The 6G Global Summit will take place on 3 – 4 May 2023 as a hybrid event. Delegates are able to choose to attend the event in person in the Kingdom of Bahrain or online using our virtual platform.
Following the summit’s successful launch as a virtual event in 2022, we are delighted to now be working alongside The Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA) of the Kingdom of Bahrain to introduce an in-person element for the first time. We look forward to welcoming as many delegates as possible in-person to the city of Manama for 2 full days of discussion, networking and live demonstrations.
Registration is free of charge, and with places limited we invite you to book your place now:
All around the world, work on developing the 6G vision is picking up pace. We are on the brink of a new era of connectivity that promises to revolutionize industries and transform the way we live, work and communicate.
The 6G Global Summit will bring together top-level industry and policy representatives from all around the world to explore the path to 2030 and the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead. Early visions and research on future 6G technologies and requirements will be discussed, along with the key drivers, applications and use cases that are emerging. With sustainability expected to be at the heart of 6G, there is the potential over the next few years to build an ecosystem that helps to tackle some of the world’s biggest challenges. Join key global leaders at The 6G Global Summit, and be part of shaping a better future with 6G.
Venue
Royal Saray Resort
56, 428 King Mohammed VI Ave,
Manama, Bahrain
Royal Saray Resort
The resort sits on a private beach at a short 15 minutes drive to the airport, 15 minutes away from famous Qal’at Al Bahrain fort – a UNESCO World Heritage site, and 20 minutes from Adliya – Bahrain’s art, food and nightlife district.
More information on the hotel can be found here.
To receive an exclusive discounted accommodation rate, please contact 6Gsummit@forum-global.com
Other recommended venues can be found on the Global 6G Information Brochure.
Kingdom of Bahrain Entry Requirements
International visitors can apply for an eVisa via the online portal. For visa application and requirements, kindly visit
For further help, please email visa-assistance@tra.org.bh while also adding visa assistance request and conference name in the subject of email.
If you would like more information about visiting Manama, Kingdom of Bahrain, please download the information brochure below.
Accommodation
In partnership with TRA Bahrain we are excited to offer exclusive discounted accommodation rates at the following hotels. To receive this offer please register for the conference and get in touch at 6Gsummit@forum-global.com.
The Royal Saray Resort
The resort sits confidently on a private beach at a short 15 minutes drive to the airport, 15 minutes away from famous Qal’at Al Bahrain fort – a UNESCO World Heritage site, and 20 minutes from Adliya – Bahrain’s art, food and nightlife district. For culture and heritage adventures, there is so much to discover in the fascinating Kingdom of Bahrain. Delve into local history or take to the turquoise waters for an unforgettable day of fishing, sailing and diving, or water sports by the beach.
Ramee Grand Hotel & Spa
Ramee Grand Hotel and Spa in Seef, Bahrain, is just a 9 km ride from Bahrain International Airport. With exciting places such as Seef Mall, Bahrain Fort, and Wahooo! Waterpark, and Manama Reef Island nearby, Seef is a promising place to visit for leisure and business travelers. Bahrain National Museum, National Stadium, and The Walk Bahrain are nearby places worth visiting.
Swiss Belhotel Seef Bahrain
Situated in the country’s bustling business hub – Seef district, Swiss-Belhotel Seef is conveniently located only a 20 minute drive from the airport, with easy access to the main highways (zero/minimal congestion) as well as the first stop for visitors coming from the Saudi Causeway. The property is just a minutes’ walk from many cafes/restaurants as well as the Seef Mall. The island’s largest mall Bahrain City Centre is also just a short 5 minute drive away, making it the perfect location for both business and leisure
Royal Saray Resort
56, 428 King Mohammed VI Ave,
Manama, Bahrain
Royal Saray Resort
The resort sits on a private beach at a short 15 minutes drive to the airport, 15 minutes away from famous Qal’at Al Bahrain fort – a UNESCO World Heritage site, and 20 minutes from Adliya – Bahrain’s art, food and nightlife district.
More information on the hotel can be found here.
To receive an exclusive discounted accommodation rate, please contact 6Gsummit@forum-global.com
Other recommended venues can be found on the Global 6G Information Brochure.
International visitors can apply for an eVisa via the online portal. For visa application and requirements, kindly visit
For further help, please email visa-assistance@tra.org.bh while also adding visa assistance request and conference name in the subject of email.
If you would like more information about visiting Manama, Kingdom of Bahrain, please download the information brochure below.
In partnership with TRA Bahrain we are excited to offer exclusive discounted accommodation rates at the following hotels. To receive this offer please register for the conference and get in touch at 6Gsummit@forum-global.com.
The Royal Saray Resort
The resort sits confidently on a private beach at a short 15 minutes drive to the airport, 15 minutes away from famous Qal’at Al Bahrain fort – a UNESCO World Heritage site, and 20 minutes from Adliya – Bahrain’s art, food and nightlife district. For culture and heritage adventures, there is so much to discover in the fascinating Kingdom of Bahrain. Delve into local history or take to the turquoise waters for an unforgettable day of fishing, sailing and diving, or water sports by the beach.
Ramee Grand Hotel & Spa
Ramee Grand Hotel and Spa in Seef, Bahrain, is just a 9 km ride from Bahrain International Airport. With exciting places such as Seef Mall, Bahrain Fort, and Wahooo! Waterpark, and Manama Reef Island nearby, Seef is a promising place to visit for leisure and business travelers. Bahrain National Museum, National Stadium, and The Walk Bahrain are nearby places worth visiting.
Swiss Belhotel Seef Bahrain
Situated in the country’s bustling business hub – Seef district, Swiss-Belhotel Seef is conveniently located only a 20 minute drive from the airport, with easy access to the main highways (zero/minimal congestion) as well as the first stop for visitors coming from the Saudi Causeway. The property is just a minutes’ walk from many cafes/restaurants as well as the Seef Mall. The island’s largest mall Bahrain City Centre is also just a short 5 minute drive away, making it the perfect location for both business and leisure
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.
You can find more information about the Telecommunications Regulatory Authority via their website :
https://www.tra.org.bh/en/
Analysys Mason is the world’s leading management consultancy focused on telecoms, media and technology (TMT). We give clarity and confidence in answering our clients’ biggest commercial questions: What strategy will best enhance value? What implementation plan will be most successful? What is the optimal positioning for five years’ time?
We bring together commercial and technical expertise across four interconnected consultancy practices strengthened by globally respected research.
Ericsson is a world-leading provider of telecommunications equipment and related services to mobile and fixed network operators globally. Over 1,000 networks in more than 180 countries utilize our network equipment and 40 percent of all mobile calls are made through our systems. We are one of the few companies worldwide that can offer end-to-end solutions for all major mobile communication standards. Communication is changing the way we live and work. Ericsson plays a key role in this evolution, using innovation to empower people, business and society. We provide communications networks, telecom services and multimedia solutions, making it easier for people all over the globe to communicate.
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.
GSA (the Global mobile Suppliers Association) is a not-for-profit industry organisation representing companies across the worldwide mobile ecosystem engaged in the supply of infrastructure, semiconductors, test equipment, devices, applications and mobile support services. GSA actively promotes the 3GPP technology road-map – 3G; 4G; 5G, – and is a single source of information resource for industry reports and market intelligence. GSA Members drive the GSA agenda and define the communications and development strategy for the Association. The GSA Spectrum Group develops strategies and plans, and contributes studies and technical analysis to international, regional and individual country policy-makers and regulators to facilitate the timely availability of spectrum for use by mobile network operators.
www.gsacom.com
GSOA is a non-profit organisation established with the objective of serving and promoting the common interests of satellite operators from Europe, the Middle East, Africa and the CIS. The Association today represents the interests of 21 satellite operators who deliver information communication services across the globe. Together ESOA Members provide invaluable communications services to the whole world including emergency communications, live broadcasting, maritime and aero communications, secure services for governments, 24-7 monitoring of industrial processes such as energy plants and a whole range of other communications capabilities that society has come to rely on.
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.
Huawei is a leading global information and communications technology (ICT) solutions provider. Through our dedication to customer-centric innovation and strong partnerships, we have established end-to-end advantages in telecom networks, devices and cloud computing. We are committed to creating maximum value for telecom operators, enterprises and consumers by providing competitive solutions and services. Our products and solutions have been deployed in over 140 countries, serving more than one third of the world’s population.
Nokia is a global leader in creating the technologies at the heart of our connected world. Powered by the research and innovation of Nokia Bell Labs, we serve communications service providers, governments, large enterprises and consumers, with the industry’s most complete, end-to-end portfolio of products, services and licensing. From the enabling infrastructure for 5G and the Internet of Things, to emerging applications in virtual reality and digital health, we are shaping the future of technology to transform the human experience.
WWRF’s goal is to encourage research that will achieve unbounded communications to address key societal challenges for the future.
We are using the term “Wireless World” in this broad sense to address the support of innovation and business, the social inclusion and the infrastructural challenges
This will be achieved by creating a range of new technological capabilities from wide-area networks to short-range communications, machine-to-machine communications, sensor networks, wireless broadband access technologies and optical networking, along with increasing intelligence and virtualization in networks
This will support a dependable future Internet of people, knowledge and things and the development of a service universe.
ZTE Corporation is a global leader in telecommunications and information technology. Founded in 1985 and listed on both the Hong Kong and Shenzhen Stock Exchanges, the company has been committed to providing innovative technologies and integrated solutions for global operators, government and enterprise, and consumers from over 160 countries across the globe. Serving over 1/4 of the global population, the company is dedicated to enabling connectivity and trust everywhere for a better future.
Cullen International provides regulatory and competition intelligence in telecoms, media, postal and the digital economy – covering developments across Europe, Americas, the Middle East and North Africa, as well as key trends across the globe.
For over 30 years, we have been providing comprehensive, neutral, unbiased, timely information that is trusted by industry and official institutions alike. We are widely recognized as the leading regulatory intelligence provider in the field.
Our subscription services consist of a unique range of alerts, monitoring reports, benchmarks and inquiries that are complemented by our training and custom research services. Our outstanding regulatory library contains over 25 years of source documents linked to expert analysis of events.
We are also regularly selected to carry out important research and studies for the European Commission and other international organisations, and we are frequently sought out to chair or speak at industry events.
Strategically situated in Brussels, we are the eyes and ears on the ground for our clients, maintaining essential close links with all EU institutions, national regulatory authorities and our solid network of national regulatory experts in over 60 countries.
https://www.cullen-international.com/
Aetha Consulting provides strategic advice to the telecommunications industry and specialises in undertaking rigorous data-driven quantitative assessments to help businesses, regulators and policy makers make major strategic and regulatory decisions. We work with our clients to develop creative and sustainable solutions to the challenges facing them in a constantly changing environment. Aetha helps operators and regulators to analyse the opportunities and threats arising out of changes (whether real or proposed) in their radio spectrum holdings. Throughout the recent unprecedented growth of wireless services, Aetha’s staff have been at the forefront of spectrum policy. Our consultants have assisted regulators to award spectrum and develop regulatory frameworks, including supporting the European Commission to tackle issues such as spectrum trading and the digital dividend. We also support operators to understand their spectrum needs, value spectrum and bid in auctions. Each year we support 10-15 bidders in spectrum auctions – a total of over 80 award processes between mid-2011 and 2017 across all regions of the world. Our technical knowledge, combined with our rigorous valuation modelling approach, ensures that our clients are comprehensively prepared for auctions.
NERA Economic Consulting is a global firm of experts dedicated to applying economic, finance, and quantitative principles to complex business and legal challenges. For half a century, NERA’s economists have been creating strategies, studies, reports, expert testimony, and policy recommendations for government authorities and the world’s leading law firms and corporations. We bring academic rigor, objectivity, and real world industry experience to bear on issues arising from competition, regulation, public policy, strategy, finance, and litigation. NERA’s clients value our ability to apply and communicate state-of-the-art approaches clearly and convincingly, our commitment to deliver unbiased findings, and our reputation for quality and independence. Our clients rely on the integrity and skills of our unparalleled team of economists and other experts backed by the resources and reliability of one of the world’s largest economic consultancies. With its main office in New York City, NERA serves clients from more than 25 offices across North America, Europe, and Asia Pacific.
NERA Economic Consulting is a global firm of experts dedicated to applying economic, finance, and quantitative principles to complex business and legal challenges. For half a century, NERA’s economists have been creating strategies, studies, reports, expert testimony, and policy recommendations for government authorities and the world’s leading law firms and corporations. We bring academic rigor, objectivity, and real world industry experience to bear on issues arising from competition, regulation, public policy, strategy, finance, and litigation. NERA’s clients value our ability to apply and communicate state-of-the-art approaches clearly and convincingly, our commitment to deliver unbiased findings, and our reputation for quality and independence. Our clients rely on the integrity and skills of our unparalleled team of economists and other experts backed by the resources and reliability of one of the world’s largest economic consultancies. With its main office in New York City, NERA serves clients from more than 25 offices across North America, Europe, and Asia Pacific.
