6th MENA Spectrum Management Conference

Mr. Mario Maniewicz was elected Director of the ITU Radiocommunication Bureau at the ITU Plenipotentiary Conference 2018 in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. He took office on 1 January 2019.

Mario Maniewicz is an electronic engineer specialized in telecommunications. He has been with the ITU for over 30 years, where he has served in high-level management positions in the Radiocommunication and Development Sectors as well as in ITU Regional Offices.

As Director, Mr. Maniewicz is responsible for the management of the Radiocommunication Bureau, which organizes and co-ordinates the work of the Radiocommunication Sector whose aim is to ensure the rational, equitable, efficient, and economical use of the radio-frequency spectrum and satellite orbits.

Before joining the ITU, Mr. Maniewicz occupied a managerial position in Uruguay’s main telecommunications operator and was Assistant Professor in the Faculty of Engineering of Uruguay’s main University.

Mr. Maniewicz is married and has two children. He speaks Spanish, English, French and Portuguese.

Mr. Tariq Al-Awadhi is the Executive Director Spectrum Affairs in the Telecommunication Regulatory Authority.

Mr. Al Awadhi has 17 years of experience in spectrum management. He is the Chairman of the Arab Spectrum Management Group and has been the head of the delegations of the UAE to various international meetings and conferences and in 2012 he had been elected to chair the World Radiocommunication Conference 2012 (WRC-12).

His achievements in the field of spectrum management have earned him accolades from his contemporaries and the TRA. His professional acumen has further been groomed through leadership and excellence programs.

Mr. Khalid Al Awadhi is the Manager of Broadcasting and Space Services in the Telecommunications Regulatory Authority of the UAE (TRA). He is responsible for planning, regulating, and managing spectrum use and transmission stations for broadcasting services, Services Ancillary to Broadcast Production, Program Making & Special Events (PMSE), Earth stations deployment and satellite network filings for space services in the UAE. He is also responsible for the International coordination, notification, and registration of UAE terrestrial and space radiocommunication services. Khalid’s first involvement with the work of the Radiocommunication Sector in the ITU was in WP-4A for the preparations of WRC-07. Since then, he plays a vital role as part of the UAE delegation, as he became the Chairman of the UAE National Committee for World Radiocommunication Conferences, and as a member of the Arab Spectrum Management Group. He became Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Rapporteur for space services, the ASMG coordinator for Agenda Item 7, and the chairman of the ASMG Working Group for Space Services. He was the Chapter Rapporteur for Chapter 5 “Satellite Regulatory Issues” of WRC-15, and then the Chairman of Committee 5 during WRC-15. Khalid was the Chairman of the Conference Preparatory Meeting (CPM19) for the World Radiocommunication Conference (WRC-19). He Holds a Master of Science Degree in Modern Digital and Radio Frequency Wireless Communications from the University of Leeds.

Dr. Mohamed El-Moghazi is the Acting Executive Director, National Spectrum Affairs Department, the National Telecom Regulatory Authority (NTRA), Chairman of the Arab Spectrum Management Group (ASMG) 1, and Vice-Chairman, the Preparatory Meeting for the World Radiocommunication Conference 2023 (WRC-23). Dr. Maghazi is holder of a PhD in Electrical and Electronic Engineering, a Master’s Degree in Telecommunications Management; Postgraduate Certificate in Research Methodology for Business, Management, and Engineering (University of Strathclyde); Diploma in Communication Management (University of Colorado). Furthermore, he published myriad papers in esteemed conferences and prestigious journals and supervised many master’s theses and PhD dissertations on spectrum affairs. He was awarded the British Chevening Scholarship from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in 2007 and was also chosen as one of three finalist candidates for the Professional Achievement Award (UK Graduates) in 2018. Dr. Moghazi, also, won Young Researchers Award from the Pacific Telecommunications Council in 2017. He is the founder of the Global Telecom Policy Researchers Network (GTPRN), a non-profit initiative and research society for researchers in the field of telecommunications policy.

