector having held a variety of government affairs, business development, and operations positions for several of the industry’s leading technology innovators.
Most recently, Jennifer was with MVP Capital, working with wireless spectrum license holders, TV and radio station owners, and other online content service providers on a variety of M&A projects. Prior to that, Jennifer was Senior Vice President of Regulatory Affairs and Operations for NextWave Wireless Inc. and part of the executive management team of MediaFLO USA Inc., a subsidiary of QUALCOMM Incorporated, where she identified, purchased, and cleared the TV Channel 55 spectrum used to deploy the nation’s first network dedicated to the reception of mobile television programming and other multimedia services.
She was also the head of QUALCOMM’s international government affairs team responsible for regulatory and international trade strategy at the International Telecommunications Union and related organizations. Early in her career, she worked with Freedom Technologies, Inc., a boutique Washington, D.C.-based telecommunications consulting firm and its associated law firm.
Ms. McCarthy has a B.A. in political science from Yale University and a J.D. from Georgetown University Law Center. She is a member of both the California and Washington, DC Bars.
Petra Vorwig, Global Spectrum & Regulatory Policy, GSOA Petra Vorwig is Vice President, Legal & Regulatory Affairs for SES responsible for EMEA telecommunications regulation and international trade compliance. From 2015 to 2021 Petra oversaw SES’ telecommunications licensing and policy strategy in the US and Canada.
Prior to joining SES, Petra worked for the international law firm, Steptoe & Johnson LLP, in the areas of international trade and telecommunications. Petra also co-taught Space Law as an adjunct professor at Georgetown University Law Center for several years.
Petra earned her Juris Doctor from Georgetown University Law Center and her Bachelor of Arts from the University of Virginia.
Director, Spectrum and Technology Regulation, Ericsson Eliane is currently a member of the team developing and driving Ericsson’s global spectrum strategy. One of her focus areas is ensuring spectrum availability for 6G to enable the 6G vision and to realize the envisioned 6G use cases. Before taking on this role, Eliane held a role within global product compliance and market introduction of Ericsson’s products, covering several regulatory aspects, including spectrum regulations. She also had the opportunity to contribute to the 3GPP standardization work, to represent Ericsson in different CEPT ECC groups, to lead and manage research teams and projects and to contribute to Ericsson’s patent portfolio, as part of her previous journey at Ericsson Research.
Eliane graduated from Kungliga Tekniska Högskolan (KTH), Sweden, where she received her master’s degree in Wireless systems. Prior to that, she studied Electrical engineering at Université Saint Joseph (Lebanon).
Guillaume Lebrun, Global Connectivity Policy Manager, META Dr Guillaume Lebrun has been an active member of the spectrum community for more than 15 years, working for Orange, Qualcomm, Airbus and
now META. Guillaume contributed to key international spectrum projects such the opening of the 6 GHz band to Wi-Fi 6E and the regulatory
framework for 5G.
Guillaume is a member of the Global Connectivity Policy team at META where he is working on several spectrum initiatives to improve
connectivity. Raising spectrum efficiency and availability is at the core of Guillaume’s mission.
Guillaume holds an Engineering degree from ENST, Paris, France and a PhD in telecommunications from Victoria University, Melbourne, Australia.
Stefan Zehle, Chairman & CEO, Coleago Consulting Stefan Zehle is the co-founder and CEO of Coleago. He has 29 years’ experience in telecoms consulting and as Director of a mobile operating company. He specialises in strategy and business planning, spectrum related issues such as spectrum policy, valuation and auctions, and telecoms regulatory topics. He gained his experience working in developed markets in Europe, Canada and the US and also in emerging markets in the Middle East, Africa, and the Far East.
As Director of Strategy, Marketing and Regulatory Affairs, Stefan launched the third mobile operator in Algeria. He developed the strategy, designed the organisation chart, recruited other Directors and 200 staff, built the Sales and Marketing department, oversaw the development of distribution and the offer, and managed the brand creation. He also successfully challenged the regulatory status quo, transforming the interconnect landscape in Algeria by introducing best practice interconnect agreements for the first time. He filed regulatory complaints, winning million dollar cost savings.
Stefan is also the co-author of “Guide to Business Planning”, published by “The Economist”, now in its second edition (“Outstanding Academic Title, 2009” awarded by Choice, the US academic reviewers) and is an experienced conference speaker, chairing the Ministerial Programme session at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona.
Stefan holds an MBA (with distinction) awarded by the University of Westminster in 1991 and speaks French, English, and German.
Maarit Palovirta, Senior Director, Regulatory Affairs, ETNO Maarit has an extensive expertise in telecoms, broadband and internet matters. She joined ETNO from the Internet Society, where she served as a Senior Manager Europe and where she has acquired strong experience of broadband policies as well as extensive links with internet and tech stakeholders.
Maarit also had direct experience of the telecoms business during her 6 years at Cisco and has developed a strong service-oriented, hands-on profile acquired in leading consultancies Interel and Schuman Associates.
She also has a strong European academic background from the College of Europe, LSE, King’s College and SciencesPo. Maarit is a Finnish national, she also speaks English and French.
Jean-Pierre Faisan, Chair, Communications Working Group, BNE Jean-Pierre Faisan is head of the communications working group of Broadcast Networks Europe, where he represents TDF as senior policy advisor.
A graduate of Ecole Polytechnique Paris and of Telecom Paris, he has more than 34 years of experience in the field of satellite, broadcast and mobile networks in France and in the USA. He has held a variety of R&D, operational and managerial positions at Satellite Systems Engineering, INTELSAT, CCETT (now Orange labs), Sofratev and Gobé, and TDF.
He is since 8 years founder and managing director of Leader Wave, a consultancy specialized in telecommunications and spectrum policy.
Reza Karimi, Vice President, Corporate Strategy, Huawei Reza Karimi is Vice President, Corporate Strategy, at Huawei Technologies, with focus on technology standards and spectrum regulation. Prior to this, he was Technical Policy Director at the UK communications regulator, Ofcom, with responsibilities in a range of spectrum management initiatives, including a review of the UK’s licence exemption framework, the auction of spectrum for 4G mobile communications at 800 MHz/2.6 GHz, and database-assisted access to TV white space spectrum.
Previously, he was with Bell Laboratories at Lucent Technologies, and Motorola GSM Products Division. He received a first class honours degree in Electronic Engineering from the University of Surrey, UK. He also holds a MSc/DIC degree in Digital Communications, and a PhD in Adaptive Array Signal Processing, both from Imperial College, UK. He is the author of over sixty publications in international conferences and peer-reviewed journals, and is co-inventor in over thirty patents. He is also visiting professor at Imperial College, London.
Paul Deedman, Global Spectrum & Regulatory Policy, GSOA Mr. Deedman’s role in Inmarsat is to ensure that the necessary international spectrum regulations are in place for the continuing operation of the current Inmarsat satellites, network, and future systems. He is involved in CEPT spectrum activities and the ITU-R working parties, most recently on issues such as new regulations for Ka-band mobile terminals (ESIMs) and protection of the L-band MSS spectrum for proposed terrestrial LTE systems. He has participated in all of the ITU World Radiocommunication Conferences since 1997 and has been closely engaged in the regional preparations for WRC. Mr. Deedman joined Inmarsat in 2000, having previously worked for the Radiocommunications Agency, and has an honours degree in telecommunications from the University of London (Queen Mary College).
All times in the agenda are in local Brussels time
An engineer with broad experience in the telecoms and technology sectors, Andy has a particular interest in spectrum (auctions and valuation) and the impact of new technology (5G, AI, IoT and Big Data). He brings a deep understanding of both the industry and regulatory perspectives around the world through his role as Head of Policy for the GSMA and as Director of Spectrum Policy at Ofcom.
Andy spent 12 years at Vodafone, where he held various senior product development and corporate strategy roles. As Head of Spectrum, he was responsible for managing spectrum policy and auctions across the Vodafone Group. He led over twenty spectrum auctions around the world (including Turkey, Italy, Germany, India, Spain, Italy, Greece, Australia, Romania, NL and UK) from strategy/business case development to Plc. Board level sign-off and in-country implementation.
He was formerly a management consultant, has launched an internet payments and encryption company and worked as a research scientist at Sharp Laboratories of Europe and Sony Corporation, based in Japan. He has a doctorate in Engineering Science from Oxford University and an MBA. He is a frequent invited speaker at international conferences.
Rita Wezenbeek joined the European Commission in 2002. Before moving to DG CONNECT in December 2020, Rita was the head of DG Competition’s Anti-Trust and Telecommunications Unit, in charge of applying the European competition rules in the area of electronic communications. Between 2010 and 2017, Rita was the head of DG Competition’s unit dealing with Retail Financial Services and Payment Systems. The unit ia. dealt with the investigations against MasterCard and Visa and was responsible for the competition elements of the legislative processes leading to the adoption of the Interchange Fee Regulation and the Payment Services Directive II, opening the EU payment services market for non-bank players.
Before joining the Commission, Rita worked for sixteen years as a private lawyer, specialized in European and corporate law, at the Dutch/ Belgian law firm Nauta Dutilh. During fifteen years, she also was a Member of the Commission on European Integration, an independent advisory body on foreign policy to the Dutch government and Parliament.
An engineer with broad experience in the telecoms and technology sectors, Andy has a particular interest in spectrum (auctions and valuation) and the impact of new technology (5G, AI, IoT and Big Data). He brings a deep understanding of both the industry and regulatory perspectives around the world through his role as Head of Policy for the GSMA and as Director of Spectrum Policy at Ofcom.
Andy spent 12 years at Vodafone, where he held various senior product development and corporate strategy roles. As Head of Spectrum, he was responsible for managing spectrum policy and auctions across the Vodafone Group. He led over twenty spectrum auctions around the world (including Turkey, Italy, Germany, India, Spain, Italy, Greece, Australia, Romania, NL and UK) from strategy/business case development to Plc. Board level sign-off and in-country implementation.
He was formerly a management consultant, has launched an internet payments and encryption company and worked as a research scientist at Sharp Laboratories of Europe and Sony Corporation, based in Japan. He has a doctorate in Engineering Science from Oxford University and an MBA. He is a frequent invited speaker at international conferences.
Eric Fournier is currently Director for Spectrum Planning and International Affairs in ANFR, he is directly responsible for preparing the revisions of the French national table of allocation and for the coordination of French positions in international meetings on spectrum within ITU, CEPT and EU. He was Chairman of the CEPT Conference Preparatory Group for the World Radiocommunications Conference 2012 and has chaired several RSPG working groups dealing with EU interests in international meetings and cross-border issues.