NERA Economic Consulting is a global firm of experts dedicated to applying economic, finance, and quantitative principles to complex business and legal challenges. For half a century, NERA’s economists have been creating strategies, studies, reports, expert testimony, and policy recommendations for government authorities and the world’s leading law firms and corporations. We bring academic rigor, objectivity, and real world industry experience to bear on issues arising from competition, regulation, public policy, strategy, finance, and litigation. NERA’s clients value our ability to apply and communicate state-of-the-art approaches clearly and convincingly, our commitment to deliver unbiased findings, and our reputation for quality and independence. Our clients rely on the integrity and skills of our unparalleled team of economists and other experts backed by the resources and reliability of one of the world’s largest economic consultancies. With its main office in New York City, NERA serves clients from more than 25 offices across North America, Europe, and Asia Pacific.
NERA Economic Consulting is a global firm of experts dedicated to applying economic, finance, and quantitative principles to complex business and legal challenges. For half a century, NERA’s economists have been creating strategies, studies, reports, expert testimony, and policy recommendations for government authorities and the world’s leading law firms and corporations. We bring academic rigor, objectivity, and real world industry experience to bear on issues arising from competition, regulation, public policy, strategy, finance, and litigation. NERA’s clients value our ability to apply and communicate state-of-the-art approaches clearly and convincingly, our commitment to deliver unbiased findings, and our reputation for quality and independence. Our clients rely on the integrity and skills of our unparalleled team of economists and other experts backed by the resources and reliability of one of the world’s largest economic consultancies. With its main office in New York City, NERA serves clients from more than 25 offices across North America, Europe, and Asia Pacific.
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.
Philip Marnick is the General Director of the Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA). He was appointed early January 2022 by the Members of the Board, to assume the position, paving the way for a more effective regulatory framework by continuing the evolution of the telecom sector liberalization.
Mr Marnick leads the TRA, including the development of consumer protection initiatives and resolving disputes. The TRA develops regulatory rules that promote competition, innovation, and investment in broadband services and facilities, as well as developing a more comprehensive and competitive framework that aligns with international best practices. Ensuring that Bahrain remains a center of innovation and that its telecommunications sector serves everyone while supporting Bahrain’s strategic objectives.
Before assuming his role at the TRA, Mr Marnick managed and directed at Ofcom in the UK, where he was the Group Director of Spectrum responsible for all aspects of UK national and international spectrum management – from strategy to delivery including awards, clearance and enforcement. Mr Marnick has worked in the telecommunications sector for over 30 years. He has served as a senior executive in technology, operations, and strategy. Mr Marnick has worked in both start-ups (from inception to sale) and major corporations, in firms such as UK Broadband, O2, Orange, BT, J-Phone in Japan (now Softbank Mobile), Extreme Mobile, and SpinVox (now Nuance).
From analogue to 5G, he has engaged across every mobile generation. Throughout his carrier he has been at the forefront of industry developments – in both fixed and mobile. He has collaborated on the first deployments of mobile networks utilizing new technologies and standards, this has also included innovative products such as the first camera phone and photo messaging service, as well as mobile internet and hosted voice services.
Professor Konstantinos Masselos has been appointed as the President of the Hellenic Telecommunications and Post Commission (EETT) in February 2018. He has been elected to serve as Vice-Chair of the Body of European Regulators for Electronic Communications (BEREC) for 2019.
In 2006 he joined University of Peloponnese, where he is currently a Professor in Computing Systems Design in the Department of Informatics and Telecommunications. Konstantinos served as Rector of the above university the period 2012-2017. During the period 2005 to 2008, he was Lecturer in digital systems at the Imperial College London. Also from 2010 to 2016 he served as Honorary Lecturer in the Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, at the Imperial College London. From 2001 to 2004 he joined Intracom Telecom SA in Greece.
Konstantinos has been involved in several research and development projects and has consulting experience in industry and public organizations. Since 2005 he has been regularly involved as an expert in different European Commission units. Additionally, Konstantinos was member of the Scientific Committee of European Cooperation in Science and Technology (COST) organization from 2015 to 2017. He has authored more than 120 papers in international journals and conferences.
Tariq Al Awadhi of United Arab Emirates is the Executive Director Spectrum Affairs
Department of the Telecom Regulatory Authority (TRA) United Arab Emirates. Mr. Al
Awadhi has 24 years of experience in spectrum management. He was elected
Chairman of ITU World Radio Conference (WRC) 2012. He headed a number of ITU Groups and meetings and contributed towards ITU resolutions, recommendations and studies. He represented the UAE in ITU, IMO, ICAO, Arab Spectrum Management Group, GCC Telecom Bureau and a number of other international and regional forums. He is currently Chairman of Arab Spectrum Management Group (ASMG).
Chih-Lin I is the Chief Scientist of Wireless Technologies, in charge of advanced wireless communication R&D effort of China Mobile Research Institute (CMRI). She established the Green Communications Research Center of China Mobile, spearheading major initiatives including 5G Key Technologies R&D; high energy efficiency system architecture, technologies, and devices; green energy; C-RAN and soft base station.
Chih-Lin received her Ph.D. degree in Electrical Engineering from Stanford University, has almost 30 years experience in wireless communication area. She has worked in various world-class companies and research institutes, including wireless communication fundamental research department of AT&T Bell Labs; Headquarter of AT&T, as Director of Wireless Communications Infrastructure and Access Technology; ITRI of Taiwan, as Director of Wireless Communication Technology; Hong Kong ASTRI, as VP and the Founding GD of Communications Technology Domain. Chih-Lin received the Trans. COM
Stephen Rice Best Paper Award, and is a winner of CCCP “National 1000 talent” program. She was an elected Board Member of IEEE ComSoc, Chair of ComSoc Meeting and Conference Board, and the Founding Chair of IEEE WCNC Steering Committee. She is currently an Executive Board Member of GreenTouch, a Founding Member of ETSI NFV Network Operator Council, a Steering Board Member of WWRF, and a Scientific Advisory Board Member of Singapore National Research Foundation.
Isabelle Mauro is Director General of the Global Satellite Operators Association (GSOA) that represents the interests of 29 global and regional satellite operators. She reports directly to their Chief Executives.
Under Isabelle’s leadership, GSOA and its member CEOs lead the effort to showcase the benefits of satellite communications for a more inclusive and secure society – vital to bridging the world’s digital divide, achieving the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals and realizing the 5G ecosystem.
Isabelle has 25 years experience in the Telecoms and Technology sector, starting at the GSMA, where she was responsible for government and international Affairs. In 2015 she moved to New York to join the World Economic Forum as Head of Information, Communications and Technology Industries, managing the portfolio for 60+ Tech companies globally and leading initiatives on inclusive and sustainable digital transformation.
Isabelle is passionate about inclusion and sustainability. She is Chair of the High-Level Advisory Board of the DigitalGoesGreen Foundation. She also sits on the Advisory Board of Women in Tech and is a member of the UNESCO Advisory Group for the Declaration on Connectivity for Education.
Isabelle holds an MSc in European Politics and Policy from the London School of Economics. She is fluent in French, English, Italian and Spanish.
Eliane Semaan is a Senior Researcher at Ericsson. She received her M.Sc. degree in wireless systems from the Royal Institute of Technology and joined Ericsson in 2011. She is currently working on spectrum regulations and involved in different CEPT ECC groups, focusing on the introduction of 5G in Europe. She has been involved in the 3GPP standardization work for several releases of the 4G and 5G standards, focusing on physical layer enhancements (RAN1) and coexistence studies (RAN4).
Shaikh Salman bin Mohammed Al Khalifa has been appointed as the CEO of the National Center for Cybersecurity, with more than 20 years of experience as he started his career in the Central Information Organization (CIO) , in addition to his tenure served at the Royal Court to set up the IT infrastructure. He then held several positions in the Information and eGovernment Authority (IGA), including a network engineer, head of the smart card initiative project section and general director of information technology, and ended up with his work in the authority as executive vice president of operations and governance.
Amongst the most significant projects that he has achieved at the IGA is the execution of the New Government Data Network (GDN) project on which High Speed MPLS resulted in linking all of Bahrain’s governmental agencies together, the development of the National Identity Card using the Smartcard Technology. Shaikh Salman also developed and implemented applications for several critical Government Organizations, which enabled the e-Government program to deliver e-Services through the National Portal Bahrain.bh by linking the systems in various organizations. He also established the Government’s private cloud which is the foundation for the consolidation project in government agencies. Moreover, he is currently leading the Government of Bahrain’s Technical team in migrating the Government’s IT services to AWS.
Shaikh Salman graduated from Suffolk University from Boston Massachusetts, USA with a Double Major in Accounting & Information Technology.
Richard has 30 years’ experience working in technology, policy and regulatory roles in telecoms and media. An engineer by background, he has practical experience of digital infrastructure design and deployment. In Ofcom, he is currently leading work to understand the radio spectrum requirements of next generation wireless technologies (such as 6G), assessing the potential of direct to device satellite solutions and how wireless connectivity can facilitate innovation in industry verticals.
Ulrich leads Nokia Standardization team. The team is responsible for global and regional standardization, technical regulation as spectrum. The team is part of the Nokia BellLabs CTO group.
Prior to that Ulrich lead Nokia Networks Industry Environment unit.
Between 2007 and 2012 Ulrich lead the NSN 3GPP standardization team and has served as Head of Delegation to 3GPP. Since 2009 he chaired the Industry Group “European Friends of 3GPP”.
Between 1996 and 2007, Ulrich held various positions in R&D of Siemens Mobile Networks unit. He was responsible for standardization activities of the core network business unit and managed Siemens 3GPP activities. Ulrich had instrumental role in the definition of the UMTS architecture as well as in set up of project management in 3GPP.
Ulrich holds a Ph.D. from Télécom ParisTech from 1996; research area was the definition of 3G Radio Interface and his research was part of EU collaborative research program (RACE ATDMA).
Chair of the GSA’s Global Spectrum Team and Director of Samsung’s Spectrum & Industry Affairs. Previously held a variety of roles including UK government 3G auction team, Nokia standards & regulatory affairs, 4G pioneer start up Flarion Technologies, Qualcomm business development and wireless energy harvesting start-up Drayson Technologies.
Marja Matinmikko-Blue is the Research Director of the Infotech Oulu Institute and Director of Sustainability & Regulation at 6G Flagship at the University of Oulu, Finland, where she also holds an Adjunct Professor position in spectrum management. She completed her Doctor of Science degree in communications engineering in 2012, and Doctor of Philosophy degree in industrial engineering and management in 2018 at the University of Oulu. She has been conducting multi-disciplinary research into the technical, business, and regulatory aspects of future mobile communication systems in close collaboration with industry, academia, and regulators for over two decades. She has published 180+ scientific papers and prepared 160+ contributions to regulatory bodies.
Pr. Soumaya Cherkaoui’s research and teaching interests are in wireless networks. Particularly, she works on next generation networks (5G and beyond), Edge intelligence/Network Intelligence, and communication networks/edge intelligence for verticals such as Connected and Autonomous Cars, IoT, and Industrial IoT. She leads a research group which conducts research funded both by government and industry. Before joining academia as a professor in 1999, she worked for industry as a project leader on projects targeted at the Aerospace Industry. Pr. Cherkaoui has held invited positions at leading institutions including the University of California at Berkeley. Bell Laboratories, Monash University, and the University of Toronto, as well as an adjunct position at Lulea University, in Sweden.
In 2010, she was appointed member of the Board of Directors of the Canadian Network of Centres of Excellence Auto21, Canada. Since 2017, she has been serving as member of MITACS Research Council. Pr. Cherkaoui avails of a long research experience in the wireless networking. She was named Distinguished Lecturer by the IEEE Communication Society. Her work resulted in technology transfer to companies and to patented technology. Pr. Cherkaoui has published over 100 research papers in reputed journals and conferences. She co-edited several collective works, has been an associate editor and guest editor of several IEEE, IET, Wiley and Elsevier Journals. She is currently on the editorial board of IEEE Network, the IEEE Journal on Selected Areas in Communications, IEEE Systems, Elsevier Vehicular Communications, and IET Quantum Communication. Her work was awarded with recognitions and best paper awards including a best paper award at the IEEE Communications Society Flagship conference IEEE ICC in 2017. She has chaired prestigious conferences such as IEEE LCN 2019, and has served as a symposium co-chair for flagship conferences including IEEE ICC 2021, IEEE ICC 2018, IEEE Globecom 2018, IEEE Globecom 2015, IEEE ICC 2014, and IEEE PIMRC 2011. She is a Professional Engineer in Canada, a senior IEEE Member, and is serving as the Chair of the IEEE Communications Society IoT-Ad hoc and Sensor Networks Technical Committee since 2020.