Ross has worked for the GSMA as a special adviser on government affairs since 2007. Recently his projects have included defining use of the Digital Dividend with the mobile and broadcasting community in Russia, Eastern Europe and the CIS, and coordinating political engagement on the GSMA’s Mobile Broadband project in Europe, Africa and the Middle East. Prior to the GSMA Ross worked at telecoms consultancy Access Partnership where he served as a director charged with government affairs and as the lead financial analyst at TelecomFinance. Ross holds an Honours Degree from Manchester University.

Mohaned Juwad is responsible in assiting 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, Middel 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. For more information, visit www.intelsat.com.

Dr. Walid SAMI is Senior Project Manager at the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), Geneva, with responsibility for cocoordinating studies on frequency planning and spectrum sharing issues. He represents EBU in number of European and International Forums dealing with Spectrum Management. He is Vice Chair of ITU-R Study Group 6 (Broadcasting) and mostly active in Working Parties 6A (Terrestrial broadcasting delivery) and 1A (Spectrum engineering techniques). Dr. SAMI has also a significant role in developing cooperation with Arab States Broadcasting Union and African Union of Broadcasters as well as Administrations members of ITU-D. Prior to joining EBU, Dr. SAMI worked in spectrum management and frequency planning of Digital Broadcasting systems at Télédiffusion de France (TDF) and CSA (Conseil Supérieur de l’Audiovisuel) in France. Notable is his 7 years as head of Television Planning Department at the French Broadcasting Authority, where he was in charge of planning Digital Terrestrial Television in France. Dr. SAMI received Electrical Engineering Degree from the Lebanese University in 1986 and a Doctorate in Physics from Supelec / Université de Paris Sud in 1991.

Fatima has recently joined Huawei Technologies as Technical Director on Spectrum & Regulation with a special focus on Middle East and Africa among other areas. Prior to joining Huawei, Fatima worked for almost 2 decades on wireless systems as senior technical manager, technology strategist and transversal projects’ leader.

Her most recent position has been Senior Radio Standardization Manager and strategist within Orange Group. She was leading Orange delegation in 3GPP RAN and in charge of elaborating, promoting and building large consensus for the adoption of relevant Radio standard strategies with interest to Orange affiliates in Europe, Africa and the Middle-East.

When holding that position, Fatima became one of the most influential operators’ experts in 3GPP RAN where she actively contributed to shaping the last 5 releases of 3GPP standard in particular on 5G New Radio use cases, requirements and technical studies, LTE evolutions, Spectrum standardisation, M2M/IoT, Cellular D2D, LTE Public safety, Small cells, Broadcast, LAA, Cellular V2X, A2G communications, HSPA+.

Before joining 3GPP RAN in 2007, Fatima successfully managed numerous R&D projects for Orange Labs and contributed to European collaborative projects.

From 1997 and 2002 Fatima worked for various mobile operators (Orange Sweden, BLU Italy, SFR France and Maroc Telecom) for which she successfully delivered projects involving design, engineering, roll-out and optimization of operational networks.

More than 25 years’ experience in signal processing at higher education and ICT Industry. Professor in signal processing, former President, Chairman and Member of the board of the National Telecommunication Regulatory Authority of Tunisia (INTT) for more than 5 years. Former Head of “Applied Math and Signal Processing” Department at the “Higher School of Engineering in Communication in Tunisia” (Sup’Com). He worked as a Member of Technical Staff and senior consultant to several USA compagnies. He was a Fulbright visiting scholar to Colorado State University in 2011. His expertise spans from signal processing and wireless communication to telecom regulation and policymaking.

As Spectrum Manager, Mohammad Sadeq is both diligent in spectrum practice and committed to the profession. He joined ictQATAR in 2007 after ten years of serving with a large and well-respected telecom operator and regional regulator firms.

Involved in the radio regulatory and spectrum management field for over 18 years and participated in spectrum management forums worldwide. Head of Spectrum Management for 7 years within ictQATAR and responsible for Qatar frequency and spectrum policy and plan. A firm believer in modern spectrum management techniques. Developed various elements for smooth running of spectrum management in Qatar and GCC Region.