The current Radio Spectrum Policy Programme has been instrumental in shaping spectrum policy and thinking in Europe since it was launched in 2012. Technological developments and societal challenges over the past decade mean that the world today is a very different place to how it was then, and whilst many of the general themes of the RSPP remain valid, work is now being done on the release of a newly updated spectrum roadmap that will help guide the evolution of next generation technologies and the path ahead. This session will look at what needs to be done to ensure a future-looking roadmap that builds on both the original RSPP and the spectrum policy elements of the European Electronic Communications Code, and ensures an efficient spectrum framework that supports broader European policy priorities and targets such as the European Gigabit Society, the European Green Deal and Europe’s Digital Decade.
An engineer with broad experience in the telecoms and technology sectors, Andy has a particular interest in spectrum (auctions and valuation) and the impact of new technology (5G, AI, IoT and Big Data). He brings a deep understanding of both the industry and regulatory perspectives around the world through his role as Head of Policy for the GSMA and as Director of Spectrum Policy at Ofcom.
Andy spent 12 years at Vodafone, where he held various senior product development and corporate strategy roles. As Head of Spectrum, he was responsible for managing spectrum policy and auctions across the Vodafone Group. He led over twenty spectrum auctions around the world (including Turkey, Italy, Germany, India, Spain, Italy, Greece, Australia, Romania, NL and UK) from strategy/business case development to Plc. Board level sign-off and in-country implementation.
He was formerly a management consultant, has launched an internet payments and encryption company and worked as a research scientist at Sharp Laboratories of Europe and Sony Corporation, based in Japan. He has a doctorate in Engineering Science from Oxford University and an MBA. He is a frequent invited speaker at international conferences.
Ms. Julija Varnaitė-Kamstra is a policy officer at the European Commission, Directorate-General for Communications Networks, Content and Technology, Connectivity Directorate, Radio Spectrum Policy Unit since 2020. She is primarily responsible for the legal matters and the coordination of legislative initiatives on radio spectrum policy.
Julija is a lawyer specialised in competition law and holds Master degrees from Vilnius University and King‘s College London. For the past 15 years Julija has held various positions in the European Parliament and the European Commission.
Eric Fournier is currently Director for Spectrum Planning and International Affairs in ANFR, he is directly responsible for preparing the revisions of the French national table of allocation and for the coordination of French positions in international meetings on spectrum within ITU, CEPT and EU. He was Chairman of the CEPT Conference Preparatory Group for the World Radiocommunications Conference 2012 and has chaired several RSPG working groups dealing with EU interests in international meetings and cross-border issues.
Luigi Ardito is currently working as a Senior Director of Government Affairs EMEA at Qualcomm. He is contributing to driving the Qualcomm spectrum and regulatory policy agenda in Europe dealing with various government entities and industry organizations.
He is also the Chairman of Digital Europe Spectrum Group and a part of GSA Spectrum management team.
Prior to joining Qualcomm, Luigi worked at Sony Corporation both in Japan and in the UK for over a decade. He has additionally gained a professional experience at France Telecom and at the Italian Public Broadcaster RAI. Luigi has extensive experience in the Media and Telecom industry as well as the Semiconductor Industry gained through his assignments at Qualcomm, Sony, France Telecom and RAI.
Maarit has an extensive expertise in telecoms, broadband and internet matters. She joined ETNO from the Internet Society, where she served as a Senior Manager Europe and where she has acquired strong experience of broadband policies as well as extensive links with internet and tech stakeholders. Maarit also had direct experience of the telecoms business during her 6 years at Cisco Systems and has developed a strong service-oriented, hands-on profile acquired in leading consultancies Interel and Schuman Associates. She also has a strong European academic background from the College of Europe, LSE, King’s College and SciencesPo.
Despite the challenging environment created by the global pandemic, preparations for WRC-23 are in full swing. Both within Europe and elsewhere in Region 1, positions are starting to emerge and good progress on preparatory studies is being seen. The first Inter-regional Workshop was held at the end of last year and provided the first formal opportunity for different regions to come together to discuss these emerging positions. This session will look at the progress that has been made in the six months since that, and more broadly provide an update to the preparatory work that is being done in key bands up for discussion in Region 1 (including the 470—960 MHz, 3.3 – 3.8GHz and 6GHz bands). With some of the preparatory meetings now finally able to return to an in-person format, this session will also look at the challenges that still lie ahead, and the work that needs to be done to ensure a successful outcome for European stakeholders at WRC-23.
Mr. Mario Maniewicz was elected Director of the ITU Radiocommunication Bureau at the ITU Plenipotentiary Conference 2018 in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. He took office on 1 January 2019.
Mario Maniewicz is an electronic engineer specialized in telecommunications. He has been with the ITU for over 30 years, where he has served in high-level management positions in the Radiocommunication and Development Sectors as well as in ITU Regional Offices.
As Director, Mr. Maniewicz is responsible for the management of the Radiocommunication Bureau, which organizes and co-ordinates the work of the Radiocommunication Sector whose aim is to ensure the rational, equitable, efficient, and economical use of the radio-frequency spectrum and satellite orbits.
Before joining the ITU, Mr. Maniewicz occupied a managerial position in Uruguay’s main telecommunications operator and was Assistant Professor in the Faculty of Engineering of Uruguay’s main University.
Mr. Maniewicz is married and has two children. He speaks Spanish, English, French and Portuguese.
Mr. Mario Maniewicz was elected Director of the ITU Radiocommunication Bureau at the ITU Plenipotentiary Conference 2018 in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. He took office on 1 January 2019.
Mario Maniewicz is an electronic engineer specialized in telecommunications. He has been with the ITU for over 30 years, where he has served in high-level management positions in the Radiocommunication and Development Sectors as well as in ITU Regional Offices.
As Director, Mr. Maniewicz is responsible for the management of the Radiocommunication Bureau, which organizes and co-ordinates the work of the Radiocommunication Sector whose aim is to ensure the rational, equitable, efficient, and economical use of the radio-frequency spectrum and satellite orbits.
Before joining the ITU, Mr. Maniewicz occupied a managerial position in Uruguay’s main telecommunications operator and was Assistant Professor in the Faculty of Engineering of Uruguay’s main University.
Mr. Maniewicz is married and has two children. He speaks Spanish, English, French and Portuguese.
Glyn Carter is Future Spectrum Director at the GSMA, where his main focus since he joined in 2012 has been on future spectrum. This includes preparatory activities for WRC-23 (and before that WRC-15 and WRC-19), including sharing and compatibility studies and other preparatory activities in ITU-R and CEPT. It also includes wider activities related to future spectrum for mobile broadband, including availability of spectrum for 5G and progressing of bands identified at WRC-15 and WRC-19 in ITU-R and CEPT.
Glyn has been involved in spectrum management for over 25 years. Prior to GSMA, this included working as a consultant for regulators in countries including the UK, South Africa, Sweden, Japan and Jordan. He has also worked for mobile operators in countries including the UK, Romania and Portugal, where his responsibilities included technology strategy, terminals and mobile data services, as well as regulatory activities and standards. Glyn has a BSc in mathematics and a PhD in cryptography from London University.
Jean-Pierre Faisan is spectrum policy advisor for TDF, and has been a Board Member of the association Broadcast Networks Europe since 2013.
A graduate from Ecole Polytechnique and Telecom Paris-Tech, he has more than 29 years of experience in the telecommunications industry where he held a series of engineering then managing positions at Intelsat, CCETT (now Orange Labs), Sofratev and Gobé and TDF. He is also the founder and managing partner of Leader Wave, a consulting company specialized on spectrum policy.
Alex Roytblat is Vice President of Worldwide Regulatory Affairs at Wi-Fi Alliance, where he is responsible for the organization’s overall regulatory strategy. In his role, Alex works with Wi-Fi Alliance members and the executive team on the development of regulatory objectives and directs advocacy for the implementation of these objectives with governments, regulators and international organizations.
With over 20 years of experience in the field of international telecom regulations, Alex is an internationally recognized industry advocate. Prior to joining Wi-Fi Alliance, Alex served at the United States Federal Communications Commission (FCC), where he was involved in all phases of domestic and international radio spectrum management processes. Previously, Alex held technical roles for Stanford Telecommunications and Booz Allen & Hamilton. He holds a Master of Science in Communications Networks from Johns Hopkins University and a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering (Eta Kappa Nu) from George Mason University.
Mr. Mario Maniewicz was elected Director of the ITU Radiocommunication Bureau at the ITU Plenipotentiary Conference 2018 in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. He took office on 1 January 2019.
Mario Maniewicz is an electronic engineer specialized in telecommunications. He has been with the ITU for over 30 years, where he has served in high-level management positions in the Radiocommunication and Development Sectors as well as in ITU Regional Offices.
As Director, Mr. Maniewicz is responsible for the management of the Radiocommunication Bureau, which organizes and co-ordinates the work of the Radiocommunication Sector whose aim is to ensure the rational, equitable, efficient, and economical use of the radio-frequency spectrum and satellite orbits.
Before joining the ITU, Mr. Maniewicz occupied a managerial position in Uruguay’s main telecommunications operator and was Assistant Professor in the Faculty of Engineering of Uruguay’s main University.
Mr. Maniewicz is married and has two children. He speaks Spanish, English, French and Portuguese.
Dr. Alexandre Kholod is Head of International Frequency Planning at the Swiss Federal Office of Communications OFCOM. In this role, he leads Swiss preparations for World Radiocommunication Conferences and is also responsible for international satellite coordination.
Alexandre has assumed various chairing and drafting tasks in both CEPT and ITU. He serves currently as Chairman of CEPT Conference Preparatory Group.
Alexandre holds a PhD degree in mathematics and physics from the Belarussian State University of Informatics and Radioelectronics and a Dr. Habilitation degree from the Aix-Marseille University.
Mr. Tariq Al-Awadhi is the Executive Director Spectrum Affairs in the Telecommunications and Digital Government Regulatory Authority.
Mr. Al Awadhi has 17 years of experience in spectrum management. He is the Chairman of the Arab Spectrum Management Group and has been the head of the delegations of the UAE to various international meetings and conferences and in 2012 he had been elected to chair the World Radiocommunication Conference 2012 (WRC-12).
His achievements in the field of spectrum management have earned him accolades from his contemporaries and the TDRA. His professional acumen has further been groomed through leadership and excellence programs.
Kezias Mwale is Radiocommunications Coordinator at African Telecommunications Union. He started his spectrum management career as a junior engineer in 2003 at the Zambia ICT Authority, rising to manager spectrum management in 2010 – a position he held until his appointment by the African Telecommunications Union (ATU) as a Radiocommunications Coordinator in 2012. He has been a keen and active contributor to national, regional and international spectrum management successes including development of the first Zambian national spectrum plan, the SADC spectrum plan, the GE-06 Conference during which he was appointed one of the planning experts for Eastern and Southern Africa. He has immensely contributed to the current improved status of Radiocommunications affairs of ATU.
Mr Mwale holds an MSc in Broadband and Mobile Communications with distinction from the University of Kent (2008), and an MBA from the University of Nicosia (2017).