Bio coming shortly
David is currently the ETSI Director of New Technologies (NET), which involves tracking the latest ICT technology and business trends and all relevant research initiatives in order to identify appropriate technology standards needs and future opportunities for ETSI.
In addition, he works on outreach initiatives towards the research and academic communities, both in Europe and globally, as well as engaging with key European research programs such as Horizon Europe.
David has more than 30 years’ experience in the telecommunications sector, which includes over 20 years’ working in ICT standardization supporting both 3GPP and ETSI Technical and strategic groups.
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.
Philip Marnick is the General Director of the Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA). He was appointed early January 2022 by the Members of the Board, to assume the position, paving the way for a more effective regulatory framework by continuing the evolution of the telecom sector liberalization.
Mr Marnick leads the TRA, including the development of consumer protection initiatives and resolving disputes. The TRA develops regulatory rules that promote competition, innovation, and investment in broadband services and facilities, as well as developing a more comprehensive and competitive framework that aligns with international best practices. Ensuring that Bahrain remains a center of innovation and that its telecommunications sector serves everyone while supporting Bahrain’s strategic objectives.
Before assuming his role at the TRA, Mr Marnick managed and directed at Ofcom in the UK, where he was the Group Director of Spectrum responsible for all aspects of UK national and international spectrum management – from strategy to delivery including awards, clearance and enforcement. Mr Marnick has worked in the telecommunications sector for over 30 years. He has served as a senior executive in technology, operations, and strategy. Mr Marnick has worked in both start-ups (from inception to sale) and major corporations, in firms such as UK Broadband, O2, Orange, BT, J-Phone in Japan (now Softbank Mobile), Extreme Mobile, and SpinVox (now Nuance).
From analogue to 5G, he has engaged across every mobile generation. Throughout his carrier he has been at the forefront of industry developments – in both fixed and mobile. He has collaborated on the first deployments of mobile networks utilizing new technologies and standards, this has also included innovative products such as the first camera phone and photo messaging service, as well as mobile internet and hosted voice services.
Professor Konstantinos Masselos has been appointed as the President of the Hellenic Telecommunications and Post Commission (EETT) in February 2018. He has been elected to serve as Vice-Chair of the Body of European Regulators for Electronic Communications (BEREC) for 2019.
In 2006 he joined University of Peloponnese, where he is currently a Professor in Computing Systems Design in the Department of Informatics and Telecommunications. Konstantinos served as Rector of the above university the period 2012-2017. During the period 2005 to 2008, he was Lecturer in digital systems at the Imperial College London. Also from 2010 to 2016 he served as Honorary Lecturer in the Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, at the Imperial College London. From 2001 to 2004 he joined Intracom Telecom SA in Greece.
Konstantinos has been involved in several research and development projects and has consulting experience in industry and public organizations. Since 2005 he has been regularly involved as an expert in different European Commission units. Additionally, Konstantinos was member of the Scientific Committee of European Cooperation in Science and Technology (COST) organization from 2015 to 2017. He has authored more than 120 papers in international journals and conferences.
Tariq Al Awadhi of United Arab Emirates is the Executive Director Spectrum Affairs
Department of the Telecom Regulatory Authority (TRA) United Arab Emirates. Mr. Al
Awadhi has 24 years of experience in spectrum management. He was elected
Chairman of ITU World Radio Conference (WRC) 2012. He headed a number of ITU Groups and meetings and contributed towards ITU resolutions, recommendations and studies. He represented the UAE in ITU, IMO, ICAO, Arab Spectrum Management Group, GCC Telecom Bureau and a number of other international and regional forums. He is currently Chairman of Arab Spectrum Management Group (ASMG).
Chih-Lin I is the Chief Scientist of Wireless Technologies, in charge of advanced wireless communication R&D effort of China Mobile Research Institute (CMRI). She established the Green Communications Research Center of China Mobile, spearheading major initiatives including 5G Key Technologies R&D; high energy efficiency system architecture, technologies, and devices; green energy; C-RAN and soft base station.
Chih-Lin received her Ph.D. degree in Electrical Engineering from Stanford University, has almost 30 years experience in wireless communication area. She has worked in various world-class companies and research institutes, including wireless communication fundamental research department of AT&T Bell Labs; Headquarter of AT&T, as Director of Wireless Communications Infrastructure and Access Technology; ITRI of Taiwan, as Director of Wireless Communication Technology; Hong Kong ASTRI, as VP and the Founding GD of Communications Technology Domain. Chih-Lin received the Trans. COM
Stephen Rice Best Paper Award, and is a winner of CCCP “National 1000 talent” program. She was an elected Board Member of IEEE ComSoc, Chair of ComSoc Meeting and Conference Board, and the Founding Chair of IEEE WCNC Steering Committee. She is currently an Executive Board Member of GreenTouch, a Founding Member of ETSI NFV Network Operator Council, a Steering Board Member of WWRF, and a Scientific Advisory Board Member of Singapore National Research Foundation.
Isabelle Mauro is Director General of the Global Satellite Operators Association (GSOA) that represents the interests of 29 global and regional satellite operators. She reports directly to their Chief Executives.
Under Isabelle’s leadership, GSOA and its member CEOs lead the effort to showcase the benefits of satellite communications for a more inclusive and secure society – vital to bridging the world’s digital divide, achieving the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals and realizing the 5G ecosystem.
Isabelle has 25 years experience in the Telecoms and Technology sector, starting at the GSMA, where she was responsible for government and international Affairs. In 2015 she moved to New York to join the World Economic Forum as Head of Information, Communications and Technology Industries, managing the portfolio for 60+ Tech companies globally and leading initiatives on inclusive and sustainable digital transformation.
Isabelle is passionate about inclusion and sustainability. She is Chair of the High-Level Advisory Board of the DigitalGoesGreen Foundation. She also sits on the Advisory Board of Women in Tech and is a member of the UNESCO Advisory Group for the Declaration on Connectivity for Education.
Isabelle holds an MSc in European Politics and Policy from the London School of Economics. She is fluent in French, English, Italian and Spanish.
Eliane Semaan is a Senior Researcher at Ericsson. She received her M.Sc. degree in wireless systems from the Royal Institute of Technology and joined Ericsson in 2011. She is currently working on spectrum regulations and involved in different CEPT ECC groups, focusing on the introduction of 5G in Europe. She has been involved in the 3GPP standardization work for several releases of the 4G and 5G standards, focusing on physical layer enhancements (RAN1) and coexistence studies (RAN4).
Shaikh Salman bin Mohammed Al Khalifa has been appointed as the CEO of the National Center for Cybersecurity, with more than 20 years of experience as he started his career in the Central Information Organization (CIO) , in addition to his tenure served at the Royal Court to set up the IT infrastructure. He then held several positions in the Information and eGovernment Authority (IGA), including a network engineer, head of the smart card initiative project section and general director of information technology, and ended up with his work in the authority as executive vice president of operations and governance.
Amongst the most significant projects that he has achieved at the IGA is the execution of the New Government Data Network (GDN) project on which High Speed MPLS resulted in linking all of Bahrain’s governmental agencies together, the development of the National Identity Card using the Smartcard Technology. Shaikh Salman also developed and implemented applications for several critical Government Organizations, which enabled the e-Government program to deliver e-Services through the National Portal Bahrain.bh by linking the systems in various organizations. He also established the Government’s private cloud which is the foundation for the consolidation project in government agencies. Moreover, he is currently leading the Government of Bahrain’s Technical team in migrating the Government’s IT services to AWS.
Shaikh Salman graduated from Suffolk University from Boston Massachusetts, USA with a Double Major in Accounting & Information Technology.
Richard has 30 years’ experience working in technology, policy and regulatory roles in telecoms and media. An engineer by background, he has practical experience of digital infrastructure design and deployment. In Ofcom, he is currently leading work to understand the radio spectrum requirements of next generation wireless technologies (such as 6G), assessing the potential of direct to device satellite solutions and how wireless connectivity can facilitate innovation in industry verticals.
Ulrich leads Nokia Standardization team. The team is responsible for global and regional standardization, technical regulation as spectrum. The team is part of the Nokia BellLabs CTO group.
Prior to that Ulrich lead Nokia Networks Industry Environment unit.
Between 2007 and 2012 Ulrich lead the NSN 3GPP standardization team and has served as Head of Delegation to 3GPP. Since 2009 he chaired the Industry Group “European Friends of 3GPP”.
Between 1996 and 2007, Ulrich held various positions in R&D of Siemens Mobile Networks unit. He was responsible for standardization activities of the core network business unit and managed Siemens 3GPP activities. Ulrich had instrumental role in the definition of the UMTS architecture as well as in set up of project management in 3GPP.
Ulrich holds a Ph.D. from Télécom ParisTech from 1996; research area was the definition of 3G Radio Interface and his research was part of EU collaborative research program (RACE ATDMA).
Chair of the GSA’s Global Spectrum Team and Director of Samsung’s Spectrum & Industry Affairs. Previously held a variety of roles including UK government 3G auction team, Nokia standards & regulatory affairs, 4G pioneer start up Flarion Technologies, Qualcomm business development and wireless energy harvesting start-up Drayson Technologies.
Marja Matinmikko-Blue is the Research Director of the Infotech Oulu Institute and Director of Sustainability & Regulation at 6G Flagship at the University of Oulu, Finland, where she also holds an Adjunct Professor position in spectrum management. She completed her Doctor of Science degree in communications engineering in 2012, and Doctor of Philosophy degree in industrial engineering and management in 2018 at the University of Oulu. She has been conducting multi-disciplinary research into the technical, business, and regulatory aspects of future mobile communication systems in close collaboration with industry, academia, and regulators for over two decades. She has published 180+ scientific papers and prepared 160+ contributions to regulatory bodies.
Pr. Soumaya Cherkaoui’s research and teaching interests are in wireless networks. Particularly, she works on next generation networks (5G and beyond), Edge intelligence/Network Intelligence, and communication networks/edge intelligence for verticals such as Connected and Autonomous Cars, IoT, and Industrial IoT. She leads a research group which conducts research funded both by government and industry. Before joining academia as a professor in 1999, she worked for industry as a project leader on projects targeted at the Aerospace Industry. Pr. Cherkaoui has held invited positions at leading institutions including the University of California at Berkeley. Bell Laboratories, Monash University, and the University of Toronto, as well as an adjunct position at Lulea University, in Sweden.
In 2010, she was appointed member of the Board of Directors of the Canadian Network of Centres of Excellence Auto21, Canada. Since 2017, she has been serving as member of MITACS Research Council. Pr. Cherkaoui avails of a long research experience in the wireless networking. She was named Distinguished Lecturer by the IEEE Communication Society. Her work resulted in technology transfer to companies and to patented technology. Pr. Cherkaoui has published over 100 research papers in reputed journals and conferences. She co-edited several collective works, has been an associate editor and guest editor of several IEEE, IET, Wiley and Elsevier Journals. She is currently on the editorial board of IEEE Network, the IEEE Journal on Selected Areas in Communications, IEEE Systems, Elsevier Vehicular Communications, and IET Quantum Communication. Her work was awarded with recognitions and best paper awards including a best paper award at the IEEE Communications Society Flagship conference IEEE ICC in 2017. She has chaired prestigious conferences such as IEEE LCN 2019, and has served as a symposium co-chair for flagship conferences including IEEE ICC 2021, IEEE ICC 2018, IEEE Globecom 2018, IEEE Globecom 2015, IEEE ICC 2014, and IEEE PIMRC 2011. She is a Professional Engineer in Canada, a senior IEEE Member, and is serving as the Chair of the IEEE Communications Society IoT-Ad hoc and Sensor Networks Technical Committee since 2020.
Bio coming shortly
David is currently the ETSI Director of New Technologies (NET), which involves tracking the latest ICT technology and business trends and all relevant research initiatives in order to identify appropriate technology standards needs and future opportunities for ETSI.
In addition, he works on outreach initiatives towards the research and academic communities, both in Europe and globally, as well as engaging with key European research programs such as Horizon Europe.
David has more than 30 years’ experience in the telecommunications sector, which includes over 20 years’ working in ICT standardization supporting both 3GPP and ETSI Technical and strategic groups.
Bio coming shortly.
Lacina Kone is the Director General and Chief Executive Officer of Smart Africa since March 2019.
He oversees the process of defining and advancing Africa’s digital agenda and has overseen the development of continental blueprints for Africa on Digital Identity, ICT Start-ups and Innovation Ecosystems, Smart Villages and the definition of Africa’s Smart Broadband 2025 Strategy in addition to advancing additional key continental initiatives. In recognition for this work, Mr. Koné has reached the 12th position in 2021 among the 50 personalities advancing Africa’s digital transformation. He recently ranked number 3 among the 10 Africa digital trendsetters in the 2022 Jeune Afrique technology ranking.