In addition to spectrum management activities, active in the field of EMC and RF Exposure as well as in the field of HAM amateur radio and QoS.

Luiz works as Senior Spectrum Policy Manager at the GSMA towards the global and regional advance of spectrum issues such as licensing, roadmaps, pricing, sharing, synchronisation, coverage and 5G international advocacy. Luiz leads the GSMA campaign to gain access to harmonised spectrum for mobile broadband, working with a team of regional experts for the delivering of spectrum policy and licensing best practice to key markets across the globe.

Senior Marketing and Solution Manager, 5G Development and Spectrum Regulation & Policy covering North Africa Region , Huawei Technologies
10 years Experience in Telecom Industry with Huawei Marketing Addressing the main industry conferences & events (MWC, GITEX, MBBF, UBBF, OMEA) representing Huawei as main spokeswoman delivering key messages of the latest technology and business to main customers and groups
Focus on 4G/5G Coordination, Spectrum Evolution, MBB Evolution, New Business Development..
Provide full support to Telcos in Northern Africa through strategic and technical summits, working on the development of 5G Business at the regional level by analyzing the trend industrial
Supported different operators in NA region, Vodafone, Etisalat, Telecom Egypt, Orange Senegal, Gabon Telecom, Cameroon, MTN/ Orange Ivory Coast, Mali Burkina Faso/ Algeria Mobilis/ OTA/ Algerie Telecom…
Worked with major operators in Morocco and support Orange Group in France.

Sihem is the Radio Planning and Engineering Director at Tunisie Telecom with 22 years of professional experience in mobile telecommunications industry. In her position, she is responsible of Radio Access Network strategy and planning, Radio Access technologies roadmap, 5G evolution, Spectrum strategy and management, Budget planning.
Sihem is an engineer graduated from the Polytechnic School of Tunisia and she holds a master’s degree from Sup’Com, the higher school of communication of Tunis.

Laith is VP, Government and Regulatory Engagement at OneWeb LLC.

Before devoting his work fulltime to OneWeb, Laith has worked as a consultant for major telecom players providing advice on global satellite, mobile and Internet regulatory issues, and facilitating co-ordination of agreements between clients and national telecommunications operators in the Middle East and Africa region.

Laith has contributed to the implementation of international agreements affecting satellite technology innovations and best practices in national regulatory processes in the region. He assisted clients to introduce and manage their services by conducting a complete market research, engaging with national governments to gain information on their practices, and influencing outcomes. He also drafted licence applications and developed argumentation in support of network approvals.

Laith has participated in the ITU-R and ITU-T conferences and events, and he engaged in its practices internationally and in the region on the issues of the public policies related to satellite communications.

Laith has run a telecom and media industry group for four years – a private sector group charged with advising the UAE government on optimizing policy.

Bruno leads the Wireless Technologies group within the Facebook Reality Labs (FRL) organization. This team gathers all the expertise in wireless (RF, Antenna, Design, Verification and Test, Certification, Standards, Spectrum Policy, Firmware and Systems) and owns the definition, development and validation of every wireless interface across the whole FRL product portfolio (Oculus VR, Portal, Ray-Ban Stories).  Before joining Facebook Bruno spent most of his career in Europe, working for Motorola and pioneering on the 2G, 3G and 4G technologies and also on the IoT startup scene, creating groundbreaking device designs, ranging from NB-IoT connected garbage sensors to sub-GHz ultra low power animal trackers. Bruno earned a Masters Engineering in Telecommunications from the University of Cantabria, one of the leading RF and Networking colleges in Spain.

As Spectrum Manager, Mohammad Sadeq is both diligent in spectrum practice and committed to the profession. He joined ictQATAR in 2007 after ten years of serving with a large and well-respected telecom operator and regional regulator firms.