Governments all around the world are under pressure to respond not only to an enormous amount of interest in spectrum bands, but also to a wide variety of potential uses. As wireless technologies move towards the next generation of connectivity – 6G, WiFi7 & beyond, next-gen satellites and more, this pressure is only going to increase. In order to meet these needs, some suggest there is a need for a rethink in terms of how spectrum is allocated and used, not just from regulators but also from the various industry players. Traditionally, connectivity providers have competed against each other for access to spectrum in order to provide, in the main, their own standalone service offerings. But should the future be more collaborative? The next 2 sessions will be centred around the increased importance of spectrum sharing and the scope for connectivity providers to swap competition for collaboration. What role can innovative new approaches and flexible, collaborative and forward-looking models of accessing spectrum play in helping to maximise the efficiency of the available spectrum and meeting the future connectivity needs of Europe?
Bio to be available shortly.
This session will focus on specific approaches to spectrum sharing that are being seen in Europe, and at how stakeholders can work together to develop a European approach to sharing. It will explore how emerging technologies can be leveraged to develop a spectrum sharing roadmap that both maximises the efficiency of key spectrum bands and is specifically built around the needs of European stakeholders.
Mr. Yates has over 30 years of experience in the telecom industry and is an expert in spectrum auctions, 5G-spectrum and broadband strategy, licensing, financial modelling, telecom and licensing policy and regulation as well as wireless and network technologies. His consulting experience includes projects in the US, Canada, Europe, North Africa and Australia.
Mr. Yates has supported bidders through the entire spectrum auction process, from the initial public consultation, to bidder training, simulations and mock auctions, game analysis, bid tactics and in-bid room support. Mr. Yates is co-leader of the development of the LYA Auction Platforms that support Combinatorial Clock Auctions (CCA), Simultaneous Multiple Round Ascending (SMRA) Auctions, Sealed Bid Auctions as well as Clock Auctions. He has also developed the LYA Auction Management Tools used to manage round-by-round bidding and decision-making.
Mr. Yates has provided regulatory and business planning support to operators and government agencies with respect to broadband investment, regulatory and deployment issues in rural and remote areas.
Prior to co-founding LYA, Mr. Yates held positions with Nortel Networks and Bell Canada. Mr. Yates holds a Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering and a Master’s degree in Operations Research/Management Science, both from the University of Toronto. He also has an MBA from Concordia University in Montreal.
Chris Woolford is Ofcom’s Director of International Spectrum Policy where his responsibilities cover the UK’s international spectrum interests, especially in relation to the ITU, CEPT and EU. He is a member of Ofcom’s Spectrum Executive Team and sits on various Ofcom Steering Groups.
Mr Woolford is active in various European spectrum committees and is currently Chairman of the CEPT Electronic Communications Committee (ECC). He has closely engaged for the UK on a number of key European initiatives, including the development of the Radio Spectrum Policy Programme, and UK initiatives in relation to the ITU. Mr Woolford led the UK delegations to WRC-15 and WRC-12 and is currently preparing to lead the UK Delegation to WRC-19.
Before joining Ofcom, Mr Woolford worked in various UK Government Departments, including 6 years at Oftel, where he worked on different aspects of telecommunications regulation.
Mr Woolford has a degree in mathematics and statistics from Manchester University.
Monica Paolini, PhD, is the founder and president of Senza Fili. She is an expert in wireless technologies and has helped clients worldwide to understand new technologies and customer requirements, create and assess financial TCO and ROI models, evaluate business plan opportunities, market their services and products, and estimate the market size and revenue opportunity of new and established wireless technologies. She frequently gives presentations at conferences, and writes reports, blog entries and articles on wireless technologies and services, covering end-to-end mobile networks, the operator, enterprise and IoT markets. She has a PhD in cognitive science from the University of California, San Diego (US), an MBA from the University of Oxford (UK), and a BA/MA in philosophy from the University of Bologna (Italy).
Jennifer McCarthy is responsible for the company’s regulatory and government affairs agenda. Jennifer is a telecommunications regulatory attorney with over 25 years of experience in the wireless sector having held a variety of government affairs, business development, and operations positions for several of the industry’s leading technology innovators. Most recently, Jennifer was with MVP Capital, working with wireless spectrum license holders, TV and radio station owners, and other online content service providers on a variety of M&A projects. Prior to that, Jennifer was Senior Vice President of Regulatory Affairs and Operations for NextWave Wireless Inc. and part of the executive management team of MediaFLO USA Inc., a subsidiary of QUALCOMM Incorporated, where she identified, purchased, and cleared the TV Channel 55 spectrum used to deploy the nation’s first network dedicated to the reception of mobile television programming and other multimedia services. She was also the head of QUALCOMM’s international government affairs team responsible for regulatory and international trade strategy at the International Telecommunications Union and related organizations. Early in her career, she worked with Freedom Technologies, Inc., a boutique Washington, D.C.-based telecommunications consulting firm and its associated law firm. Ms. McCarthy has a B.A. in political science from Yale University and a J.D. from Georgetown University Law Center. She is a member of both the California and Washington, DC Bars.
Reza Karimi is Director, Corporate Strategy, at Huawei Technologies, with focus on technology standards and spectrum regulation. Prior to this, he was Technical Policy Director at the UK communications regulator, Ofcom, with responsibilities in a range of spectrum management initiatives, including a review of the UK’s licence exemption framework, the auction of spectrum for 4G mobile communications at 800 MHz/2.6 GHz, and database-assisted access to TV white space spectrum.
Previously, he was with Bell Laboratories at Lucent Technologies, and Motorola GSM Products Division. He received a first class honours degree in Electronic Engineering from the University of Surrey, UK. He also holds a MSc/DIC degree in Digital Communications, and a PhD in Adaptive Array Signal Processing, both from Imperial College, UK. He is the author of over sixty publications in international conferences and peer-reviewed journals, and is co-inventor in over thirty patents. He is also visiting professor at Imperial College, London.
Tim is the Chairman and Executive Director for the Ultra Wide Band (UWB) Alliance. The Alliance is dedicated to developing interoperable specifications for UWB products and coexistence strategies for sharing spectrum with other RF devices and services. Tim is also the Chairman for the IEEE 802.15.4z Task Group as well as Vice Chairman of ETSI TGUWB. Tim is a long-standing advocate of standardization to expand markets.
Previously, Tim was Vice President of Hardware Product Strategy at Zebra Location Solutions Group, the leading developer and manufacturer of Real-Time Locating Systems, (RTLS). He directed hardware product management for the Zebra RTLS products including the WhereNet, Dart UWB, and GPS enabled product lines.
Tim served 16 years as VP of Product Strategy for WhereNet (acquired by Zebra) which introduced the first commercially available RTLS products. Prior to joining WhereNet, Tim directed Product Management for Symbol, where his team coauthored the first release of IEEE 802.11, and formed the Wi-Fi Alliance. An engineer with an EE degree from SUNY Stonybrook, Tim also spent several years developing software and hardware for Symbol.
A patent holder, Mr. Harrington is credited with developing new concepts in the areas of bar code scanning, wireless LANs, and RTLS technology. He has written many articles concerning RF and Auto ID technologies.
This session will explore the growing interest in the introduction of hybrid networks involving different technologies and connectivity providers. It will look at the extent to which collaborative models of this type could help to bridge connectivity gaps and enable seamless ‘always on’ connectivity for consumers and businesses, and at how innovative new approaches for licencing and accessing spectrum could be used to facilitate these.
Richard is Director of Spectrum Services for LS telcom. He has over 20 years consulting and business experience working in the radio spectrum management, public telecommunications, digital broadcasting and satellite industries. He has worked for regulators, network operators, financiers, governments and end-users on issues covering national and international policy; regulation and its impact; pricing, auctions and licensing; cost modelling and tariff setting; planning and consultation; network specification and procurement; and digital switch-over. His work has been international in nature having taken him to every continent except Antarctica. Richard is also an experienced trainer having been running courses on spectrum management and policy for over 15 years.
In addition to providing consultancy advice and training, Richard’s career has embraced roles in a military communications company, as a transmission manager for BBC World Service and business manager for the UK’s largest broadcast infrastructure provider ntl: (now Arqiva) giving him a broad perspective on telecommunications and broadcast technologies and industries, their commercialisation and their regulation.
Michael Daum is a Director of Technology Policy in Microsoft’s Telecom Group in Redmond, Washington. Michael’s primary responsibilities revolves around domestic and international spectrum policy and related issues that underpins connectivity to the cloud and to user equipment. Currently, much of his time is spent on licensed exempt spectrum policy issues and supporting Azure Space / Azure Orbital. Prior to joining Microsoft in 2013, Michael served as a Senior Policy Advisor to U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell in her Washington DC office for almost a decade. Michael staffed the Senator on Information and Communications Technology policy issues, other issues of interest to the tech community (high skills immigration, patent reform, capital formation, etc.), and on aviation policy.
Michael began his career as an engineer designing, building, and testing laser and electro-optic systems. After receiving an M.B.A. in the early 1990s, he decided to change course and became a project manager at the U.S. Department of Commerce National Institute of Standards of Technology Advanced Technology Program. Subsequently, Michael was loaned to work successively in the Office of the Secretary of Commerce, the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, and the White House National Economic Council on issues where technology intersects policy.
Stephen is Vodafone’s Group Public Policy Head of Spectrum and is responsible for managing the company’s spectrum and licensing policy across its 26 operating companies in Europe and AMAP. This includes setting the strategy for meeting the future needs of the business, engaging with national and regional regulators to shape policy, and managing spectrum licence valuation, acquisition and renewal activities.
Stephen studied Engineering at Cambridge and worked previously in the Japanese technology sector and as a strategy consultant in the international telecommunications and media sector.
Mindel De La Torre leads all regulatory and international market entry matters for Omnispace’s seamless ‘one global network.’ In this role, she applies her expertise in licensing, spectrum policy and international telecommunications to obtain key regulatory approvals on behalf of the company.
Previously, Mindel was Chief of the International Bureau at the Federal Communications Commission, where she led the agency’s efforts internationally – both on a bilateral and multilateral basis – including licensing of satellites. Prior to that, Mindel was President of Telecommunications Management Group, Inc., a leading global telecommunications policy consultancy. Throughout her career, she has held leadership positions on delegations to ITU global conferences. She also held various posts at the Department of Commerce in the National Telecommunications and Information Administration and the General Counsel’s office.
Mindel received her juris doctorate from the University of Texas and holds her bachelor’s degree from Vanderbilt University. She is a member of the Texas bar and the Federal Communications Bar Association and speaks Portuguese, French, Spanish, and Italian.
Having initially designated the 700 MHz, 3.5 GHz and 26 GHz bands as 5G “pioneer” bands, the Commission recently took a step towards the harmonisation of spectrum for the next wave of 5G evolution and expansion by updating the technical and regulatory conditions for the 900 MHz and 1800 MHz bands. This session will look at what this decision might mean for future 5G evolution in Europe, and for ensuring a co-ordinated approach to the identification of frequency bands for the next wage of 5G expansion. More broadly, it will look at the extent to which the refarming of legacy 2G and 3G bands in this way can be used to help meet future demand for additional bandwidth for 4G and 5G, and at how this process can be managed to maximise the efficiency and value of the available spectrum.