Prior to that, he served as the advisor to the Prime Minister of the Republic of Côte d’Ivoire (2017-2018), in charge of Digital Transformation and Public Reforms, and was also the advisor to the President from 2011-2017. Mr. Kone is a professional of ICT industry with over 25 years’ experience in the telecommunications, satellite and intelligent transport system. Prior to that, Mr. Koné held during his career several high level technical and managerial positions with firms such as Booz Allen Hamilton and Intelsat.
Mr. Kone holds a bachelor’s degree in electronic engineering (United Arab Emirates), he has validated his Polytechnique rank at the University of Brunel (UK), and he holds and an MBA from George Washington University (US).
He also sits on the advisory boards of Benya Capital (Egypt) and Townlabour Technologies (US) and he is also a Commissioner in the Broadband Commission for Sustainable Development (BBCOM).
H.E. Eng Belal Al-Hafnawi is an ICT executive leader experienced in technology, management, leadership, regulatory and strategy. Currently working as Commissioner and full time Board Member at the Telecommunications Regulatory Commission (TRC).
His Excellency Belal has 20 years’ experience in technology, telecommunications, information technology and digital transformation. He has worked with several international mobile network vendors and service providers including Huawei, Motorola, Nokia, Samsung Electronics and STC.
He has wide work experience in various telecommunications fields, which include management, advisory, strategy, technical consulting, managing complex programs and projects, operation management and quality.
He holds Bachelor and Master’s degrees in Telecommunications from the University of Jordan, and holds executive certification in Management and Leadership from Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), United states, which focused on business implications in Artificial Intelligence and Internet of Things and platform strategies.
He is a technical writer, author and international speaker.
Bio coming shortly.
Mohaned Juwad is responsible in assisting Intelsat’s strategic long-term spectrum position in the marketplace. In his role, he works closely with the company’s vice president on corporate and spectrum strategy and the spectrum strategy team to analyze and identify emerging spectrum opportunities and risks for Intelsat. In addition, he is responsible for managing efforts from Europe, Middle East and Africa that protect, optimize and leverage the company’s spectrum assets in support of Intelsat’s broader long-term growth strategy.
Dr. Juwad has over 13 years’ experience within the satellite industry where he held various roles in the past. Prior to rejoining Intelsat in 2016, Dr. Juwad served as manager, regulatory licensing and market access, at Avanti Communications Group Plc where he was responsible for managing and acquiring licensing and authorization for Ka-band geostationary satellite services across Europe, Middle East and the Africa region, in addition to overseeing regulatory activities at the ITU, CEPT, and other regulatory bodies. Before that, he worked as a consultant where he worked in ESA funded projects to develop the DVB-S2 standard operating in Ka-band, and also developed Ka-band mortised terminals where he was instrumental in developing a commercial self-aligned antenna.
Dr. Juwad earned a Philosophy of Doctorate (PhD) from Isambard Kingdom Brunel University and a Bachelor of Science Degree in Electrical Engineering at Herefordshire University. Intelsat S.A. (NYSE: I) 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.
Dr. Tassos Lyratzis is an Electrical & Computer Engineer and holds a PhD in the field of Telecommunications & Computer Networks (1994). During his PhD studies, he worked as a specialist in Telecommunications in various European research projects.
He is working in EETT since 2001, in the Spectrum Directorate. He has been the Head of the Spectrum Management Department (2003-2006) when EETT was involved in the Spectrum Management of the Olympic Games of Athens in 2004. Since 2011 he is Head (Director) of Spectrum Division of EETT. He participates in international activities in European Union Regulatory bodies like the Radio Spectrum Committee (2003-2006) and the Radio Spectrum Policy Group (2011 – today).
In 2016 he became the co-rapporteur for the Working Group 5G “Spectrum related aspects for next-generation wireless systems (5G)” in RSPG.
Forhadul Parvez has been working as a Programme Officer at Asia-Pacific Telecommunity for 19 years. Asia-Pacific Telecommunity is part of the Telecommunications industry, and located in Thailand.
Superintendent of Granting and Resources for the Provision of Telecommunication Services. Master in Telecommunications Engineering and postgraduate in Telecommunications Management from the University of Brasília (UnB). Specialist in Governance and Control of Regulation by the National School of Public Administration (ENAP). Telecommunications Network Consultant between 1998 and 2011. Professor in Electrical Engineering courses at private universities in Brasília. Agency employee since 2011, having worked in the regulatory area, in the area of Critical Infrastructure Management and manager of Quality Obligations Control.
Anatel’s Commissioner Carlos Baigorri, currently President of the Board of Directors, has a degree in Economic Sciences from the University of Brasília (UnB), with a Master’s and Doctorate in Economics from the Catholic University of Brasília (UCB). Acting in the telecommunications area since 2006, he was a consultant and analyst of sector information in an Association of mobile operators. He has also served as an undergraduate professor at the Catholic University of Brasilia (UCB), at the Institute of Higher Education of Brasília (IESB), and at the Brazilian Institute of Capital Markets (IBMEC). In addition, he wrote articles and book chapters published in Brazil and abroad. He has been a permanent career employee at Anatel since 2009, where he has been previously nominated Executive Superintendent, Competition Superintendent, Obligations Control Superintendent, and Head of Technical Assistance.
Bio coming shortly.
Mohaned Juwad is responsible in assisting Intelsat’s strategic long-term spectrum position in the marketplace. In his role, he works closely with the company’s vice president on corporate and spectrum strategy and the spectrum strategy team to analyze and identify emerging spectrum opportunities and risks for Intelsat. In addition, he is responsible for managing efforts from Europe, Middle East and Africa that protect, optimize and leverage the company’s spectrum assets in support of Intelsat’s broader long-term growth strategy.
Dr. Juwad has over 13 years’ experience within the satellite industry where he held various roles in the past. Prior to rejoining Intelsat in 2016, Dr. Juwad served as manager, regulatory licensing and market access, at Avanti Communications Group Plc where he was responsible for managing and acquiring licensing and authorization for Ka-band geostationary satellite services across Europe, Middle East and the Africa region, in addition to overseeing regulatory activities at the ITU, CEPT, and other regulatory bodies. Before that, he worked as a consultant where he worked in ESA funded projects to develop the DVB-S2 standard operating in Ka-band, and also developed Ka-band mortised terminals where he was instrumental in developing a commercial self-aligned antenna.
Dr. Juwad earned a Philosophy of Doctorate (PhD) from Isambard Kingdom Brunel University and a Bachelor of Science Degree in Electrical Engineering at Herefordshire University. Intelsat S.A. (NYSE: I) 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.
Dr. Tassos Lyratzis is an Electrical & Computer Engineer and holds a PhD in the field of Telecommunications & Computer Networks (1994). During his PhD studies, he worked as a specialist in Telecommunications in various European research projects.
He is working in EETT since 2001, in the Spectrum Directorate. He has been the Head of the Spectrum Management Department (2003-2006) when EETT was involved in the Spectrum Management of the Olympic Games of Athens in 2004. Since 2011 he is Head (Director) of Spectrum Division of EETT. He participates in international activities in European Union Regulatory bodies like the Radio Spectrum Committee (2003-2006) and the Radio Spectrum Policy Group (2011 – today).
In 2016 he became the co-rapporteur for the Working Group 5G “Spectrum related aspects for next-generation wireless systems (5G)” in RSPG.
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Including 6G in action demos
Philip Marnick is the General Director of the Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA). He was appointed early January 2022 by the Members of the Board, to assume the position, paving the way for a more effective regulatory framework by continuing the evolution of the telecom sector liberalization.
Mr Marnick leads the TRA, including the development of consumer protection initiatives and resolving disputes. The TRA develops regulatory rules that promote competition, innovation, and investment in broadband services and facilities, as well as developing a more comprehensive and competitive framework that aligns with international best practices. Ensuring that Bahrain remains a center of innovation and that its telecommunications sector serves everyone while supporting Bahrain’s strategic objectives.
Before assuming his role at the TRA, Mr Marnick managed and directed at Ofcom in the UK, where he was the Group Director of Spectrum responsible for all aspects of UK national and international spectrum management – from strategy to delivery including awards, clearance and enforcement. Mr Marnick has worked in the telecommunications sector for over 30 years. He has served as a senior executive in technology, operations, and strategy. Mr Marnick has worked in both start-ups (from inception to sale) and major corporations, in firms such as UK Broadband, O2, Orange, BT, J-Phone in Japan (now Softbank Mobile), Extreme Mobile, and SpinVox (now Nuance).
From analogue to 5G, he has engaged across every mobile generation. Throughout his carrier he has been at the forefront of industry developments – in both fixed and mobile. He has collaborated on the first deployments of mobile networks utilizing new technologies and standards, this has also included innovative products such as the first camera phone and photo messaging service, as well as mobile internet and hosted voice services.
Professor Konstantinos Masselos has been appointed as the President of the Hellenic Telecommunications and Post Commission (EETT) in February 2018. He has been elected to serve as Vice-Chair of the Body of European Regulators for Electronic Communications (BEREC) for 2019.
In 2006 he joined University of Peloponnese, where he is currently a Professor in Computing Systems Design in the Department of Informatics and Telecommunications. Konstantinos served as Rector of the above university the period 2012-2017. During the period 2005 to 2008, he was Lecturer in digital systems at the Imperial College London. Also from 2010 to 2016 he served as Honorary Lecturer in the Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, at the Imperial College London. From 2001 to 2004 he joined Intracom Telecom SA in Greece.
Konstantinos has been involved in several research and development projects and has consulting experience in industry and public organizations. Since 2005 he has been regularly involved as an expert in different European Commission units. Additionally, Konstantinos was member of the Scientific Committee of European Cooperation in Science and Technology (COST) organization from 2015 to 2017. He has authored more than 120 papers in international journals and conferences.
Chair of the GSA’s Global Spectrum Team and Director of Samsung’s Spectrum & Industry Affairs. Previously held a variety of roles including UK government 3G auction team, Nokia standards & regulatory affairs, 4G pioneer start up Flarion Technologies, Qualcomm business development and wireless energy harvesting start-up Drayson Technologies.
Work around the world has started at pace on building the 6G vision. Companies, research institutes, universities and Governments are coming forward with early visions and research on future 6G technologies and requirements. Key drivers, applications and use cases are being identified – mobile broadband extension, extended reality (XR) and holographic communications, the internet of senses, massive digital twin and more. However, there is a growing view that we should be taking a different approach to previous generations and that it should be outcome-led rather than technology-led, with societal and global challenges central to the overall 6G vision. This session will look at the early progress that is being made around the world on 6G development. It will look at what ultimately we are trying to achieve with 6G and explore whether we are yet at the stage that a consensus has been reached both on this vision for 6G and also on the path that needs to be taken in order to deliver it.
Johann is a Partner at Analysys Mason and is based in Dubai.
Johann has close to 15 years’ experience in telecoms, spanning engineering and consulting. He joined Analysys Mason in 2008, and is one of our experts in broadband and fiber (next-generation access) networks, having worked on many assignments in these areas in relation to strategy, regulation, transaction support/business planning or litigation support, worldwide and in particular in the Middle East. Johann has particular expertise in regulation and policy: he has assisted many operators and regulators in Europe and the Middle East on topics such as regulatory lobbying, reference/wholesale offers, core regulation (dominance determination, numbering/number portability, etc.) and cost modelling.
Johann holds a Master of Science from Télécom ParisTech (formerly ENST), a Master’s degree in telecommunications engineering from the University of Melbourne and a Master’s degree in Corporate Finance from the Conservatoire National des Arts et Métiers in France. Before joining Analysys Mason, Johann held positions focusing on network architecture, design and sales support with fixed and mobile network operators in France (Completel and Bouygues Telecom).
Peter is managing the Commission’s policy on 5G communication systems and the related research and innovation programme.
Before his appointment as Head of Unit he was managing the office of the Director General of DG CONNECT, Roberto Viola, coordinating the Commission’s digital policy initiatives. The portfolio included Digital Single Market, Broadband Policy, Telecoms, Media and Online Policy, the Copyright Reform as well as the EU ICT Research and Innovation Programme.
Between 2010 and 2014 he had different roles in the Commission’s telecoms policy Directorate. These included Head of Sector “Spectrum Policy”, penholder of main elements of the Commission proposal on the Telecom Single Market and the Roaming regulation, and the implementation of the EU telecom rules in Germany and Austria.
Between 2005 and 2010 he coordinated the EU R&D programme leading to the 4G mobile communications standards.
Before joining the European Commission in 2004 he has occupied several engineering and management positions in industry, academia and start-ups. He holds engineering and doctoral degrees from RWTH Aachen University, Germany.
Isabelle Mauro is Director General of the Global Satellite Operators Association (GSOA) that represents the interests of 29 global and regional satellite operators. She reports directly to their Chief Executives.