Involved in the radio regulatory and spectrum management field for over 18 years and participated in spectrum management forums worldwide. Head of Spectrum Management for 7 years within ictQATAR and responsible for Qatar frequency and spectrum policy and plan. A firm believer in modern spectrum management techniques. Developed various elements for smooth running of spectrum management in Qatar and GCC Region.

In addition to spectrum management activities, active in the field of EMC and RF Exposure as well as in the field of HAM amateur radio and QoS.

Detlef Fuehrer is Senior Manager, Spectrum Management and Regulatory Affairs, EMEA in the CTO Office at Aruba, a Hewlett Packard Enterprise company. His main responsibility is to set and drive HPE’s legislative & regulatory priorities for radio spectrum in EMEA and to execute all aspects of HPE’s EMEA strategy. Prior to Aruba, Detlef managed the Spectrum Engineering activities of the European Commission’s Joint Research Centre where he established the Radio Spectrum Lab. Holding a diploma in Electronics Engineering from Dortmund University, he worked in the semiconductor industry for almost 20 years, predominantly in the communications domain, at Alcatel, Texas Instruments, and Hitachi Electronic Components. Detlef authored the first German-language expert book on ADSL and published numerous studies on spectrum sharing and wireless coexistence.

Fatima has recently joined Huawei Technologies as Technical Director on Spectrum & Regulation with a special focus on Middle East and Africa among other areas. Prior to joining Huawei, Fatima worked for almost 2 decades on wireless systems as senior technical manager, technology strategist and transversal projects’ leader.

Her most recent position has been Senior Radio Standardization Manager and strategist within Orange Group. She was leading Orange delegation in 3GPP RAN and in charge of elaborating, promoting and building large consensus for the adoption of relevant Radio standard strategies with interest to Orange affiliates in Europe, Africa and the Middle-East.

When holding that position, Fatima became one of the most influential operators’ experts in 3GPP RAN where she actively contributed to shaping the last 5 releases of 3GPP standard in particular on 5G New Radio use cases, requirements and technical studies, LTE evolutions, Spectrum standardisation, M2M/IoT, Cellular D2D, LTE Public safety, Small cells, Broadcast, LAA, Cellular V2X, A2G communications, HSPA+.

Before joining 3GPP RAN in 2007, Fatima successfully managed numerous R&D projects for Orange Labs and contributed to European collaborative projects.

From 1997 and 2002 Fatima worked for various mobile operators (Orange Sweden, BLU Italy, SFR France and Maroc Telecom) for which she successfully delivered projects involving design, engineering, roll-out and optimization of operational networks.

Ali Cheema is the Regional Lead for Government and Industry relations at Ericsson in the Middle East and North Africa. He is tasked with the coordination of ICT policy engagements and advocacy for spectrum harmonization across the region.

With over a decade of experience working with radio access networks across Middle East and Africa, Mr Cheema brings to the table not only technical expertise, but also a deep understanding of the regional context. This is coupled with a strong belief that mobile broadband can play a catalytic role for socio-economic progress in developing economies.

Currently (Manager Spectrum Policy) at TDRA of the United Arab Emirates with 12 years of professional work experience in ICT sector counting works on radiocommunication strategies and spectrum policies. Holding Masters Degree in Public Administration (MPA) from Mohammed Bin Rashid School of Government and Bachelor Degree of Engineering (B.ENG) in Electronics (Honors) from Khalifa University.

Representing UAE in various International ICT and Spectrum related meetings. Member of several UAE and TDRA Committees and Teams including WRC, 5G implementation, IOT Committee, Telecoms Emergency, Enabling 4th Industrial Revolution (4IR) in UAE, Civil UAS and Autonomous Vehicles.

Currently General Engineer and Director of Spectrum Refarming Unit at the National Agency of Frequencies Tunisia,
Mr Sami Derouiche is responsible for making a national planning to reallocate some frequency bands to new broadband technologies and IMT Systems,
based on the studies of ITU-R WG and national trends.With more than 17 years of professional work at ANF firstly in Satellite communications
then in planning and international frequency coordination,
Mr Sami Derouiche, Engineer graduated from the Higher School of Communications of Tunis “SUP’COM” since 2003,
has representing Tunisia in various international and regional ICT and Spectrum meetings and conference.