Amit Nagpal is a Partner at, and one of the co-founders of, Aetha Consulting. Amit has over 20 years of experience on spectrum management issues having started his career with the Radiocommunications Agency (now part of Ofcom) in the UK. Amit advises regulators/government bodies, fixed and mobile operators, broadcasters, financial institutions and industry associations on a wide range of issues including spectrum policy development and spectrum valuation and auction support. Amit’s experience includes leading studies for the European Commission on the introduction of spectrum trading and a harmonised approach to the digital dividend. Amit has undertaken projects for clients in Europe, Middle East and Africa, Asia and North America and is therefore able to bring a global perspective to his work. He recently supported a mobile operator in Colombia with its preparations for the AWS spectrum auction.
Biography to be available shortly.
Vice Chair of the Radio Spectrum Policy Group, co-rapporteur of the RSPG Working Group on Peer Review and Member State cooperation on authorizations and awards. Responsible for radio spectrum policy issues both on national and international level i.a.: domestic Frequency Allocation Table, National Roadmap on 700 MHz band, National Broadband Plan. Engaged in International Telecommunication Union matters, within three sectors, responsible for preparation for the World Radiocommunication Conferences, World Telecommunication Development Conferences, Word Telecommunication Standardization Conferences.
Miran Gosta is the Executive Director at HAKOM, Croatian Regulatory Authority for Network Industries which covers the areas of electronic communications, postal and railway services. As the head of HAKOM’s professional service, he manages expert, technical and administrative affairs in HAKOM.
Miran Gosta is an electronics engineer specialized in spectrum management and radio communications. He has participated in many national and multinational projects related to frequency coordination and spectrum licensing.
He holds a master’s degree in postgraduate scientific studies from the Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Computing in Zagreb and is the author and co-author of numerous scientific and professional papers.
Stefan Zehle is the co-founder and CEO of Coleago. He has 29 years’ experience in telecoms consulting and as Director of a mobile operating company. He specialises in strategy and business planning, spectrum related issues such as spectrum policy, valuation and auctions, and telecoms regulatory topics. He gained his experience working in developed markets in Europe, Canada and the US and also in emerging markets in the Middle East, Africa, and the Far East.
As Director of Strategy, Marketing and Regulatory Affairs, Stefan launched the third mobile operator in Algeria. He developed the strategy, designed the organisation chart, recruited other Directors and 200 staff, built the Sales and Marketing department, oversaw the development of distribution and the offer, and managed the brand creation. He also successfully challenged the regulatory status quo, transforming the interconnect landscape in Algeria by introducing best practice interconnect agreements for the first time. He filed regulatory complaints, winning million dollar cost savings.
Stefan is also the co-author of “Guide to Business Planning”, published by “The Economist”, now in its second edition (“Outstanding Academic Title, 2009” awarded by Choice, the US academic reviewers) and is an experienced conference speaker, chairing the Ministerial Programme session at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona.
Stefan holds an MBA (with distinction) awarded by the University of Westminster in 1991 and speaks French, English, and German.
Javier Domínguez is Head of Spectrum Policy and Regulatory Intelligence in
Telefonica’s Corporate Unit, where his current focus is on working with the technical and business development teams on developing the Company’s awareness and thinking around innovative spectrum allocation and assignment procedures.
Javier has an Economics and Legal background and has worked in Telefonica for the last 10 years, at local and corporate level and in different regulatory roles. He has participated in spectrum auctions and spectrum policy discussions in several European countries since 2011, and he has also been engaged on a wide range of other telecom policy issues, from international roaming to regulatory cost modelling of fixed and mobile networks. Prior to joining Telefónica he worked for Ericsson for 5 years.
The C-band has been one of the most hotly contested frequency bands over the last decade or more, and this trend looks very much set to continue. Traditionally a satellite band, it has also become one of the key bands for the rollout of national 5G networks, and more recently, is seeing allocation across parts of the band for localised vertical use, with countries across Europe taking a number of different approaches to this. This session will look at the evolving shape of services in the band and at how co-existence between key users can be managed. It will discuss the decision at the end of last year to mandate CEPT to study the shared use of 3.8 – 4.2 GHz for localised 5G deployments by vertical users, and at the questions that this raises for those countries who have already set aside part of the spectrum in the 3.4 – 3.8 GHz band for vertical use. It will also look at the extent to which coexistence between these low to medium power networks and incumbents in this part of the band (such as earth stations and terrestrial fixed links) is possible, as well as with spectrum users in adjacent bands (such as radio altimeters on aircraft using 4.2 – 4.4 GHz).
Ms. Lemay has more than 30 years of experience in the industry and is a recognized expert in telecommunications and broadcasting. Her expertise covers development of business plans, valuation, due diligence, spectrum matters and market research. Ms. Lemay has supported clients in the US, Europe, North Africa, Latin America and Canada.
Ms. Lemay is the lead consultant for Private Auctions conducted by LYA for clients disposing of spectrum licenses and other assets.
Ms. Lemay is actively involved in consultations for the development of public policy. She has acted as an Expert Witness in regulatory proceedings and litigations. Recent expert evidence mandates were focused on broadband subsidies in rural and remote areas, wireless siting, mid-band 5G spectrum, national roaming, television and over-the-top services, benchmarking investment in broadband and the regulatory framework for MVNOs.
She has supported clients in successfully acquiring subsidy funds for broadband deployment in rural areas.
She is co-leader of the development of the LYA Auction Platforms that support Combinatorial Clock Auctions (CCA), Simultaneous Multiple Round Ascending (SMRA) Auctions, Sealed Bid Auctions as well as Clock Auctions.
Prior to co-founding LYA, Ms. Lemay held a number of positions in marketing and product management with Nortel Networks. Ms. Lemay holds an Engineering Physics degree from Laval University and an MBA, Executive Option, from Concordia University in Montreal.
Gilles Brégant graduated from Ecole Polytechnique (1986) and from Telecom ParisTech (1988). Following a 8-year-career at France Telecom research center, Gilles Brégant was appointed technical adviser to the Minister in charge of Research (1996-1997). He had to coordinate international projects and themes in relation with information technology. He then worked for the department of trade and industry in charge of the Prospective department in the ICT service. He was appointed secretary general of the ministerial task force “Digital Economy” (2001-2005) within the French Ministry for Economy. He was then appointed “Director of Technologies” of Conseil supérieur de l’audiovisuel (the French Media Regulator) in 2005. Gilles Brégant is the CEO of the French spectrum agency (ANFR) since 2011. He chaired the European Radio Spectrum Policy Group (2012-2015).
After a state exam of law at the University of Osnabrück, Mr Kühn has been working since 1998 in the area of legal internship (e.g. at Regional Court) of the Federal Network Agency, Germany; changing to national and international spectrum regulation on different levels in 2005. Nowadays he is the deputy head of section for international affairs and utilization concepts. His responsibilities cover strategic frequency utilization concepts and the transposition of those to the international level of CEPT, EU and ITU. Doing this and having been active in the preparation of three WRC’s, national and on CEPT CPG level, Mr Kühn participated in a number of international Groups, also as Head of the German Delegation. He has also chaired several groups and subgroups in the ITU and CEPT. Since 2005 he is responsible for national preparation of the WRC’s and served as CPG Vice-Chairman from 2010 to 2013 and as CPG chairman from 2013 to 2015. Mr Kühn was appointed as Chairman of the CEPT CPG in March 2016.
As Senior Manager for Spectrum, Emma leads on GSMA Europe’s efforts to represent the mobile industry on European spectrum policy, helping to develop and deliver an advocacy agenda that ensures mobile operators have timely and affordable access to appropriate spectrum.
An Economist by training, Emma has experience in academic research as well as a corporate and regulated company environment and is specialised in telecommunications regulation, market and policy analysis.
Emma has extensive experience working on a broad range of telecoms regulatory and public policy issues having previously worked as the in-house Regulatory Economist and EU-level representative for the former Irish incumbent, Eir.
Prior to joining GSMA in 2021, Emma also worked as a Senior Analyst with Cullen International, monitoring and reporting on EU and national telecoms and spectrum policy developments.
Emma holds a MSc in Economics and Policy in addition to a Bachelor of Commerce (International) from the National University of Ireland Galway.
Hazem Moakkit is responsible for shaping Intelsat’s strategic long-term positioning in the marketplace. In his role, he works closely with the company’s business development, asset management and innovation teams to analyze and identify emerging growth opportunities for Intelsat. In addition, he is responsbile for managing efforts that protect, optimize and leverage the company’s spectrum assets in support of Intelsat’s broader long-term growth strategy. He joined Intelsat in 2015.
Mr. Moakkit is a veteran of the satellite industry where he held various capacities over the last 29 years. Prior to rejoining Intelsat in 2015, Mr. Moakkit served as Vice President, Spectrum Development, at O3b Satellite Networks where he was responsible for managing and acquiring spectrum assets for the non-geostationary satellite operator, in addition to overseeing all of their regulatory activities at the ITU, CEPT, and other regulatory bodies. Before that, he was the Director or Regulatory & Spectrum Affairs where he created and managed the spectrum strategy for Yahsat (UAE), and was a key member of the Corporate Strategy team where he was instrumental in formulating and executing the expansion strategy for Yahsat in Africa and South America.
Prior to Yahsat, Mr. Moakkit was a member of the Spectrum & Regulatory group at Intelsat (previously PanAmSat) in Washington, DC. During his tenure at PanAmSat, he also worked in various system and sales engineering capacities. Early on in his career, Mr. Moakkit served as a systems engineer at ATCI, a nascent satellite systems integrator based in Tempe, Arizona.
Mr. Moakkit earned a Master of Business Administration Degree from Georgetown University and a Bachelor of Science Degree in Electrical Engineering from Arizona State University.
Intelsat S.A. is the world’s leading provider of satellite services, delivering high performance connectivity solutions for media, fixed and mobile broadband infrastructure, enterprise and government and military applications for more than 50 years. Intelsat’s satellite, teleport and fiber infrastructure is unmatched in the industry, setting the standard for transmissions of video and broadband services. From the globalization of content and the proliferation of HD, to the expansion of cellular networks and mobile broadband access, with Intelsat, envision your future network, connect using our leading satellite technology and transform your opportunities. For more information, visit www.intelsat.com.
Pacôme Révillon is Chief Executive Officer of Euroconsult, based in Paris, France. In his 18 years working in the sector, Pacôme has led Euroconsult’s strategy and operations and consults with high-level clients, particularly in satellite broadcasting, communications and finance.
Under his management, the company has experienced a continuous expansion internationally, and has strengthened its position as an international reference on the strategic, economic and financial aspects of space activities.