Under Isabelle’s leadership, GSOA and its member CEOs lead the effort to showcase the benefits of satellite communications for a more inclusive and secure society – vital to bridging the world’s digital divide, achieving the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals and realizing the 5G ecosystem.
Isabelle has 25 years experience in the Telecoms and Technology sector, starting at the GSMA, where she was responsible for government and international Affairs. In 2015 she moved to New York to join the World Economic Forum as Head of Information, Communications and Technology Industries, managing the portfolio for 60+ Tech companies globally and leading initiatives on inclusive and sustainable digital transformation.
Isabelle is passionate about inclusion and sustainability. She is Chair of the High-Level Advisory Board of the DigitalGoesGreen Foundation. She also sits on the Advisory Board of Women in Tech and is a member of the UNESCO Advisory Group for the Declaration on Connectivity for Education.
Isabelle holds an MSc in European Politics and Policy from the London School of Economics. She is fluent in French, English, Italian and Spanish.
Including 6G in action demos
The pre-standards research is crucial in moulding the overall shape of any future technology and paving the way for what it is hoped will be a single, unified global standard. This is very much the case with 6G, but concerns are emerging that geopolitical challenges are leading to countries not working as closely together as they could be to agree upon key technical standards on frequencies, signal modulations and waveforms. If this is the case then it could mean that a split is seen, with different versions of 6G developing in a similar way that was seen with 3G and earlier generations. This session will look at how 6G standards may differ from those that are seen today, and will explore the early research that is taking place around the world. It will look at the level of international coordination that is being seen and explore whether the delivery of a single global standard for 6G can still be a realistic aim, and at what the impact may be if this is not achieved and a split emerges.
David is currently the ETSI Director of New Technologies (NET), which involves tracking the latest ICT technology and business trends and all relevant research initiatives in order to identify appropriate technology standards needs and future opportunities for ETSI.
In addition, he works on outreach initiatives towards the research and academic communities, both in Europe and globally, as well as engaging with key European research programs such as Horizon Europe.
David has more than 30 years’ experience in the telecommunications sector, which includes over 20 years’ working in ICT standardization supporting both 3GPP and ETSI Technical and strategic groups.
Chih-Lin I is the Chief Scientist of Wireless Technologies, in charge of advanced wireless communication R&D effort of China Mobile Research Institute (CMRI). She established the Green Communications Research Center of China Mobile, spearheading major initiatives including 5G Key Technologies R&D; high energy efficiency system architecture, technologies, and devices; green energy; C-RAN and soft base station.
Chih-Lin received her Ph.D. degree in Electrical Engineering from Stanford University, has almost 30 years experience in wireless communication area. She has worked in various world-class companies and research institutes, including wireless communication fundamental research department of AT&T Bell Labs; Headquarter of AT&T, as Director of Wireless Communications Infrastructure and Access Technology; ITRI of Taiwan, as Director of Wireless Communication Technology; Hong Kong ASTRI, as VP and the Founding GD of Communications Technology Domain. Chih-Lin received the Trans. COM
Stephen Rice Best Paper Award, and is a winner of CCCP “National 1000 talent” program. She was an elected Board Member of IEEE ComSoc, Chair of ComSoc Meeting and Conference Board, and the Founding Chair of IEEE WCNC Steering Committee. She is currently an Executive Board Member of GreenTouch, a Founding Member of ETSI NFV Network Operator Council, a Steering Board Member of WWRF, and a Scientific Advisory Board Member of Singapore National Research Foundation.
Superintendent of Granting and Resources for the Provision of Telecommunication Services. Master in Telecommunications Engineering and postgraduate in Telecommunications Management from the University of Brasília (UnB). Specialist in Governance and Control of Regulation by the National School of Public Administration (ENAP). Telecommunications Network Consultant between 1998 and 2011. Professor in Electrical Engineering courses at private universities in Brasília. Agency employee since 2011, having worked in the regulatory area, in the area of Critical Infrastructure Management and manager of Quality Obligations Control.
Dr. Alex Jinsung Choi is Chairman of the O-RAN ALLIANCE and Senior Vice President, Group Technology and Head of T-Labs, which is the central Research & Development division of Deutsche Telekom. In addition, he is member of the Technology & Innovation management board, where he has responsibility for several strategic topics.
Dr. Choi has been a thought leader for over 20 years in the mobile telecommunication industry & consumer electronics by driving forward key strategic and research topics in Telco and AI.
Dr. Choi was the first Chairman of the Telecom Infra Project (TIP) and previously served as CTO for SK Telekom. With the introduction of “NUGU”, the first AI- based virtual assistant in Korea, Dr. Choi was influential in the development of AI solutions.
Ulrich leads Nokia Standardization team. The team is responsible for global and regional standardization, technical regulation as spectrum. The team is part of the Nokia BellLabs CTO group.
Prior to that Ulrich lead Nokia Networks Industry Environment unit.
Between 2007 and 2012 Ulrich lead the NSN 3GPP standardization team and has served as Head of Delegation to 3GPP. Since 2009 he chaired the Industry Group “European Friends of 3GPP”.
Between 1996 and 2007, Ulrich held various positions in R&D of Siemens Mobile Networks unit. He was responsible for standardization activities of the core network business unit and managed Siemens 3GPP activities. Ulrich had instrumental role in the definition of the UMTS architecture as well as in set up of project management in 3GPP.
Ulrich holds a Ph.D. from Télécom ParisTech from 1996; research area was the definition of 3G Radio Interface and his research was part of EU collaborative research program (RACE ATDMA).
The arrival of 5G was met with a great deal of excitement about the potential new revenue streams and market opportunities that it would facilitate. In reality however, this promise is still yet to be met, and to date there have been significant challenges in delivering a viable business model to recoup the huge initial investment that was required. As we now move towards 6G and with companies already starting to vie for a share of this lucrative new market, this session will look at the lessons that can be taken from 5G and the best way forward to deliver the successful commercialization of 6G. With billions of dollars set to be spent to get to 6G, it will discuss the importance of ensuring that networks are rolled out in the most economically feasible way possible, and the path that needs to be taken to establish a viable 6G business case to recoup this investment. Focussing more broadly on the impact that 6G could have on the telecoms market as a whole, it will explore how business models will evolve, at how value chains are likely to be restructured and at some of the potential new players and strategic alliances that may emerge.
Marja Matinmikko-Blue is the Research Director of the Infotech Oulu Institute and Director of Sustainability & Regulation at 6G Flagship at the University of Oulu, Finland, where she also holds an Adjunct Professor position in spectrum management. She completed her Doctor of Science degree in communications engineering in 2012, and Doctor of Philosophy degree in industrial engineering and management in 2018 at the University of Oulu. She has been conducting multi-disciplinary research into the technical, business, and regulatory aspects of future mobile communication systems in close collaboration with industry, academia, and regulators for over two decades. She has published 180+ scientific papers and prepared 160+ contributions to regulatory bodies.
New technologies almost always bring with them new threats which must be tackled alongside existing threats relating to current technologies, and 6G is no different. 6G networks will have a significantly larger attack surface than previous generations, with any one of tens of billions of connected devices a potential gateway to cyber-attacks. Given this, research into the enhancement of cybersecurity has quickly become a priority in early work that is being done on 6G, with a shift being seen away from the current approach of reactionarily developing solutions for security threats, to instead the concept of ‘cybersecurity by design’, and ensuring that cybersecurity is built into 6G-capable devices from the start. This session will look at what this means in practice, as well as discussing more broadly the new cyber security challenges and vulnerabilities that are expected to emerge with 6G and the early research work that is being done to develop a strategy to tackle these and secure the 6G future.
Shaikh Salman bin Mohammed Al Khalifa has been appointed as the CEO of the National Center for Cybersecurity, with more than 20 years of experience as he started his career in the Central Information Organization (CIO) , in addition to his tenure served at the Royal Court to set up the IT infrastructure. He then held several positions in the Information and eGovernment Authority (IGA), including a network engineer, head of the smart card initiative project section and general director of information technology, and ended up with his work in the authority as executive vice president of operations and governance.
Amongst the most significant projects that he has achieved at the IGA is the execution of the New Government Data Network (GDN) project on which High Speed MPLS resulted in linking all of Bahrain’s governmental agencies together, the development of the National Identity Card using the Smartcard Technology. Shaikh Salman also developed and implemented applications for several critical Government Organizations, which enabled the e-Government program to deliver e-Services through the National Portal Bahrain.bh by linking the systems in various organizations. He also established the Government’s private cloud which is the foundation for the consolidation project in government agencies. Moreover, he is currently leading the Government of Bahrain’s Technical team in migrating the Government’s IT services to AWS.
Shaikh Salman graduated from Suffolk University from Boston Massachusetts, USA with a Double Major in Accounting & Information Technology.
Dr. Madhusanka Liyanage is an Assistant Professor/Ad Astra Fellow and Director of Graduate Research at the School of Computer Science, University College Dublin, Ireland. He is also acting as a Adjunct Professor at the University of Oulu, Finland, University of Ruhuna, Sri Lanka and the University of Sri Jayawardhanepura, Sri Lanka. He received his Doctor of Technology degree in communication engineering from the University of Oulu, Oulu, Finland, in 2016. He was also a recipient of the prestigious Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions Individual Fellowship and Government of Ireland Postdoctoral Fellowship during 2018-2020.
In 2020, he received the “2020 IEEE ComSoc Outstanding Young Researcher” award by IEEE ComSoc EMEA. In 2021 and 2022, he was ranked among the World’s Top 2% Scientists (2020 and 2021) in the List prepared by Elsevier BV, Stanford University, USA. Also, he was awarded an Irish Research Council (IRC) Research Ally Prize as part of the IRC Researcher of the Year 2021 awards for the positive impact he has made as a supervisor. In 2022, he received “2022 The Tom Brazil Excellence in Research Award” by SFI CONNECT Center. Moreover, Madhusanka received a Special Commendation for IRC Early Career Researcher of 2022 by Irish Research Council, Ireland.
Dr. Liyanage’s research interests are 5G/6G Security, Blockchain, Artificial Intelligence (AI), Explainable AI and Federated Learning (FL) security, Network Slicing, Internet of Things (IoT) and Multi-access Edge Computing (MEC). He has co-authored over 150 publications, including three authored books, four edited books and several patents in mobile network security domain. He is also an expert consultant at European Union Agency for Cybersecurity (ENISA) and a Funded Investigator of Science Foundation Ireland CONNECT Research Centre, Ireland. Moreover, he is an expert reviewer at different funding agencies in Europe, Asia and Oceania regions.
Pr. Soumaya Cherkaoui’s research and teaching interests are in wireless networks. Particularly, she works on next generation networks (5G and beyond), Edge intelligence/Network Intelligence, and communication networks/edge intelligence for verticals such as Connected and Autonomous Cars, IoT, and Industrial IoT. She leads a research group which conducts research funded both by government and industry. Before joining academia as a professor in 1999, she worked for industry as a project leader on projects targeted at the Aerospace Industry. Pr. Cherkaoui has held invited positions at leading institutions including the University of California at Berkeley. Bell Laboratories, Monash University, and the University of Toronto, as well as an adjunct position at Lulea University, in Sweden.
In 2010, she was appointed member of the Board of Directors of the Canadian Network of Centres of Excellence Auto21, Canada. Since 2017, she has been serving as member of MITACS Research Council. Pr. Cherkaoui avails of a long research experience in the wireless networking. She was named Distinguished Lecturer by the IEEE Communication Society. Her work resulted in technology transfer to companies and to patented technology. Pr. Cherkaoui has published over 100 research papers in reputed journals and conferences. She co-edited several collective works, has been an associate editor and guest editor of several IEEE, IET, Wiley and Elsevier Journals. She is currently on the editorial board of IEEE Network, the IEEE Journal on Selected Areas in Communications, IEEE Systems, Elsevier Vehicular Communications, and IET Quantum Communication. Her work was awarded with recognitions and best paper awards including a best paper award at the IEEE Communications Society Flagship conference IEEE ICC in 2017. She has chaired prestigious conferences such as IEEE LCN 2019, and has served as a symposium co-chair for flagship conferences including IEEE ICC 2021, IEEE ICC 2018, IEEE Globecom 2018, IEEE Globecom 2015, IEEE ICC 2014, and IEEE PIMRC 2011. She is a Professional Engineer in Canada, a senior IEEE Member, and is serving as the Chair of the IEEE Communications Society IoT-Ad hoc and Sensor Networks Technical Committee since 2020.
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.
5G has enabled us to make big gains in sustainability, but this was somewhat of a welcome by product of the technology rather than the initial aim, with the primary focus always very much on optimising performance. 6G is different – sustainability is being seen as a key driver for the technology right from the start, and for the first time ever, there is the opportunity to design and build an ecosystem with sustainability at is centre. A number of ambitious energy efficiency targets are being set both in terms of directly reducing the carbon footprint of 6G networks, and also through the broader enabling impact of 6G to reduce the carbon footprint of industries and human activities. This session will explore the key relationship between 6G and sustainability from both angles. It will look at the work that is being done to ensure 6G networks are designed and built in the most energy efficient way possible; and crucially, explore the potential that 6G and the new use cases that it will enable can have in playing a role in helping to meet the UN 2030 Sustainable Development Goals and tackling some of the biggest challenges that we face today.