Branimir is responsible for developing and implementing EU-level policy initiatives with focus on wireless broadband and 5G. These relate to the harmonised and flexible use of spectrum, in particular for mobile broadband and vertical applications as well as a long-term strategy for the long-term use of UHF broadcasting spectrum.

Branimir has been working with the European Commission since 2008. He started his professional career in 1995 at the Vodafone Chair for Mobile Communications Systems at the Dresden University, Germany. From 2000 until 2008 he worked with the companies Philips, Qimonda and Signalion in Germany in the area of wireless equipment design, manufacturing and marketing.

Branimir has a PhD degree in mobile communications from the Dresden University. He has contributions to Wi-Fi standardisation.

Richard has over 20 years consulting and business experience working in the radio spectrum management, public telecommunications, digital broadcasting and satellite industries. He has worked for regulators, network operators, financiers, governments and end-users on issues covering national and international policy; regulation and its impact; pricing, auctions and licensing; cost modelling and tariff setting; planning and consultation; network specification and procurement; and digital switch-over. His work has been international in nature having taken him to every continent except Antarctica. Richard is also an experienced trainer having been running courses on spectrum management and policy for over 15 years.

In addition to providing consultancy advice and training, Richard’s career has embraced roles in a military communications company, as a transmission manager for BBC World Service and business manager for the UK’s largest broadcast infrastructure provider ntl: (now Arqiva) giving him a broad perspective on telecommunications and broadcast technologies and industries, their commercialisation and their regulation.

Scott has over 20 years experience in the telecoms sector. Formerly the Chief Strategy Officer for KPN’s International Mobile division and CEO of KPN’s €1bn Mobile Wholesale business. Prior to that he worked in the City as an equity analyst and earlier in his career for Arthur D. Little, Ericsson and Telstra. He holds a BE in electrical engineering from Melbourne University and an MBA from Oxford University. During the past years, Scott has run many LTE strategy and spectrum valuation and auction projects.

Ulrich Rehfuess, Head of Spectrum Policy, Nokia Ulrich holds a diploma degree in Electrical Engineering of Technical University of Munich, Germany and one in Industrial Engineering of Fernuniversität Hagen, Germany. Of his 25 years of professional experience in Siemens, Nokia Siemens Networks and Nokia, he spent 20 years in R&D, business strategy, system architecture and product management of mobile radio network systems covering GSM, EDGE, UMTS with HSPA, Flash OFDM, WiMAX, LTE and LTE Advanced. In 2011, he assumed responsibility for spectrum policy within Nokia, now organised within the CTO and Nokia Bell Labs team. Ulrich is vice chair of the BITKOM Spectrum working group in Germany and chairs the DIGITALEUROPE spectrum working group in Brussels.

Jean-Pierre Faisan is spectrum policy advisor for TDF, and has been a Board Member of the association Broadcast Networks Europe since 2013.
A graduate from Ecole Polytechnique and Telecom Paris-Tech, he has more than 29 years of experience in the telecommunications industry where he held a series of engineering then managing positions at Intelsat, CCETT (now Orange Labs), Sofratev and Gobé and TDF. He is also the founder and managing partner of Leader Wave, a consulting company specialized on spectrum policy.

More information available shortly.

More information available shortly.

Nada Abdelhafez is Head of Spectrum & Regulatory Affairs for Middle East and Africa at Shure Inc. In her role, she educates and promotes the spectrum needs for the PMSE industry in the MEA region. She influences regulations, ensures access for spectrum, advocates spectrum policy and promotes new technologies for audio PMSE. Nada works closely with administrations, regulatory authorities and policy makers to enable PMSE in MEA.

Before joining Shure, Nada worked for Etisalat UAE, where she was involved in various activities related to spectrum management, technology standardization and technology regulatory support.