His work experience includes positions with the DLR in Germany and Thales in France. He holds a graduate engineering degree in Telecommunications & Space from SUPAERO and a Master’s Degree in Economics from DESIA.
Following many discussions around the use of the upper 6GHz band in the last couple of years, over the next few months it is likely that the future shape of the band should finally start to become a little clearer. The RSPG opinion on the band is expected to be adopted at the next plenary meeting which will take place just a few weeks after this event; and it is expected that a proposal for the European Common Position relating to discussions on the future use of the band in region 1 at WRC-23 should also be received around a similar time. Bringing together speakers representing both the mobile and the unlicenced perspective alongside a key policy position, this interactive discussion will look to take stock of the national positions that are emerging, the expected outcomes of these 2 key elements, and some of the work that is being done to study the best way to maximise the economic benefits that the band can offer. What might all this mean for the likely future shape of the band, and what impact would this have on the key users that are battling over access to it?
• What national positions are starting to emerge on the upper 6GHz band, both in Europe and around the rest of the world?
• What economic benefits would be offered by making the spectrum in the upper 6GHz band available on an unlicenced or a licensed basis respectively? What approach would provide the best option to maximise these benefits for stakeholders across Europe?
• How close are we to seeing the release of the RSPG opinion on the future of the band and also the adoption of a Common European Position ahead of WRC-23? What impact could these key decisions have on the future shape of the band both in Europe and elsewhere?
• Is there a solution available that would deliver a win-win for all parties, and ensure that sufficient spectrum in the band is available for both WiFi and IMT users?
Jonathan supports telecoms operators and regulators in areas including 5G network strategy, spectrum valuation and cost modelling. In particular, he has managed the development of complex quantitative models used to help operators develop their approach to 5G and to prepare for 5G spectrum auctions.
Jonathan’s core expertise is in supporting clients to assess their spectrum strategy, often ahead of major spectrum awards. This includes regulatory support, spectrum valuation, network strategy and bid strategy work. He has also supported clients to develop their business plans, and to prepare network costing models ahead of regulatory processes.
Prior to joining Aetha, Jonathan studied Physical Sciences at the University of Cambridge.
After a state exam of law at the University of Osnabrück, Mr Kühn has been working since 1998 in the area of legal internship (e.g. at Regional Court) of the Federal Network Agency, Germany; changing to national and international spectrum regulation on different levels in 2005. Nowadays he is the deputy head of section for international affairs and utilization concepts. His responsibilities cover strategic frequency utilization concepts and the transposition of those to the international level of CEPT, EU and ITU. Doing this and having been active in the preparation of three WRC’s, national and on CEPT CPG level, Mr Kühn participated in a number of international Groups, also as Head of the German Delegation. He has also chaired several groups and subgroups in the ITU and CEPT. Since 2005 he is responsible for national preparation of the WRC’s and served as CPG Vice-Chairman from 2010 to 2013 and as CPG chairman from 2013 to 2015. Mr Kühn was appointed as Chairman of the CEPT CPG in March 2016.
Dr Guillaume Lebrun has been an active member of the spectrum community for more than 15 years, working for Orange, Qualcomm, Airbus and now META. Guillaume contributed to key international spectrum projects such the opening of the 6 GHz band to Wi-Fi 6E and the regulatory framework for 5G.
Guillaume is a member of the Global Connectivity Policy team at META where he is working on several spectrum initiatives to improve connectivity. Raising spectrum efficiency and availability is at the core of Guillaume’s mission.
Guillaume holds an Engineering degree from ENST, Paris, France and a PhD in telecommunications from Victoria University, Melbourne, Australia.
Mr Jochum is a Senior Expert Public & Regulatory Affairs at Deutsche Telekom AG (DT). Jan joined DT in 2009 and has worked in the regulatory sector since 2014. Prior to joining DT he was working in different projects in Europe for a management consultancy firm. Jan holds a Master of Arts in Political Sciences from the University of Bonn, Germany.
Biography to be available shortly.
The future of the sub-700MHz (470-694 MHz) band is set to be one of the key issues for discussion at WRC-23. However, alongside the WRC discussions, there is also specific European legislation that governs access to the band. This guarantees priority access to the band for terrestrial broadcasting and PMSE services until 2030 at least, but also includes the opportunity for flexibility on a national level to introduce other services, on the condition that there is no interference to broadcast services. This session will look at the discussions that are taking place around the future of the band in Europe, both in the period up to 2030 and beyond. It will look at the extent to which the ‘conditioned national flexibility’ included in the current regulation, provides sufficient scope for regulators to consider national differences when making decisions on the band.
Since joining Analysys Mason in 2014, Chris has developed particular expertise in wireless technologies and spectrum, as well as cost modelling and geo-analysis for telecoms networks. Chris has worked on a large range of spectrum projects, such as valuation and auction strategy for mobile spectrum including costing of coverage obligations, 5G and 6G spectrum analysis (assessing bands from 400MHz to sub-THz), and spectrum projects for non-mobile telecoms technologies including satellite, microwave links, PPDR and many others. Chris maintains the company’s Spectrum Auction Tracker, a database of concluded and planned mobile spectrum auctions. He has experience in cost modelling developing long-run incremental cost (LRIC) models (for both fixed and mobile networks) in a number of markets around the world, as well as modelling the cost (and benefit) of 5G deployment. Chris also has extensive experience of geographic information systems (GIS) modelling for telecoms analysis in a range of contexts.
Chris joined Analysys Mason after graduating with a first-class MSc in Physics from the University of Cambridge.
Ulrich Rehfuess, Head of Spectrum Policy, Nokia Ulrich holds a diploma degree in Electrical Engineering of Technical University of Munich, Germany and one in Industrial Engineering of Fernuniversität Hagen, Germany. Of his 25 years of professional experience in Siemens, Nokia Siemens Networks and Nokia, he spent 20 years in R&D, business strategy, system architecture and product management of mobile radio network systems covering GSM, EDGE, UMTS with HSPA, Flash OFDM, WiMAX, LTE and LTE Advanced. In 2011, he assumed responsibility for spectrum policy within Nokia, now organised within the CTO and Nokia Bell Labs team. Ulrich is vice chair of the BITKOM Spectrum working group in Germany and chairs the DIGITALEUROPE spectrum working group in Brussels.
Elena Puigrefagut Coarasa, Senior Project Manager at the European Broadcasting Union, co-ordinates joint technical activities undertaken by EBU Members on frequency planning and spectrum management and regulation and, in particular, frequency planning studies for terrestrial broadcasting systems. She represents the EBU in a number of international committees as the CEPT, EC and ITU including ITU World Radiocommunication Conferences.
Prior to joining the EBU, Elena worked at Eutelsat, a global satellite operator, as a frequency planning engineer in the Operations Department. During this period, she was responsible for the planning of the satellites that supported the launch of digital TV across Europe in the mid-1990s.
Elena holds a Master’s degree in Image and Sound (ENST, Paris) and a M.Sc. in Telecommunications Engineering (Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya, ETSTB Barcelona).
Bio to be available soon.
6G technologies are expected to be up to 100 times faster than 5G, provide 20 times higher capacity and be able to support one microsecond-latency communication. Given how crowded spectrum frequencies today have already become, delivering the bandwidth to meet the needs of this future gigabit society is going will require innovative thinking from policymakers and connectivity providers alike. This session will look at how the overall spectrum requirements of 6G will differ from those of 5G and at the overall ‘portfolio’ of low, medium and high frequency bandwidth that may be required. With the demand across all frequencies that is expected to be seen be seen, it will look at the different spectrum bands, technologies and tools that will be available to regulators and connectivity providers in order to meet the 20 times increase in capacity that is expected to be required to fully enable the multitude of new use cases that come with 6G.
An engineer with broad experience in the telecoms and technology sectors, Andy has a particular interest in spectrum (auctions and valuation) and the impact of new technology (5G, AI, IoT and Big Data). He brings a deep understanding of both the industry and regulatory perspectives around the world through his role as Head of Policy for the GSMA and as Director of Spectrum Policy at Ofcom.
Andy spent 12 years at Vodafone, where he held various senior product development and corporate strategy roles. As Head of Spectrum, he was responsible for managing spectrum policy and auctions across the Vodafone Group. He led over twenty spectrum auctions around the world (including Turkey, Italy, Germany, India, Spain, Italy, Greece, Australia, Romania, NL and UK) from strategy/business case development to Plc. Board level sign-off and in-country implementation.
He was formerly a management consultant, has launched an internet payments and encryption company and worked as a research scientist at Sharp Laboratories of Europe and Sony Corporation, based in Japan. He has a doctorate in Engineering Science from Oxford University and an MBA. He is a frequent invited speaker at international conferences.
Jonas Wessel is Director of the Spectrum Department at the Swedish Post and Telecom Agency (PTS). He was also Chair of the Radio Spectrum Policy Group (RSPG) for the 2018-2019 period. The RSPG is a high-level advisory group that assists the European Commission in the development of radio spectrum policy. Jonas holds a MSC from the Royal Institute of Technology (KTH) in Industrial Engineering and Management. Jonas started his professional career as a strategy consultant, working mainly with business development in the telecoms and IT-sector.
In 2003, he joined the PTS as advisor on radio spectrum policy issues. After several positions within the Agency, including responsibility for auctions, he was assigned Director of the Spectrum Department in 2014. Jonas has been one of the driving forces behind the transformation of spectrum management in Sweden and has also been working with these issues internationally, mainly through the RSPG where he has been a delegate since 2004. He was Vice Chairman of the RSPG for the 2016-2017 period.
Umair serves as Chairwoman Rosenworcel’s Chief Counsel. From October 2017 through January 2021, he served as then-Commissioner Rosenworcel’s legal advisor for wireless and international issues. Umair joined the FCC from Wiley Rein LLP, where he was an attorney in the firm’s Telecom, Media, and Technology practice group. Umair also has served on U.S. delegations to treaty-writing conferences and meetings of the International Telecommunication Union and as Commissioner of the Consumer Protection Commission of Fairfax County. He graduated from the University of Virginia and received his JD from the University of Virginia School of Law.
Eliane is currently a member of the team developing and driving Ericsson’s global spectrum strategy. One of her focus areas is ensuring spectrum availability for 6G to enable the 6G vision and to realize the envisioned 6G use cases. Before taking on this role, Eliane held a role within global product compliance and market introduction of Ericsson’s products, covering several regulatory aspects, including spectrum regulations. She also had the opportunity to contribute to the 3GPP standardization work, to represent Ericsson in different CEPT ECC groups, to lead and manage research teams and projects and to contribute to Ericsson’s patent portfolio, as part of her previous journey at Ericsson Research.
Eliane graduated from Kungliga Tekniska Högskolan (KTH), Sweden, where she received her master’s degree in Wireless systems. Prior to that, she studied Electrical engineering at Université Saint Joseph (Lebanon).