Lacina Kone is the Director General and Chief Executive Officer of Smart Africa since March 2019.
He oversees the process of defining and advancing Africa’s digital agenda and has overseen the development of continental blueprints for Africa on Digital Identity, ICT Start-ups and Innovation Ecosystems, Smart Villages and the definition of Africa’s Smart Broadband 2025 Strategy in addition to advancing additional key continental initiatives. In recognition for this work, Mr. Koné has reached the 12th position in 2021 among the 50 personalities advancing Africa’s digital transformation. He recently ranked number 3 among the 10 Africa digital trendsetters in the 2022 Jeune Afrique technology ranking.
Prior to that, he served as the advisor to the Prime Minister of the Republic of Côte d’Ivoire (2017-2018), in charge of Digital Transformation and Public Reforms, and was also the advisor to the President from 2011-2017. Mr. Kone is a professional of ICT industry with over 25 years’ experience in the telecommunications, satellite and intelligent transport system. Prior to that, Mr. Koné held during his career several high level technical and managerial positions with firms such as Booz Allen Hamilton and Intelsat.
Mr. Kone holds a bachelor’s degree in electronic engineering (United Arab Emirates), he has validated his Polytechnique rank at the University of Brunel (UK), and he holds and an MBA from George Washington University (US).
He also sits on the advisory boards of Benya Capital (Egypt) and Townlabour Technologies (US) and he is also a Commissioner in the Broadband Commission for Sustainable Development (BBCOM).
H.E. Eng Belal Al-Hafnawi is an ICT executive leader experienced in technology, management, leadership, regulatory and strategy. Currently working as Commissioner and full time Board Member at the Telecommunications Regulatory Commission (TRC).
His Excellency Belal has 20 years’ experience in technology, telecommunications, information technology and digital transformation. He has worked with several international mobile network vendors and service providers including Huawei, Motorola, Nokia, Samsung Electronics and STC.
He has wide work experience in various telecommunications fields, which include management, advisory, strategy, technical consulting, managing complex programs and projects, operation management and quality.
He holds Bachelor and Master’s degrees in Telecommunications from the University of Jordan, and holds executive certification in Management and Leadership from Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), United states, which focused on business implications in Artificial Intelligence and Internet of Things and platform strategies.
He is a technical writer, author and international speaker.
A key goal of 6G is to deliver ubiquitous, seamless and cost-effective connectivity that is not limited by the black-spots in coverage that are seen with 5G and previous generations of cellular networks. Achieving this and delivering the advanced connectivity that will be required to support the metaverse and other future use cases will not be possible with a single ‘one-size-fits-all’ approach, and will instead require multiple connectivity technologies coming together. This session will explore how the relationship between different technologies such as cellular, WiFi and NTNs will evolve as we move towards 6G. It will discuss the extent to which we may finally see the emergence of a fully integrated ‘network of networks’, and if so then what this might look like in practice and the impact it may on have on the regulatory environment.
Jungsoo Jung is a Principal Engineer and a Project Leader of the 6G Project at Samsung Electronics. He actively contributed to the standardization of 3G and 4G wireless systems as a Chairperson of a 3GPP 2 MAC working group. He currently serves as a Co-Chairperson of the ITU-R WP-5D evaluation sub-working group that defines evaluation methodology for IMT-2020 and assesses performance of candidate technologies. His current research fields cover beyond 5G and 6G services, radio systems, and networks. He received his B.S., and M.S. degrees in computer science from Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST), Daejon.
Richard has 30 years’ experience working in technology, policy and regulatory roles in telecoms and media. An engineer by background, he has practical experience of digital infrastructure design and deployment. In Ofcom, he is currently leading work to understand the radio spectrum requirements of next generation wireless technologies (such as 6G), assessing the potential of direct to device satellite solutions and how wireless connectivity can facilitate innovation in industry verticals.
Including 6G in action demos
Discussions have already very much begun on the key spectrum bands to provide the required connectivity for the initial rollout of 6G. Given the difficulties in identifying additional spectrum in existing ‘mid-band’ frequencies and the fact that rolling out networks in mmWave frequencies has been more challenging than was initially hoped, mobile operators are moving their attention to spectrum in the 7-15 GHz range or up to 22 GHz and even 24 GHz (depending on who you speak to) in order to find the bandwidth to support the launch and rollout of 6G. Spectrum in this range is already very intensively used however by a number of key groups – satellite, commercial radar, fixed links services and more. This session will explore the future of these key frequencies and assess the potential that they could offer in providing large contiguous bandwidth for 6G. It will look at what the possible impact of this would be on existing users in the band, and whether it may be possible to find a ‘win-win’ solution that is to the benefit of all.
Cameron has a wide range of experience in areas including network cost modelling, transaction support and spectrum policy/management, working on behalf of both telecoms regulators and operators.
Cameron has particular expertise in the area of spectrum management and has supported clients ahead of many spectrum awards and transactions. He has led multiple projects for operators on topics including spectrum strategy, spectrum valuation and bidding strategy, as well as supporting regulators with issues such as spectrum award design. In addition, he has contributed to several white papers and expert witness reports on major spectrum management issues. Cameron is also active in the area of regulation, having supported regulators with high-profile studies on topics such as number portability and pricing of regulated wholesale services.
Cameron has an MSci degree in Chemistry from Imperial College London, during which he spent a year at Georgia Tech in Atlanta, USA.
Mohaned Juwad is responsible in assisting Intelsat’s strategic long-term spectrum position in the marketplace. In his role, he works closely with the company’s vice president on corporate and spectrum strategy and the spectrum strategy team to analyze and identify emerging spectrum opportunities and risks for Intelsat. In addition, he is responsible for managing efforts from Europe, Middle East and Africa that protect, optimize and leverage the company’s spectrum assets in support of Intelsat’s broader long-term growth strategy.
Dr. Juwad has over 13 years’ experience within the satellite industry where he held various roles in the past. Prior to rejoining Intelsat in 2016, Dr. Juwad served as manager, regulatory licensing and market access, at Avanti Communications Group Plc where he was responsible for managing and acquiring licensing and authorization for Ka-band geostationary satellite services across Europe, Middle East and the Africa region, in addition to overseeing regulatory activities at the ITU, CEPT, and other regulatory bodies. Before that, he worked as a consultant where he worked in ESA funded projects to develop the DVB-S2 standard operating in Ka-band, and also developed Ka-band mortised terminals where he was instrumental in developing a commercial self-aligned antenna.
Dr. Juwad earned a Philosophy of Doctorate (PhD) from Isambard Kingdom Brunel University and a Bachelor of Science Degree in Electrical Engineering at Herefordshire University. Intelsat S.A. (NYSE: I) 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.
Eliane Semaan is a Senior Researcher at Ericsson. She received her M.Sc. degree in wireless systems from the Royal Institute of Technology and joined Ericsson in 2011. She is currently working on spectrum regulations and involved in different CEPT ECC groups, focusing on the introduction of 5G in Europe. She has been involved in the 3GPP standardization work for several releases of the 4G and 5G standards, focusing on physical layer enhancements (RAN1) and coexistence studies (RAN4).
Dr. Tassos Lyratzis is an Electrical & Computer Engineer and holds a PhD in the field of Telecommunications & Computer Networks (1994). During his PhD studies, he worked as a specialist in Telecommunications in various European research projects.
He is working in EETT since 2001, in the Spectrum Directorate. He has been the Head of the Spectrum Management Department (2003-2006) when EETT was involved in the Spectrum Management of the Olympic Games of Athens in 2004. Since 2011 he is Head (Director) of Spectrum Division of EETT. He participates in international activities in European Union Regulatory bodies like the Radio Spectrum Committee (2003-2006) and the Radio Spectrum Policy Group (2011 – today).
In 2016 he became the co-rapporteur for the Working Group 5G “Spectrum related aspects for next-generation wireless systems (5G)” in RSPG.
Tariq Al Awadhi of United Arab Emirates is the Executive Director Spectrum Affairs
Department of the Telecom Regulatory Authority (TRA) United Arab Emirates. Mr. Al
Awadhi has 24 years of experience in spectrum management. He was elected
Chairman of ITU World Radio Conference (WRC) 2012. He headed a number of ITU Groups and meetings and contributed towards ITU resolutions, recommendations and studies. He represented the UAE in ITU, IMO, ICAO, Arab Spectrum Management Group, GCC Telecom Bureau and a number of other international and regional forums. He is currently Chairman of Arab Spectrum Management Group (ASMG).
The high capacity and ultrafast speeds of mmWave spectrum meant that it was initially expected to be a key frequency range for 5G. Technical propagation challenges however have meant that the focus for initial rollout has been seen in the lower mid-band frequencies. A similar pattern has initially started to emerge with terahertz frequencies for 6G – initially touted as the key frequency range, it is now being referred to as the 6G ‘complementary’ spectrum, with attention instead switching to lower frequencies in the 7GHz to 24GHz ranges. This session will look at the technical challenges associated with rolling out networks in these high frequency ranges that need to be overcome in order for the huge potential that they offer to be fully realised. Considering both 6G technologies and other key users in the band, it will look at the long-term ecosystem in the high range frequencies that can be expected in 2030 and beyond.
Including 6G in action demos
As we move towards 6G, the ever-increasing demand for the limited bandwidth that is available will mean that a rethink may be necessary in terms of how spectrum bands are licensed, accessed and allocated. There will be a need to use spectrum as efficiently as possible and with 6G also likely requiring large contiguous bandwidth which are becoming increasing difficult to find, it is very likely spectrum sharing will be an important part of the equation. This session will explore the likely evolution of spectrum sharing as we move towards 6G, and the role that shared spectrum will need to play in order to meet future connectivity needs.
Including 6G in action demos
Philip Marnick is the General Director of the Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA). He was appointed early January 2022 by the Members of the Board, to assume the position, paving the way for a more effective regulatory framework by continuing the evolution of the telecom sector liberalization.
Mr Marnick leads the TRA, including the development of consumer protection initiatives and resolving disputes. The TRA develops regulatory rules that promote competition, innovation, and investment in broadband services and facilities, as well as developing a more comprehensive and competitive framework that aligns with international best practices. Ensuring that Bahrain remains a center of innovation and that its telecommunications sector serves everyone while supporting Bahrain’s strategic objectives.
Before assuming his role at the TRA, Mr Marnick managed and directed at Ofcom in the UK, where he was the Group Director of Spectrum responsible for all aspects of UK national and international spectrum management – from strategy to delivery including awards, clearance and enforcement. Mr Marnick has worked in the telecommunications sector for over 30 years. He has served as a senior executive in technology, operations, and strategy. Mr Marnick has worked in both start-ups (from inception to sale) and major corporations, in firms such as UK Broadband, O2, Orange, BT, J-Phone in Japan (now Softbank Mobile), Extreme Mobile, and SpinVox (now Nuance).
From analogue to 5G, he has engaged across every mobile generation. Throughout his carrier he has been at the forefront of industry developments – in both fixed and mobile. He has collaborated on the first deployments of mobile networks utilizing new technologies and standards, this has also included innovative products such as the first camera phone and photo messaging service, as well as mobile internet and hosted voice services.
Professor Konstantinos Masselos has been appointed as the President of the Hellenic Telecommunications and Post Commission (EETT) in February 2018. He has been elected to serve as Vice-Chair of the Body of European Regulators for Electronic Communications (BEREC) for 2019.
In 2006 he joined University of Peloponnese, where he is currently a Professor in Computing Systems Design in the Department of Informatics and Telecommunications. Konstantinos served as Rector of the above university the period 2012-2017. During the period 2005 to 2008, he was Lecturer in digital systems at the Imperial College London. Also from 2010 to 2016 he served as Honorary Lecturer in the Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, at the Imperial College London. From 2001 to 2004 he joined Intracom Telecom SA in Greece.
Konstantinos has been involved in several research and development projects and has consulting experience in industry and public organizations. Since 2005 he has been regularly involved as an expert in different European Commission units. Additionally, Konstantinos was member of the Scientific Committee of European Cooperation in Science and Technology (COST) organization from 2015 to 2017. He has authored more than 120 papers in international journals and conferences.
Chair of the GSA’s Global Spectrum Team and Director of Samsung’s Spectrum & Industry Affairs. Previously held a variety of roles including UK government 3G auction team, Nokia standards & regulatory affairs, 4G pioneer start up Flarion Technologies, Qualcomm business development and wireless energy harvesting start-up Drayson Technologies.