Nada holds a Master’s degree in Electrical Engineering and has several publications related to optimization and deep learning in audio and video streaming.

Richard has over 20 years consulting and business experience working in the radio spectrum management, public telecommunications, digital broadcasting and satellite industries. He has worked for regulators, network operators, financiers, governments and end-users on issues covering national and international policy; regulation and its impact; pricing, auctions and licensing; cost modelling and tariff setting; planning and consultation; network specification and procurement; and digital switch-over. His work has been international in nature having taken him to every continent except Antarctica. Richard is also an experienced trainer having been running courses on spectrum management and policy for over 15 years.

In addition to providing consultancy advice and training, Richard’s career has embraced roles in a military communications company, as a transmission manager for BBC World Service and business manager for the UK’s largest broadcast infrastructure provider ntl: (now Arqiva) giving him a broad perspective on telecommunications and broadcast technologies and industries, their commercialisation and their regulation.

Mohammad Aljnoobi is General Manager, Radio Spectrum planing in Communication and information Technology Commission “CITC” in Saudi Arabia. He joined CITC in Aug 2011, since then he’s been working in the spectrum management department, and he contributes to many activities related to spectrum management in Saudi Arabia.

Mohammad is currently Chairing the Spectrum subcommittee in Saudi Arabia’s 5G National Taskforce. The committee goal is to facilitate all issues related to 5G spectrum for operators and vendors.

In matters related to WRC-19 , Mohammad is Chairing working group 4 in Arab Spectrum Management Group “ASMG”. The group is responsible of Agenda items and issues related to Land Mobile Service.

More information available shortly.

Jinane Karam leads Qualcomm’s government affairs activities in the Middle East and North Africa and interfaces with government officials and industry associations to drive the adoption of advanced wireless technologies and services in the region.

Jinane has more than 15 years of experience as a telecommunications expert with expertise in radio communications technologies, network planning, spectrum policy, and telecom regulations knowledge. She has a deep understanding of the international and national frameworks for spectrum management for terrestrial and satellite services, gained through years of working with international and regional regulatory bodies, including the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) and the Arab Spectrum Management Group (ASMG).
Jinane is well versed with the ITU-R processes (WRC, Study Groups etc.), as well as the work of the ITU-D Sector where she was a member of the management team in Study Group 1 for 2 cycles (2014-2017) and (2018-2021) representing the Arab region. She also served as Vice-Rapporteur for two cycles (SG1 Q8/1 (2014-2017) and Q2/1 (2018-2021) focusing on strategies, policies for the digital migration and implementation of new services and role of broadcasting during COVID-19 in addition to distance learning in developing countries.
Prior to joining Qualcomm, Jinane worked at the Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA) of Lebanon as a Spectrum Expert for fifteen years and performed a similar role for the Ministry of Telecommunications for four years.
Jinane holds an MS in Telecommunications/Computer Networks from Saint Joseph University in Lebanon and a master’s degrees in Electronics Engineering and in Radiocommunication Engineering from UVSQ in France.

More information available shortly.

More information available shortly.

More information available shortly.

Dr. Abdulhadi has held various leadership roles in ETISALAT, UAE,
since 2008. He is currently the head of Technology Standardization,
Spectrum Management, IoT / Smart City development and Radio
Access Transformation (e.g. NB-IoT, 5G) in UAE. Before 2008, he
joined three UAE universities and research centers. He has been
leading several national and international projects including
propagation modeling for the Gulf region, cost modeling of telecom
services, analysis of business challenges/opportunities, and
modeling/optimization of wireless systems/networks. With over 10
years of wide experience in the work of international organizations
(e.g. ITU, 3GPP and GSMA), he has been chairing various technical
groups such as ITU-T SG20/Q4 on IoT / Smart City.
Also, he is the Liaison Rapporteur of ITU-T SG20 with ITU-R and 3GPP on IoT and Smart City
issues.
He is the coordinator of Arab Spectrum Management Group (ASMG) for ITU-R WRC-19 agenda
on MTC / IoT (AI 9.1.8) and Mobile 5G/IMT2020 (AI 1.13, CPM Group), and he has been ASMG
coordinator for relevant agenda in previous ITU-R WRC’s (e.g. 700 Band in Region 1).
Dr. Abdulhadi obtained his PhD degree in wireless and mobile communication from University of
Bradford, UK, MSc degree in Engineering Systems Management, and BSc in Communication
Engineering. He is the author and co-author of many journal and conference papers