Hazem Moakkit is responsible for shaping Intelsat’s strategic long-term positioning in the marketplace. In his role, he works closely with the company’s business development, asset management and innovation teams to analyze and identify emerging growth opportunities for Intelsat. In addition, he is responsbile for managing efforts that protect, optimize and leverage the company’s spectrum assets in support of Intelsat’s broader long-term growth strategy. He joined Intelsat in 2015.
Mr. Moakkit is a veteran of the satellite industry where he held various capacities over the last 29 years. Prior to rejoining Intelsat in 2015, Mr. Moakkit served as Vice President, Spectrum Development, at O3b Satellite Networks where he was responsible for managing and acquiring spectrum assets for the non-geostationary satellite operator, in addition to overseeing all of their regulatory activities at the ITU, CEPT, and other regulatory bodies. Before that, he was the Director or Regulatory & Spectrum Affairs where he created and managed the spectrum strategy for Yahsat (UAE), and was a key member of the Corporate Strategy team where he was instrumental in formulating and executing the expansion strategy for Yahsat in Africa and South America.
Prior to Yahsat, Mr. Moakkit was a member of the Spectrum & Regulatory group at Intelsat (previously PanAmSat) in Washington, DC. During his tenure at PanAmSat, he also worked in various system and sales engineering capacities. Early on in his career, Mr. Moakkit served as a systems engineer at ATCI, a nascent satellite systems integrator based in Tempe, Arizona.
Mr. Moakkit earned a Master of Business Administration Degree from Georgetown University and a Bachelor of Science Degree in Electrical Engineering from Arizona State University.
Intelsat S.A. is the world’s leading provider of satellite services, delivering high performance connectivity solutions for media, fixed and mobile broadband infrastructure, enterprise and government and military applications for more than 50 years. Intelsat’s satellite, teleport and fiber infrastructure is unmatched in the industry, setting the standard for transmissions of video and broadband services. From the globalization of content and the proliferation of HD, to the expansion of cellular networks and mobile broadband access, with Intelsat, envision your future network, connect using our leading satellite technology and transform your opportunities. For more information, visit www.intelsat.com.
The evolution of the satellite sector continues at pace, with an increasing number of next generation satellite technologies, including Non-Geostationary Orbit (NGSO) constellations and Very High Throughput Satellites (VHTS), emerging alongside more traditional GSO networks. In addition, the Commission is pushing forward with its own satellite broadband mega constellation, which is planned to be launched by 2028 with the aim of enabling coverage of both Europe and Africa for commercial and governmental services. This increase in services will bring exciting new opportunities, but also a dramatic increase in satellite demand for spectrum and orbital slots. This session will look at the regulatory challenges that this may create, including with regards to the way in which spectrum is allocated to satellite operators and the way in which interference is managed. It will look at the extent to which current rules and regulations governing access to spectrum are still sufficient in this rapidly evolving sector, and the role of both national regulators, ITU and 3GPP in the development of a framework that drives forward the Satellite Component of IMT-2020/5G. In an increasingly crowded and competitive market, what is the best way forward to ensure a future-proof and flexible spectrum licencing system to protect all users and allow the next generation of space-based connectivity to flourish?
Manuel joined techUK in February 2022, where he is now Programme Manager for the UK Spectrum Policy Forum and Satellite.
A journalist by training, he has written extensively about spectrum since 2018 for PolicyTracker. Manuel has a MSc in International Politics from the School of Oriental and African Studies in London. In his spare time he is currently trying to set up a supperclub.
Biography to be available shortly.
Mr. Patrick van Niftrik is Vice President, Spectrum Management & Development for the EMEA region at SES, the world’s premier satellite group. He is currently responsible for spectrum management and ITU related activities with focus on orbital assignment and spectrum utilization issues and proceedings. Mr. Van Niftrik is an active participant in the work of the ITU, most notably in WP 4A and JTG 4567, where he has been chairing a number of drafting groups. Mr. Van Niftrik has worked for SES since 2000 and has served in a variety of roles, such as Senior Sales Engineer and Capacity Management Engineer. Before that, Mr. Van Niftrik worked for three years in Madrid, Spain, on the precursor of the European satellite navigation system GALILEO. Mr. Van Niftrik holds a Masters degree in Aerospace Engineering from the Delft University of Technology in The Netherlands.
Justin Moore is currently Head of Space and Science in Ofcom’s Spectrum Group, with responsibility for Ofcom’s work on satellite filings and earth station policy. Justin has been at Ofcom since its inception in 2003 and has led spectrum policy work across a range of sectors, including mobile and broadcasting as well as the space sector. Prior to
Ofcom he was at the legacy regulator Oftel and a consultant in the telecoms sector.
Kimberly Baum currently works for OneWeb as Vice President of Spectrum Engineering and Strategy. Her role includes maintaining the spectrum rights for the company’s satellite fleet, defining and executing spectrum strategy domestically and around the world, and acquiring new spectrum rights. Prior to joining OneWeb, Ms. Baum held regulatory/spectrum positions at the FCC, EchoStar/Hughes, SES, and Motorola. Ms. Baum earned her Bachelor of Science and Master of Science degrees in Electrical Engineering from Virginia Tech and George Washington University, respectively.
Elodie Viau was born in Angers, France. She gained her MSc degree in telecommunications from Télécom SudParis in 2007, an MSc in Space Studies and Management from the International Space University in 2008 and an MBA from the Open University in the UK in 2018.
For the past 12 years, Elodie Viau has worked for SES, one of the world’s leading satellite owners and operators, based in Betzdorf, Luxembourg. She began her career with SES on a two-year Leadership Development Programme, working in a variety of roles on four missions within SES subsidiaries in Luxembourg, the Netherlands and USA.
In 2010, Ms Viau moved to SES Technology, Space Systems and Operations, in Toulouse, France, as a Satellite Programmes Senior Engineer. Here she served as Deputy Programme Manager for six satellites (ASTRA 1N, 2F, 2E, 2G, 5B and SES-6) built by Airbus Space. Between 2014 and 2018, she was the Programme Manager for the SES-10, SES-12 and SES-14 satellites built by Airbus Space.
In 2018, she moved back to Luxembourg to become Senior Manager and then Director of SES New Space Segment Development and, until recently, she was Vice-President for SES Technology Programme Management.
An engineer with broad experience in the telecoms and technology sectors, Andy has a particular interest in spectrum (auctions and valuation) and the impact of new technology (5G, AI, IoT and Big Data). He brings a deep understanding of both the industry and regulatory perspectives around the world through his role as Head of Policy for the GSMA and as Director of Spectrum Policy at Ofcom.
Andy spent 12 years at Vodafone, where he held various senior product development and corporate strategy roles. As Head of Spectrum, he was responsible for managing spectrum policy and auctions across the Vodafone Group. He led over twenty spectrum auctions around the world (including Turkey, Italy, Germany, India, Spain, Italy, Greece, Australia, Romania, NL and UK) from strategy/business case development to Plc. Board level sign-off and in-country implementation.
He was formerly a management consultant, has launched an internet payments and encryption company and worked as a research scientist at Sharp Laboratories of Europe and Sony Corporation, based in Japan. He has a doctorate in Engineering Science from Oxford University and an MBA. He is a frequent invited speaker at international conferences.
Rita Wezenbeek joined the European Commission in 2002. Before moving to DG CONNECT in December 2020, Rita was the head of DG Competition’s Anti-Trust and Telecommunications Unit, in charge of applying the European competition rules in the area of electronic communications. Between 2010 and 2017, Rita was the head of DG Competition’s unit dealing with Retail Financial Services and Payment Systems. The unit ia. dealt with the investigations against MasterCard and Visa and was responsible for the competition elements of the legislative processes leading to the adoption of the Interchange Fee Regulation and the Payment Services Directive II, opening the EU payment services market for non-bank players.
Before joining the Commission, Rita worked for sixteen years as a private lawyer, specialized in European and corporate law, at the Dutch/ Belgian law firm Nauta Dutilh. During fifteen years, she also was a Member of the Commission on European Integration, an independent advisory body on foreign policy to the Dutch government and Parliament.
An engineer with broad experience in the telecoms and technology sectors, Andy has a particular interest in spectrum (auctions and valuation) and the impact of new technology (5G, AI, IoT and Big Data). He brings a deep understanding of both the industry and regulatory perspectives around the world through his role as Head of Policy for the GSMA and as Director of Spectrum Policy at Ofcom.
Andy spent 12 years at Vodafone, where he held various senior product development and corporate strategy roles. As Head of Spectrum, he was responsible for managing spectrum policy and auctions across the Vodafone Group. He led over twenty spectrum auctions around the world (including Turkey, Italy, Germany, India, Spain, Italy, Greece, Australia, Romania, NL and UK) from strategy/business case development to Plc. Board level sign-off and in-country implementation.
He was formerly a management consultant, has launched an internet payments and encryption company and worked as a research scientist at Sharp Laboratories of Europe and Sony Corporation, based in Japan. He has a doctorate in Engineering Science from Oxford University and an MBA. He is a frequent invited speaker at international conferences.
Eric Fournier is currently Director for Spectrum Planning and International Affairs in ANFR, he is directly responsible for preparing the revisions of the French national table of allocation and for the coordination of French positions in international meetings on spectrum within ITU, CEPT and EU. He was Chairman of the CEPT Conference Preparatory Group for the World Radiocommunications Conference 2012 and has chaired several RSPG working groups dealing with EU interests in international meetings and cross-border issues.
The current Radio Spectrum Policy Programme has been instrumental in shaping spectrum policy and thinking in Europe since it was launched in 2012. Technological developments and societal challenges over the past decade mean that the world today is a very different place to how it was then, and whilst many of the general themes of the RSPP remain valid, work is now being done on the release of a newly updated spectrum roadmap that will help guide the evolution of next generation technologies and the path ahead. This session will look at what needs to be done to ensure a future-looking roadmap that builds on both the original RSPP and the spectrum policy elements of the European Electronic Communications Code, and ensures an efficient spectrum framework that supports broader European policy priorities and targets such as the European Gigabit Society, the European Green Deal and Europe’s Digital Decade.
An engineer with broad experience in the telecoms and technology sectors, Andy has a particular interest in spectrum (auctions and valuation) and the impact of new technology (5G, AI, IoT and Big Data). He brings a deep understanding of both the industry and regulatory perspectives around the world through his role as Head of Policy for the GSMA and as Director of Spectrum Policy at Ofcom.
Andy spent 12 years at Vodafone, where he held various senior product development and corporate strategy roles. As Head of Spectrum, he was responsible for managing spectrum policy and auctions across the Vodafone Group. He led over twenty spectrum auctions around the world (including Turkey, Italy, Germany, India, Spain, Italy, Greece, Australia, Romania, NL and UK) from strategy/business case development to Plc. Board level sign-off and in-country implementation.