Work around the world has started at pace on building the 6G vision. Companies, research institutes, universities and Governments are coming forward with early visions and research on future 6G technologies and requirements. Key drivers, applications and use cases are being identified – mobile broadband extension, extended reality (XR) and holographic communications, the internet of senses, massive digital twin and more. However, there is a growing view that we should be taking a different approach to previous generations and that it should be outcome-led rather than technology-led, with societal and global challenges central to the overall 6G vision. This session will look at the early progress that is being made around the world on 6G development. It will look at what ultimately we are trying to achieve with 6G and explore whether we are yet at the stage that a consensus has been reached both on this vision for 6G and also on the path that needs to be taken in order to deliver it.
Johann is a Partner at Analysys Mason and is based in Dubai.
Johann has close to 15 years’ experience in telecoms, spanning engineering and consulting. He joined Analysys Mason in 2008, and is one of our experts in broadband and fiber (next-generation access) networks, having worked on many assignments in these areas in relation to strategy, regulation, transaction support/business planning or litigation support, worldwide and in particular in the Middle East. Johann has particular expertise in regulation and policy: he has assisted many operators and regulators in Europe and the Middle East on topics such as regulatory lobbying, reference/wholesale offers, core regulation (dominance determination, numbering/number portability, etc.) and cost modelling.
Johann holds a Master of Science from Télécom ParisTech (formerly ENST), a Master’s degree in telecommunications engineering from the University of Melbourne and a Master’s degree in Corporate Finance from the Conservatoire National des Arts et Métiers in France. Before joining Analysys Mason, Johann held positions focusing on network architecture, design and sales support with fixed and mobile network operators in France (Completel and Bouygues Telecom).
Peter is managing the Commission’s policy on 5G communication systems and the related research and innovation programme.
Before his appointment as Head of Unit he was managing the office of the Director General of DG CONNECT, Roberto Viola, coordinating the Commission’s digital policy initiatives. The portfolio included Digital Single Market, Broadband Policy, Telecoms, Media and Online Policy, the Copyright Reform as well as the EU ICT Research and Innovation Programme.
Between 2010 and 2014 he had different roles in the Commission’s telecoms policy Directorate. These included Head of Sector “Spectrum Policy”, penholder of main elements of the Commission proposal on the Telecom Single Market and the Roaming regulation, and the implementation of the EU telecom rules in Germany and Austria.
Between 2005 and 2010 he coordinated the EU R&D programme leading to the 4G mobile communications standards.
Before joining the European Commission in 2004 he has occupied several engineering and management positions in industry, academia and start-ups. He holds engineering and doctoral degrees from RWTH Aachen University, Germany.
Isabelle Mauro is Director General of the Global Satellite Operators Association (GSOA) that represents the interests of 29 global and regional satellite operators. She reports directly to their Chief Executives.
Under Isabelle’s leadership, GSOA and its member CEOs lead the effort to showcase the benefits of satellite communications for a more inclusive and secure society – vital to bridging the world’s digital divide, achieving the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals and realizing the 5G ecosystem.
Isabelle has 25 years experience in the Telecoms and Technology sector, starting at the GSMA, where she was responsible for government and international Affairs. In 2015 she moved to New York to join the World Economic Forum as Head of Information, Communications and Technology Industries, managing the portfolio for 60+ Tech companies globally and leading initiatives on inclusive and sustainable digital transformation.
Isabelle is passionate about inclusion and sustainability. She is Chair of the High-Level Advisory Board of the DigitalGoesGreen Foundation. She also sits on the Advisory Board of Women in Tech and is a member of the UNESCO Advisory Group for the Declaration on Connectivity for Education.
Isabelle holds an MSc in European Politics and Policy from the London School of Economics. She is fluent in French, English, Italian and Spanish.
Including 6G in action demos
The pre-standards research is crucial in moulding the overall shape of any future technology and paving the way for what it is hoped will be a single, unified global standard. This is very much the case with 6G, but concerns are emerging that geopolitical challenges are leading to countries not working as closely together as they could be to agree upon key technical standards on frequencies, signal modulations and waveforms. If this is the case then it could mean that a split is seen, with different versions of 6G developing in a similar way that was seen with 3G and earlier generations. This session will look at how 6G standards may differ from those that are seen today, and will explore the early research that is taking place around the world. It will look at the level of international coordination that is being seen and explore whether the delivery of a single global standard for 6G can still be a realistic aim, and at what the impact may be if this is not achieved and a split emerges.
David is currently the ETSI Director of New Technologies (NET), which involves tracking the latest ICT technology and business trends and all relevant research initiatives in order to identify appropriate technology standards needs and future opportunities for ETSI.
In addition, he works on outreach initiatives towards the research and academic communities, both in Europe and globally, as well as engaging with key European research programs such as Horizon Europe.
David has more than 30 years’ experience in the telecommunications sector, which includes over 20 years’ working in ICT standardization supporting both 3GPP and ETSI Technical and strategic groups.
Chih-Lin I is the Chief Scientist of Wireless Technologies, in charge of advanced wireless communication R&D effort of China Mobile Research Institute (CMRI). She established the Green Communications Research Center of China Mobile, spearheading major initiatives including 5G Key Technologies R&D; high energy efficiency system architecture, technologies, and devices; green energy; C-RAN and soft base station.
Chih-Lin received her Ph.D. degree in Electrical Engineering from Stanford University, has almost 30 years experience in wireless communication area. She has worked in various world-class companies and research institutes, including wireless communication fundamental research department of AT&T Bell Labs; Headquarter of AT&T, as Director of Wireless Communications Infrastructure and Access Technology; ITRI of Taiwan, as Director of Wireless Communication Technology; Hong Kong ASTRI, as VP and the Founding GD of Communications Technology Domain. Chih-Lin received the Trans. COM
Stephen Rice Best Paper Award, and is a winner of CCCP “National 1000 talent” program. She was an elected Board Member of IEEE ComSoc, Chair of ComSoc Meeting and Conference Board, and the Founding Chair of IEEE WCNC Steering Committee. She is currently an Executive Board Member of GreenTouch, a Founding Member of ETSI NFV Network Operator Council, a Steering Board Member of WWRF, and a Scientific Advisory Board Member of Singapore National Research Foundation.
Superintendent of Granting and Resources for the Provision of Telecommunication Services. Master in Telecommunications Engineering and postgraduate in Telecommunications Management from the University of Brasília (UnB). Specialist in Governance and Control of Regulation by the National School of Public Administration (ENAP). Telecommunications Network Consultant between 1998 and 2011. Professor in Electrical Engineering courses at private universities in Brasília. Agency employee since 2011, having worked in the regulatory area, in the area of Critical Infrastructure Management and manager of Quality Obligations Control.
Dr. Alex Jinsung Choi is Chairman of the O-RAN ALLIANCE and Senior Vice President, Group Technology and Head of T-Labs, which is the central Research & Development division of Deutsche Telekom. In addition, he is member of the Technology & Innovation management board, where he has responsibility for several strategic topics.
Dr. Choi has been a thought leader for over 20 years in the mobile telecommunication industry & consumer electronics by driving forward key strategic and research topics in Telco and AI.
Dr. Choi was the first Chairman of the Telecom Infra Project (TIP) and previously served as CTO for SK Telekom. With the introduction of “NUGU”, the first AI- based virtual assistant in Korea, Dr. Choi was influential in the development of AI solutions.
Ulrich leads Nokia Standardization team. The team is responsible for global and regional standardization, technical regulation as spectrum. The team is part of the Nokia BellLabs CTO group.
Prior to that Ulrich lead Nokia Networks Industry Environment unit.
Between 2007 and 2012 Ulrich lead the NSN 3GPP standardization team and has served as Head of Delegation to 3GPP. Since 2009 he chaired the Industry Group “European Friends of 3GPP”.
Between 1996 and 2007, Ulrich held various positions in R&D of Siemens Mobile Networks unit. He was responsible for standardization activities of the core network business unit and managed Siemens 3GPP activities. Ulrich had instrumental role in the definition of the UMTS architecture as well as in set up of project management in 3GPP.
Ulrich holds a Ph.D. from Télécom ParisTech from 1996; research area was the definition of 3G Radio Interface and his research was part of EU collaborative research program (RACE ATDMA).
The arrival of 5G was met with a great deal of excitement about the potential new revenue streams and market opportunities that it would facilitate. In reality however, this promise is still yet to be met, and to date there have been significant challenges in delivering a viable business model to recoup the huge initial investment that was required. As we now move towards 6G and with companies already starting to vie for a share of this lucrative new market, this session will look at the lessons that can be taken from 5G and the best way forward to deliver the successful commercialization of 6G. With billions of dollars set to be spent to get to 6G, it will discuss the importance of ensuring that networks are rolled out in the most economically feasible way possible, and the path that needs to be taken to establish a viable 6G business case to recoup this investment. Focussing more broadly on the impact that 6G could have on the telecoms market as a whole, it will explore how business models will evolve, at how value chains are likely to be restructured and at some of the potential new players and strategic alliances that may emerge.
Marja Matinmikko-Blue is the Research Director of the Infotech Oulu Institute and Director of Sustainability & Regulation at 6G Flagship at the University of Oulu, Finland, where she also holds an Adjunct Professor position in spectrum management. She completed her Doctor of Science degree in communications engineering in 2012, and Doctor of Philosophy degree in industrial engineering and management in 2018 at the University of Oulu. She has been conducting multi-disciplinary research into the technical, business, and regulatory aspects of future mobile communication systems in close collaboration with industry, academia, and regulators for over two decades. She has published 180+ scientific papers and prepared 160+ contributions to regulatory bodies.
New technologies almost always bring with them new threats which must be tackled alongside existing threats relating to current technologies, and 6G is no different. 6G networks will have a significantly larger attack surface than previous generations, with any one of tens of billions of connected devices a potential gateway to cyber-attacks. Given this, research into the enhancement of cybersecurity has quickly become a priority in early work that is being done on 6G, with a shift being seen away from the current approach of reactionarily developing solutions for security threats, to instead the concept of ‘cybersecurity by design’, and ensuring that cybersecurity is built into 6G-capable devices from the start. This session will look at what this means in practice, as well as discussing more broadly the new cyber security challenges and vulnerabilities that are expected to emerge with 6G and the early research work that is being done to develop a strategy to tackle these and secure the 6G future.
Shaikh Salman bin Mohammed Al Khalifa has been appointed as the CEO of the National Center for Cybersecurity, with more than 20 years of experience as he started his career in the Central Information Organization (CIO) , in addition to his tenure served at the Royal Court to set up the IT infrastructure. He then held several positions in the Information and eGovernment Authority (IGA), including a network engineer, head of the smart card initiative project section and general director of information technology, and ended up with his work in the authority as executive vice president of operations and governance.
Amongst the most significant projects that he has achieved at the IGA is the execution of the New Government Data Network (GDN) project on which High Speed MPLS resulted in linking all of Bahrain’s governmental agencies together, the development of the National Identity Card using the Smartcard Technology. Shaikh Salman also developed and implemented applications for several critical Government Organizations, which enabled the e-Government program to deliver e-Services through the National Portal Bahrain.bh by linking the systems in various organizations. He also established the Government’s private cloud which is the foundation for the consolidation project in government agencies. Moreover, he is currently leading the Government of Bahrain’s Technical team in migrating the Government’s IT services to AWS.
Shaikh Salman graduated from Suffolk University from Boston Massachusetts, USA with a Double Major in Accounting & Information Technology.
Dr. Madhusanka Liyanage is an Assistant Professor/Ad Astra Fellow and Director of Graduate Research at the School of Computer Science, University College Dublin, Ireland. He is also acting as a Adjunct Professor at the University of Oulu, Finland, University of Ruhuna, Sri Lanka and the University of Sri Jayawardhanepura, Sri Lanka. He received his Doctor of Technology degree in communication engineering from the University of Oulu, Oulu, Finland, in 2016. He was also a recipient of the prestigious Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions Individual Fellowship and Government of Ireland Postdoctoral Fellowship during 2018-2020.
In 2020, he received the “2020 IEEE ComSoc Outstanding Young Researcher” award by IEEE ComSoc EMEA. In 2021 and 2022, he was ranked among the World’s Top 2% Scientists (2020 and 2021) in the List prepared by Elsevier BV, Stanford University, USA. Also, he was awarded an Irish Research Council (IRC) Research Ally Prize as part of the IRC Researcher of the Year 2021 awards for the positive impact he has made as a supervisor. In 2022, he received “2022 The Tom Brazil Excellence in Research Award” by SFI CONNECT Center. Moreover, Madhusanka received a Special Commendation for IRC Early Career Researcher of 2022 by Irish Research Council, Ireland.