Sergio Bovelli, is Head of Spectrum Management Aero-Connectivity at Airbus. In his role Dr. Bovelli works closely with Administrations, Regulatory Authorities and Policy Makers in all regions to promote and develop new technologies and communication for aeronautic communication.

With over 15 years of experience in aeronautics and space industry, he joined Airbus in 2005, where he held several positions, both technical and managerial. He is co-author of several scientific articles and holds a number of patents related to communication systems. Sergio holds a PhD degree in “Information Engineering” and a Master degree in “Telecommunication Engineering”.

Mohammed Alabdulqader is an experienced spectrum manager for more than 15 years. He has been involved in many national and international spectrum management activities. He was the head of technical and spectrum regulations at the Saudi service provider Mobily. Mohammed has held various leadership roles in CITC, he was the General Manager of Spectrum Monitoring, and he is currently the General Manager of Spectrum Services in CITC. In addition to his current role, he is also the Chairman of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Working group responsible for WRC’s preparation.

Aarti Holla-Maini has been Secretary General of the GSOA since 2004. She is a Member of the World Economic Forum’s Global Future Council on Space, the WEF Global 5G Coalition Network and the WEF Essential Digital Infrastructure & Services Network. Under Aarti’s leadership, GSOA & 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. Since joining the association, Aarti has led the expansion of GSOA from a European association to one that represents the interests of 22 global and regional satellite operators. She reports directly to their Chief Executives. Aarti has 23 years’ experience in the aerospace industry, starting at Daimler-Benz Aerospace/EADS (now Airbus) in Germany. In 2000, she moved to Brussels, representing Airbus interests in the European satellite navigation program: Galileo.  Aarti holds a Master of Business Administration from HEC, France & Stern Business School, NYC, USA. She qualified as Solicitor of the Supreme Court in the UK in 1995, holding a 2:1 graded LLB Hons Law with German Law degree from King’s College, University of London & the University of Passau, Germany. She is also an alumnus of the International Space University. Aarti is of British-Indian origin and holds British and Belgian nationalities. She lives in Brussels, has 3 children and speaks 5 languages.

Zeina Mokaddem has successfully championed and introduced a number of pioneering communication technologies globally and in the Middle East and North Africa in particular. Prior to Inmarsat, Ms Mokaddem worked as a consultant for a number of international communication players assisting them in opening new markets and shaping favourable regulatory frameworks in different jurisdictions.
Zeina is currently co-chair for ITU’s Network of Women NOW-WRC23 for the Arab region.

Ms Mokaddem has an MSc in Engineering Management from the American University of Beirut.

Laith is VP, Government and Regulatory Engagement at OneWeb LLC.

Before devoting his work fulltime to OneWeb, Laith has worked as a consultant for major telecom players providing advice on global satellite, mobile and Internet regulatory issues, and facilitating co-ordination of agreements between clients and national telecommunications operators in the Middle East and Africa region.

Laith has contributed to the implementation of international agreements affecting satellite technology innovations and best practices in national regulatory processes in the region. He assisted clients to introduce and manage their services by conducting a complete market research, engaging with national governments to gain information on their practices, and influencing outcomes. He also drafted licence applications and developed argumentation in support of network approvals.

Laith has participated in the ITU-R and ITU-T conferences and events, and he engaged in its practices internationally and in the region on the issues of the public policies related to satellite communications.

Laith has run a telecom and media industry group for four years – a private sector group charged with advising the UAE government on optimizing policy.

Mohaned Juwad is responsible in assiting 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, Middel 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. For more information, visit www.intelsat.com.