He was formerly a management consultant, has launched an internet payments and encryption company and worked as a research scientist at Sharp Laboratories of Europe and Sony Corporation, based in Japan. He has a doctorate in Engineering Science from Oxford University and an MBA. He is a frequent invited speaker at international conferences.
Ms. Julija Varnaitė-Kamstra is a policy officer at the European Commission, Directorate-General for Communications Networks, Content and Technology, Connectivity Directorate, Radio Spectrum Policy Unit since 2020. She is primarily responsible for the legal matters and the coordination of legislative initiatives on radio spectrum policy.
Julija is a lawyer specialised in competition law and holds Master degrees from Vilnius University and King‘s College London. For the past 15 years Julija has held various positions in the European Parliament and the European Commission.
Eric Fournier is currently Director for Spectrum Planning and International Affairs in ANFR, he is directly responsible for preparing the revisions of the French national table of allocation and for the coordination of French positions in international meetings on spectrum within ITU, CEPT and EU. He was Chairman of the CEPT Conference Preparatory Group for the World Radiocommunications Conference 2012 and has chaired several RSPG working groups dealing with EU interests in international meetings and cross-border issues.
Luigi Ardito is currently working as a Senior Director of Government Affairs EMEA at Qualcomm. He is contributing to driving the Qualcomm spectrum and regulatory policy agenda in Europe dealing with various government entities and industry organizations.
He is also the Chairman of Digital Europe Spectrum Group and a part of GSA Spectrum management team.
Prior to joining Qualcomm, Luigi worked at Sony Corporation both in Japan and in the UK for over a decade. He has additionally gained a professional experience at France Telecom and at the Italian Public Broadcaster RAI. Luigi has extensive experience in the Media and Telecom industry as well as the Semiconductor Industry gained through his assignments at Qualcomm, Sony, France Telecom and RAI.
Maarit has an extensive expertise in telecoms, broadband and internet matters. She joined ETNO from the Internet Society, where she served as a Senior Manager Europe and where she has acquired strong experience of broadband policies as well as extensive links with internet and tech stakeholders. Maarit also had direct experience of the telecoms business during her 6 years at Cisco Systems and has developed a strong service-oriented, hands-on profile acquired in leading consultancies Interel and Schuman Associates. She also has a strong European academic background from the College of Europe, LSE, King’s College and SciencesPo.
Despite the challenging environment created by the global pandemic, preparations for WRC-23 are in full swing. Both within Europe and elsewhere in Region 1, positions are starting to emerge and good progress on preparatory studies is being seen. The first Inter-regional Workshop was held at the end of last year and provided the first formal opportunity for different regions to come together to discuss these emerging positions. This session will look at the progress that has been made in the six months since that, and more broadly provide an update to the preparatory work that is being done in key bands up for discussion in Region 1 (including the 470—960 MHz, 3.3 – 3.8GHz and 6GHz bands). With some of the preparatory meetings now finally able to return to an in-person format, this session will also look at the challenges that still lie ahead, and the work that needs to be done to ensure a successful outcome for European stakeholders at WRC-23.
Mr. Mario Maniewicz was elected Director of the ITU Radiocommunication Bureau at the ITU Plenipotentiary Conference 2018 in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. He took office on 1 January 2019.
Mario Maniewicz is an electronic engineer specialized in telecommunications. He has been with the ITU for over 30 years, where he has served in high-level management positions in the Radiocommunication and Development Sectors as well as in ITU Regional Offices.
As Director, Mr. Maniewicz is responsible for the management of the Radiocommunication Bureau, which organizes and co-ordinates the work of the Radiocommunication Sector whose aim is to ensure the rational, equitable, efficient, and economical use of the radio-frequency spectrum and satellite orbits.
Before joining the ITU, Mr. Maniewicz occupied a managerial position in Uruguay’s main telecommunications operator and was Assistant Professor in the Faculty of Engineering of Uruguay’s main University.
Mr. Maniewicz is married and has two children. He speaks Spanish, English, French and Portuguese.
Mr. Mario Maniewicz was elected Director of the ITU Radiocommunication Bureau at the ITU Plenipotentiary Conference 2018 in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. He took office on 1 January 2019.
Mario Maniewicz is an electronic engineer specialized in telecommunications. He has been with the ITU for over 30 years, where he has served in high-level management positions in the Radiocommunication and Development Sectors as well as in ITU Regional Offices.
As Director, Mr. Maniewicz is responsible for the management of the Radiocommunication Bureau, which organizes and co-ordinates the work of the Radiocommunication Sector whose aim is to ensure the rational, equitable, efficient, and economical use of the radio-frequency spectrum and satellite orbits.
Before joining the ITU, Mr. Maniewicz occupied a managerial position in Uruguay’s main telecommunications operator and was Assistant Professor in the Faculty of Engineering of Uruguay’s main University.
Mr. Maniewicz is married and has two children. He speaks Spanish, English, French and Portuguese.
Glyn Carter is Future Spectrum Director at the GSMA, where his main focus since he joined in 2012 has been on future spectrum. This includes preparatory activities for WRC-23 (and before that WRC-15 and WRC-19), including sharing and compatibility studies and other preparatory activities in ITU-R and CEPT. It also includes wider activities related to future spectrum for mobile broadband, including availability of spectrum for 5G and progressing of bands identified at WRC-15 and WRC-19 in ITU-R and CEPT.
Glyn has been involved in spectrum management for over 25 years. Prior to GSMA, this included working as a consultant for regulators in countries including the UK, South Africa, Sweden, Japan and Jordan. He has also worked for mobile operators in countries including the UK, Romania and Portugal, where his responsibilities included technology strategy, terminals and mobile data services, as well as regulatory activities and standards. Glyn has a BSc in mathematics and a PhD in cryptography from London University.
Jean-Pierre Faisan is spectrum policy advisor for TDF, and has been a Board Member of the association Broadcast Networks Europe since 2013.
A graduate from Ecole Polytechnique and Telecom Paris-Tech, he has more than 29 years of experience in the telecommunications industry where he held a series of engineering then managing positions at Intelsat, CCETT (now Orange Labs), Sofratev and Gobé and TDF. He is also the founder and managing partner of Leader Wave, a consulting company specialized on spectrum policy.
Alex Roytblat is Vice President of Worldwide Regulatory Affairs at Wi-Fi Alliance, where he is responsible for the organization’s overall regulatory strategy. In his role, Alex works with Wi-Fi Alliance members and the executive team on the development of regulatory objectives and directs advocacy for the implementation of these objectives with governments, regulators and international organizations.
With over 20 years of experience in the field of international telecom regulations, Alex is an internationally recognized industry advocate. Prior to joining Wi-Fi Alliance, Alex served at the United States Federal Communications Commission (FCC), where he was involved in all phases of domestic and international radio spectrum management processes. Previously, Alex held technical roles for Stanford Telecommunications and Booz Allen & Hamilton. He holds a Master of Science in Communications Networks from Johns Hopkins University and a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering (Eta Kappa Nu) from George Mason University.
Mr. Mario Maniewicz was elected Director of the ITU Radiocommunication Bureau at the ITU Plenipotentiary Conference 2018 in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. He took office on 1 January 2019.
Mario Maniewicz is an electronic engineer specialized in telecommunications. He has been with the ITU for over 30 years, where he has served in high-level management positions in the Radiocommunication and Development Sectors as well as in ITU Regional Offices.
As Director, Mr. Maniewicz is responsible for the management of the Radiocommunication Bureau, which organizes and co-ordinates the work of the Radiocommunication Sector whose aim is to ensure the rational, equitable, efficient, and economical use of the radio-frequency spectrum and satellite orbits.
Before joining the ITU, Mr. Maniewicz occupied a managerial position in Uruguay’s main telecommunications operator and was Assistant Professor in the Faculty of Engineering of Uruguay’s main University.
Mr. Maniewicz is married and has two children. He speaks Spanish, English, French and Portuguese.
Dr. Alexandre Kholod is Head of International Frequency Planning at the Swiss Federal Office of Communications OFCOM. In this role, he leads Swiss preparations for World Radiocommunication Conferences and is also responsible for international satellite coordination.
Alexandre has assumed various chairing and drafting tasks in both CEPT and ITU. He serves currently as Chairman of CEPT Conference Preparatory Group.
Alexandre holds a PhD degree in mathematics and physics from the Belarussian State University of Informatics and Radioelectronics and a Dr. Habilitation degree from the Aix-Marseille University.
Mr. Tariq Al-Awadhi is the Executive Director Spectrum Affairs in the Telecommunications and Digital Government Regulatory Authority.
Mr. Al Awadhi has 17 years of experience in spectrum management. He is the Chairman of the Arab Spectrum Management Group and has been the head of the delegations of the UAE to various international meetings and conferences and in 2012 he had been elected to chair the World Radiocommunication Conference 2012 (WRC-12).
His achievements in the field of spectrum management have earned him accolades from his contemporaries and the TDRA. His professional acumen has further been groomed through leadership and excellence programs.
Kezias Mwale is Radiocommunications Coordinator at African Telecommunications Union. He started his spectrum management career as a junior engineer in 2003 at the Zambia ICT Authority, rising to manager spectrum management in 2010 – a position he held until his appointment by the African Telecommunications Union (ATU) as a Radiocommunications Coordinator in 2012. He has been a keen and active contributor to national, regional and international spectrum management successes including development of the first Zambian national spectrum plan, the SADC spectrum plan, the GE-06 Conference during which he was appointed one of the planning experts for Eastern and Southern Africa. He has immensely contributed to the current improved status of Radiocommunications affairs of ATU.
Mr Mwale holds an MSc in Broadband and Mobile Communications with distinction from the University of Kent (2008), and an MBA from the University of Nicosia (2017).
Governments all around the world are under pressure to respond not only to an enormous amount of interest in spectrum bands, but also to a wide variety of potential uses. As wireless technologies move towards the next generation of connectivity – 6G, WiFi7 & beyond, next-gen satellites and more, this pressure is only going to increase. In order to meet these needs, some suggest there is a need for a rethink in terms of how spectrum is allocated and used, not just from regulators but also from the various industry players. Traditionally, connectivity providers have competed against each other for access to spectrum in order to provide, in the main, their own standalone service offerings. But should the future be more collaborative? The next 2 sessions will be centred around the increased importance of spectrum sharing and the scope for connectivity providers to swap competition for collaboration. What role can innovative new approaches and flexible, collaborative and forward-looking models of accessing spectrum play in helping to maximise the efficiency of the available spectrum and meeting the future connectivity needs of Europe?
Bio to be available shortly.
This session will focus on specific approaches to spectrum sharing that are being seen in Europe, and at how stakeholders can work together to develop a European approach to sharing. It will explore how emerging technologies can be leveraged to develop a spectrum sharing roadmap that both maximises the efficiency of key spectrum bands and is specifically built around the needs of European stakeholders.