Dr. Liyanage’s research interests are 5G/6G Security, Blockchain, Artificial Intelligence (AI), Explainable AI and Federated Learning (FL) security, Network Slicing, Internet of Things (IoT) and Multi-access Edge Computing (MEC). He has co-authored over 150 publications, including three authored books, four edited books and several patents in mobile network security domain. He is also an expert consultant at European Union Agency for Cybersecurity (ENISA) and a Funded Investigator of Science Foundation Ireland CONNECT Research Centre, Ireland. Moreover, he is an expert reviewer at different funding agencies in Europe, Asia and Oceania regions.
Pr. Soumaya Cherkaoui’s research and teaching interests are in wireless networks. Particularly, she works on next generation networks (5G and beyond), Edge intelligence/Network Intelligence, and communication networks/edge intelligence for verticals such as Connected and Autonomous Cars, IoT, and Industrial IoT. She leads a research group which conducts research funded both by government and industry. Before joining academia as a professor in 1999, she worked for industry as a project leader on projects targeted at the Aerospace Industry. Pr. Cherkaoui has held invited positions at leading institutions including the University of California at Berkeley. Bell Laboratories, Monash University, and the University of Toronto, as well as an adjunct position at Lulea University, in Sweden.
In 2010, she was appointed member of the Board of Directors of the Canadian Network of Centres of Excellence Auto21, Canada. Since 2017, she has been serving as member of MITACS Research Council. Pr. Cherkaoui avails of a long research experience in the wireless networking. She was named Distinguished Lecturer by the IEEE Communication Society. Her work resulted in technology transfer to companies and to patented technology. Pr. Cherkaoui has published over 100 research papers in reputed journals and conferences. She co-edited several collective works, has been an associate editor and guest editor of several IEEE, IET, Wiley and Elsevier Journals. She is currently on the editorial board of IEEE Network, the IEEE Journal on Selected Areas in Communications, IEEE Systems, Elsevier Vehicular Communications, and IET Quantum Communication. Her work was awarded with recognitions and best paper awards including a best paper award at the IEEE Communications Society Flagship conference IEEE ICC in 2017. She has chaired prestigious conferences such as IEEE LCN 2019, and has served as a symposium co-chair for flagship conferences including IEEE ICC 2021, IEEE ICC 2018, IEEE Globecom 2018, IEEE Globecom 2015, IEEE ICC 2014, and IEEE PIMRC 2011. She is a Professional Engineer in Canada, a senior IEEE Member, and is serving as the Chair of the IEEE Communications Society IoT-Ad hoc and Sensor Networks Technical Committee since 2020.
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.
5G has enabled us to make big gains in sustainability, but this was somewhat of a welcome by product of the technology rather than the initial aim, with the primary focus always very much on optimising performance. 6G is different – sustainability is being seen as a key driver for the technology right from the start, and for the first time ever, there is the opportunity to design and build an ecosystem with sustainability at is centre. A number of ambitious energy efficiency targets are being set both in terms of directly reducing the carbon footprint of 6G networks, and also through the broader enabling impact of 6G to reduce the carbon footprint of industries and human activities. This session will explore the key relationship between 6G and sustainability from both angles. It will look at the work that is being done to ensure 6G networks are designed and built in the most energy efficient way possible; and crucially, explore the potential that 6G and the new use cases that it will enable can have in playing a role in helping to meet the UN 2030 Sustainable Development Goals and tackling some of the biggest challenges that we face today.
Lacina Kone is the Director General and Chief Executive Officer of Smart Africa since March 2019.
He oversees the process of defining and advancing Africa’s digital agenda and has overseen the development of continental blueprints for Africa on Digital Identity, ICT Start-ups and Innovation Ecosystems, Smart Villages and the definition of Africa’s Smart Broadband 2025 Strategy in addition to advancing additional key continental initiatives. In recognition for this work, Mr. Koné has reached the 12th position in 2021 among the 50 personalities advancing Africa’s digital transformation. He recently ranked number 3 among the 10 Africa digital trendsetters in the 2022 Jeune Afrique technology ranking.
Prior to that, he served as the advisor to the Prime Minister of the Republic of Côte d’Ivoire (2017-2018), in charge of Digital Transformation and Public Reforms, and was also the advisor to the President from 2011-2017. Mr. Kone is a professional of ICT industry with over 25 years’ experience in the telecommunications, satellite and intelligent transport system. Prior to that, Mr. Koné held during his career several high level technical and managerial positions with firms such as Booz Allen Hamilton and Intelsat.
Mr. Kone holds a bachelor’s degree in electronic engineering (United Arab Emirates), he has validated his Polytechnique rank at the University of Brunel (UK), and he holds and an MBA from George Washington University (US).
He also sits on the advisory boards of Benya Capital (Egypt) and Townlabour Technologies (US) and he is also a Commissioner in the Broadband Commission for Sustainable Development (BBCOM).
H.E. Eng Belal Al-Hafnawi is an ICT executive leader experienced in technology, management, leadership, regulatory and strategy. Currently working as Commissioner and full time Board Member at the Telecommunications Regulatory Commission (TRC).
His Excellency Belal has 20 years’ experience in technology, telecommunications, information technology and digital transformation. He has worked with several international mobile network vendors and service providers including Huawei, Motorola, Nokia, Samsung Electronics and STC.
He has wide work experience in various telecommunications fields, which include management, advisory, strategy, technical consulting, managing complex programs and projects, operation management and quality.
He holds Bachelor and Master’s degrees in Telecommunications from the University of Jordan, and holds executive certification in Management and Leadership from Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), United states, which focused on business implications in Artificial Intelligence and Internet of Things and platform strategies.
He is a technical writer, author and international speaker.
A key goal of 6G is to deliver ubiquitous, seamless and cost-effective connectivity that is not limited by the black-spots in coverage that are seen with 5G and previous generations of cellular networks. Achieving this and delivering the advanced connectivity that will be required to support the metaverse and other future use cases will not be possible with a single ‘one-size-fits-all’ approach, and will instead require multiple connectivity technologies coming together. This session will explore how the relationship between different technologies such as cellular, WiFi and NTNs will evolve as we move towards 6G. It will discuss the extent to which we may finally see the emergence of a fully integrated ‘network of networks’, and if so then what this might look like in practice and the impact it may on have on the regulatory environment.
Jungsoo Jung is a Principal Engineer and a Project Leader of the 6G Project at Samsung Electronics. He actively contributed to the standardization of 3G and 4G wireless systems as a Chairperson of a 3GPP 2 MAC working group. He currently serves as a Co-Chairperson of the ITU-R WP-5D evaluation sub-working group that defines evaluation methodology for IMT-2020 and assesses performance of candidate technologies. His current research fields cover beyond 5G and 6G services, radio systems, and networks. He received his B.S., and M.S. degrees in computer science from Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST), Daejon.
Richard has 30 years’ experience working in technology, policy and regulatory roles in telecoms and media. An engineer by background, he has practical experience of digital infrastructure design and deployment. In Ofcom, he is currently leading work to understand the radio spectrum requirements of next generation wireless technologies (such as 6G), assessing the potential of direct to device satellite solutions and how wireless connectivity can facilitate innovation in industry verticals.
Including 6G in action demos
Discussions have already very much begun on the key spectrum bands to provide the required connectivity for the initial rollout of 6G. Given the difficulties in identifying additional spectrum in existing ‘mid-band’ frequencies and the fact that rolling out networks in mmWave frequencies has been more challenging than was initially hoped, mobile operators are moving their attention to spectrum in the 7-15 GHz range or up to 22 GHz and even 24 GHz (depending on who you speak to) in order to find the bandwidth to support the launch and rollout of 6G. Spectrum in this range is already very intensively used however by a number of key groups – satellite, commercial radar, fixed links services and more. This session will explore the future of these key frequencies and assess the potential that they could offer in providing large contiguous bandwidth for 6G. It will look at what the possible impact of this would be on existing users in the band, and whether it may be possible to find a ‘win-win’ solution that is to the benefit of all.
Cameron has a wide range of experience in areas including network cost modelling, transaction support and spectrum policy/management, working on behalf of both telecoms regulators and operators.
Cameron has particular expertise in the area of spectrum management and has supported clients ahead of many spectrum awards and transactions. He has led multiple projects for operators on topics including spectrum strategy, spectrum valuation and bidding strategy, as well as supporting regulators with issues such as spectrum award design. In addition, he has contributed to several white papers and expert witness reports on major spectrum management issues. Cameron is also active in the area of regulation, having supported regulators with high-profile studies on topics such as number portability and pricing of regulated wholesale services.
Cameron has an MSci degree in Chemistry from Imperial College London, during which he spent a year at Georgia Tech in Atlanta, USA.
Mohaned Juwad is responsible in assisting Intelsat’s strategic long-term spectrum position in the marketplace. In his role, he works closely with the company’s vice president on corporate and spectrum strategy and the spectrum strategy team to analyze and identify emerging spectrum opportunities and risks for Intelsat. In addition, he is responsible for managing efforts from Europe, Middle East and Africa that protect, optimize and leverage the company’s spectrum assets in support of Intelsat’s broader long-term growth strategy.
Dr. Juwad has over 13 years’ experience within the satellite industry where he held various roles in the past. Prior to rejoining Intelsat in 2016, Dr. Juwad served as manager, regulatory licensing and market access, at Avanti Communications Group Plc where he was responsible for managing and acquiring licensing and authorization for Ka-band geostationary satellite services across Europe, Middle East and the Africa region, in addition to overseeing regulatory activities at the ITU, CEPT, and other regulatory bodies. Before that, he worked as a consultant where he worked in ESA funded projects to develop the DVB-S2 standard operating in Ka-band, and also developed Ka-band mortised terminals where he was instrumental in developing a commercial self-aligned antenna.
Dr. Juwad earned a Philosophy of Doctorate (PhD) from Isambard Kingdom Brunel University and a Bachelor of Science Degree in Electrical Engineering at Herefordshire University. Intelsat S.A. (NYSE: I) 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.
Eliane Semaan is a Senior Researcher at Ericsson. She received her M.Sc. degree in wireless systems from the Royal Institute of Technology and joined Ericsson in 2011. She is currently working on spectrum regulations and involved in different CEPT ECC groups, focusing on the introduction of 5G in Europe. She has been involved in the 3GPP standardization work for several releases of the 4G and 5G standards, focusing on physical layer enhancements (RAN1) and coexistence studies (RAN4).
Dr. Tassos Lyratzis is an Electrical & Computer Engineer and holds a PhD in the field of Telecommunications & Computer Networks (1994). During his PhD studies, he worked as a specialist in Telecommunications in various European research projects.
He is working in EETT since 2001, in the Spectrum Directorate. He has been the Head of the Spectrum Management Department (2003-2006) when EETT was involved in the Spectrum Management of the Olympic Games of Athens in 2004. Since 2011 he is Head (Director) of Spectrum Division of EETT. He participates in international activities in European Union Regulatory bodies like the Radio Spectrum Committee (2003-2006) and the Radio Spectrum Policy Group (2011 – today).
In 2016 he became the co-rapporteur for the Working Group 5G “Spectrum related aspects for next-generation wireless systems (5G)” in RSPG.
Tariq Al Awadhi of United Arab Emirates is the Executive Director Spectrum Affairs
Department of the Telecom Regulatory Authority (TRA) United Arab Emirates. Mr. Al
Awadhi has 24 years of experience in spectrum management. He was elected
Chairman of ITU World Radio Conference (WRC) 2012. He headed a number of ITU Groups and meetings and contributed towards ITU resolutions, recommendations and studies. He represented the UAE in ITU, IMO, ICAO, Arab Spectrum Management Group, GCC Telecom Bureau and a number of other international and regional forums. He is currently Chairman of Arab Spectrum Management Group (ASMG).
The high capacity and ultrafast speeds of mmWave spectrum meant that it was initially expected to be a key frequency range for 5G. Technical propagation challenges however have meant that the focus for initial rollout has been seen in the lower mid-band frequencies. A similar pattern has initially started to emerge with terahertz frequencies for 6G – initially touted as the key frequency range, it is now being referred to as the 6G ‘complementary’ spectrum, with attention instead switching to lower frequencies in the 7GHz to 24GHz ranges. This session will look at the technical challenges associated with rolling out networks in these high frequency ranges that need to be overcome in order for the huge potential that they offer to be fully realised. Considering both 6G technologies and other key users in the band, it will look at the long-term ecosystem in the high range frequencies that can be expected in 2030 and beyond.
Including 6G in action demos
As we move towards 6G, the ever-increasing demand for the limited bandwidth that is available will mean that a rethink may be necessary in terms of how spectrum bands are licensed, accessed and allocated. There will be a need to use spectrum as efficiently as possible and with 6G also likely requiring large contiguous bandwidth which are becoming increasing difficult to find, it is very likely spectrum sharing will be an important part of the equation. This session will explore the likely evolution of spectrum sharing as we move towards 6G, and the role that shared spectrum will need to play in order to meet future connectivity needs.
The inaugural 6G Global Summit took place in 2022 as a fully virtual event. We look forward to introducing an in-person element for the 2023 edition.
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