Mr. Yates has over 30 years of experience in the telecom industry and is an expert in spectrum auctions, 5G-spectrum and broadband strategy, licensing, financial modelling, telecom and licensing policy and regulation as well as wireless and network technologies. His consulting experience includes projects in the US, Canada, Europe, North Africa and Australia.
Mr. Yates has supported bidders through the entire spectrum auction process, from the initial public consultation, to bidder training, simulations and mock auctions, game analysis, bid tactics and in-bid room support. Mr. Yates is co-leader of the development of the LYA Auction Platforms that support Combinatorial Clock Auctions (CCA), Simultaneous Multiple Round Ascending (SMRA) Auctions, Sealed Bid Auctions as well as Clock Auctions. He has also developed the LYA Auction Management Tools used to manage round-by-round bidding and decision-making.
Mr. Yates has provided regulatory and business planning support to operators and government agencies with respect to broadband investment, regulatory and deployment issues in rural and remote areas.
Prior to co-founding LYA, Mr. Yates held positions with Nortel Networks and Bell Canada. Mr. Yates holds a Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering and a Master’s degree in Operations Research/Management Science, both from the University of Toronto. He also has an MBA from Concordia University in Montreal.
Chris Woolford is Ofcom’s Director of International Spectrum Policy where his responsibilities cover the UK’s international spectrum interests, especially in relation to the ITU, CEPT and EU. He is a member of Ofcom’s Spectrum Executive Team and sits on various Ofcom Steering Groups.
Mr Woolford is active in various European spectrum committees and is currently Chairman of the CEPT Electronic Communications Committee (ECC). He has closely engaged for the UK on a number of key European initiatives, including the development of the Radio Spectrum Policy Programme, and UK initiatives in relation to the ITU. Mr Woolford led the UK delegations to WRC-15 and WRC-12 and is currently preparing to lead the UK Delegation to WRC-19.
Before joining Ofcom, Mr Woolford worked in various UK Government Departments, including 6 years at Oftel, where he worked on different aspects of telecommunications regulation.
Mr Woolford has a degree in mathematics and statistics from Manchester University.
Monica Paolini, PhD, is the founder and president of Senza Fili. She is an expert in wireless technologies and has helped clients worldwide to understand new technologies and customer requirements, create and assess financial TCO and ROI models, evaluate business plan opportunities, market their services and products, and estimate the market size and revenue opportunity of new and established wireless technologies. She frequently gives presentations at conferences, and writes reports, blog entries and articles on wireless technologies and services, covering end-to-end mobile networks, the operator, enterprise and IoT markets. She has a PhD in cognitive science from the University of California, San Diego (US), an MBA from the University of Oxford (UK), and a BA/MA in philosophy from the University of Bologna (Italy).
Jennifer McCarthy is responsible for the company’s regulatory and government affairs agenda. Jennifer is a telecommunications regulatory attorney with over 25 years of experience in the wireless sector having held a variety of government affairs, business development, and operations positions for several of the industry’s leading technology innovators. Most recently, Jennifer was with MVP Capital, working with wireless spectrum license holders, TV and radio station owners, and other online content service providers on a variety of M&A projects. Prior to that, Jennifer was Senior Vice President of Regulatory Affairs and Operations for NextWave Wireless Inc. and part of the executive management team of MediaFLO USA Inc., a subsidiary of QUALCOMM Incorporated, where she identified, purchased, and cleared the TV Channel 55 spectrum used to deploy the nation’s first network dedicated to the reception of mobile television programming and other multimedia services. She was also the head of QUALCOMM’s international government affairs team responsible for regulatory and international trade strategy at the International Telecommunications Union and related organizations. Early in her career, she worked with Freedom Technologies, Inc., a boutique Washington, D.C.-based telecommunications consulting firm and its associated law firm. Ms. McCarthy has a B.A. in political science from Yale University and a J.D. from Georgetown University Law Center. She is a member of both the California and Washington, DC Bars.
Reza Karimi is Director, Corporate Strategy, at Huawei Technologies, with focus on technology standards and spectrum regulation. Prior to this, he was Technical Policy Director at the UK communications regulator, Ofcom, with responsibilities in a range of spectrum management initiatives, including a review of the UK’s licence exemption framework, the auction of spectrum for 4G mobile communications at 800 MHz/2.6 GHz, and database-assisted access to TV white space spectrum.
Previously, he was with Bell Laboratories at Lucent Technologies, and Motorola GSM Products Division. He received a first class honours degree in Electronic Engineering from the University of Surrey, UK. He also holds a MSc/DIC degree in Digital Communications, and a PhD in Adaptive Array Signal Processing, both from Imperial College, UK. He is the author of over sixty publications in international conferences and peer-reviewed journals, and is co-inventor in over thirty patents. He is also visiting professor at Imperial College, London.
Tim is the Chairman and Executive Director for the Ultra Wide Band (UWB) Alliance. The Alliance is dedicated to developing interoperable specifications for UWB products and coexistence strategies for sharing spectrum with other RF devices and services. Tim is also the Chairman for the IEEE 802.15.4z Task Group as well as Vice Chairman of ETSI TGUWB. Tim is a long-standing advocate of standardization to expand markets.
Previously, Tim was Vice President of Hardware Product Strategy at Zebra Location Solutions Group, the leading developer and manufacturer of Real-Time Locating Systems, (RTLS). He directed hardware product management for the Zebra RTLS products including the WhereNet, Dart UWB, and GPS enabled product lines.
Tim served 16 years as VP of Product Strategy for WhereNet (acquired by Zebra) which introduced the first commercially available RTLS products. Prior to joining WhereNet, Tim directed Product Management for Symbol, where his team coauthored the first release of IEEE 802.11, and formed the Wi-Fi Alliance. An engineer with an EE degree from SUNY Stonybrook, Tim also spent several years developing software and hardware for Symbol.
A patent holder, Mr. Harrington is credited with developing new concepts in the areas of bar code scanning, wireless LANs, and RTLS technology. He has written many articles concerning RF and Auto ID technologies.
This session will explore the growing interest in the introduction of hybrid networks involving different technologies and connectivity providers. It will look at the extent to which collaborative models of this type could help to bridge connectivity gaps and enable seamless ‘always on’ connectivity for consumers and businesses, and at how innovative new approaches for licencing and accessing spectrum could be used to facilitate these.
Richard is Director of Spectrum Services for LS telcom. He has over 20 years consulting and business experience working in the radio spectrum management, public telecommunications, digital broadcasting and satellite industries. He has worked for regulators, network operators, financiers, governments and end-users on issues covering national and international policy; regulation and its impact; pricing, auctions and licensing; cost modelling and tariff setting; planning and consultation; network specification and procurement; and digital switch-over. His work has been international in nature having taken him to every continent except Antarctica. Richard is also an experienced trainer having been running courses on spectrum management and policy for over 15 years.
In addition to providing consultancy advice and training, Richard’s career has embraced roles in a military communications company, as a transmission manager for BBC World Service and business manager for the UK’s largest broadcast infrastructure provider ntl: (now Arqiva) giving him a broad perspective on telecommunications and broadcast technologies and industries, their commercialisation and their regulation.
Michael Daum is a Director of Technology Policy in Microsoft’s Telecom Group in Redmond, Washington. Michael’s primary responsibilities revolves around domestic and international spectrum policy and related issues that underpins connectivity to the cloud and to user equipment. Currently, much of his time is spent on licensed exempt spectrum policy issues and supporting Azure Space / Azure Orbital. Prior to joining Microsoft in 2013, Michael served as a Senior Policy Advisor to U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell in her Washington DC office for almost a decade. Michael staffed the Senator on Information and Communications Technology policy issues, other issues of interest to the tech community (high skills immigration, patent reform, capital formation, etc.), and on aviation policy.
Michael began his career as an engineer designing, building, and testing laser and electro-optic systems. After receiving an M.B.A. in the early 1990s, he decided to change course and became a project manager at the U.S. Department of Commerce National Institute of Standards of Technology Advanced Technology Program. Subsequently, Michael was loaned to work successively in the Office of the Secretary of Commerce, the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, and the White House National Economic Council on issues where technology intersects policy.
Stephen is Vodafone’s Group Public Policy Head of Spectrum and is responsible for managing the company’s spectrum and licensing policy across its 26 operating companies in Europe and AMAP. This includes setting the strategy for meeting the future needs of the business, engaging with national and regional regulators to shape policy, and managing spectrum licence valuation, acquisition and renewal activities.
Stephen studied Engineering at Cambridge and worked previously in the Japanese technology sector and as a strategy consultant in the international telecommunications and media sector.
Mindel De La Torre leads all regulatory and international market entry matters for Omnispace’s seamless ‘one global network.’ In this role, she applies her expertise in licensing, spectrum policy and international telecommunications to obtain key regulatory approvals on behalf of the company.
Previously, Mindel was Chief of the International Bureau at the Federal Communications Commission, where she led the agency’s efforts internationally – both on a bilateral and multilateral basis – including licensing of satellites. Prior to that, Mindel was President of Telecommunications Management Group, Inc., a leading global telecommunications policy consultancy. Throughout her career, she has held leadership positions on delegations to ITU global conferences. She also held various posts at the Department of Commerce in the National Telecommunications and Information Administration and the General Counsel’s office.
Mindel received her juris doctorate from the University of Texas and holds her bachelor’s degree from Vanderbilt University. She is a member of the Texas bar and the Federal Communications Bar Association and speaks Portuguese, French, Spanish, and Italian.
Having initially designated the 700 MHz, 3.5 GHz and 26 GHz bands as 5G “pioneer” bands, the Commission recently took a step towards the harmonisation of spectrum for the next wave of 5G evolution and expansion by updating the technical and regulatory conditions for the 900 MHz and 1800 MHz bands. This session will look at what this decision might mean for future 5G evolution in Europe, and for ensuring a co-ordinated approach to the identification of frequency bands for the next wage of 5G expansion. More broadly, it will look at the extent to which the refarming of legacy 2G and 3G bands in this way can be used to help meet future demand for additional bandwidth for 4G and 5G, and at how this process can be managed to maximise the efficiency and value of the available spectrum.
Amit Nagpal is a Partner at, and one of the co-founders of, Aetha Consulting. Amit has over 20 years of experience on spectrum management issues having started his career with the Radiocommunications Agency (now part of Ofcom) in the UK. Amit advises regulators/government bodies, fixed and mobile operators, broadcasters, financial institutions and industry associations on a wide range of issues including spectrum policy development and spectrum valuation and auction support. Amit’s experience includes leading studies for the European Commission on the introduction of spectrum trading and a harmonised approach to the digital dividend. Amit has undertaken projects for clients in Europe, Middle East and Africa, Asia and North America and is therefore able to bring a global perspective to his work. He recently supported a mobile operator in Colombia with its preparations for the AWS spectrum auction.
Biography to be available shortly.
Vice Chair of the Radio Spectrum Policy Group, co-rapporteur of the RSPG Working Group on Peer Review and Member State cooperation on authorizations and awards. R
