5th Mena Spectrum Management Conference

Johann Adjovi is a Principal at Analysys Mason. He heads up Analysys Mason’s Dubai office and is in charge of Analysys Mason’s consulting activities for the Middle East.
Johann has close to 15 years’ experience in telecoms, spanning engineering and consulting. He joined Analysys Mason in 2008, and has worked on multiple assignments related to spectrum valuation, spectrum strategy and spectrum policy.

One of Johann’s particular areas of expertise is regulation and policy: he has assisted many operators and regulators in Europe and in 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 Conservatoire National des Arts et Métiers

Majed Al Mesmar holds a bachelor degree of science in Electrical Engineering from Northeastern University in Massachusetts – USA, Has over 27 years of experience in the field of telecommunications and regulatory. He held various top-level management within Etisalat Company (1st Telecom operator in the UAE) locally and internationally such as Group Senior Vice President – Special Projects, Chief Technical Officer (CTO) of Etisalat-Mobily in the kingdom of Saudi Arabia (2nd Telecom operator in the KSA) and Chief Operating Officer (COO) in Etisalat-India.

In April 2010, H.E. Al Mesmar joined the Telecommunications Regulatory Authority as Deputy Director General for telecommunications sector and he is also the Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the ICT Fund.

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. 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.

Johann Adjovi is a Principal at Analysys Mason. He heads up Analysys Mason’s Dubai office and is in charge of Analysys Mason’s consulting activities for the Middle East.
Johann has close to 15 years’ experience in telecoms, spanning engineering and consulting. He joined Analysys Mason in 2008, and has worked on multiple assignments related to spectrum valuation, spectrum strategy and spectrum policy.

One of Johann’s particular areas of expertise is regulation and policy: he has assisted many operators and regulators in Europe and in 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 Conservatoire National des Arts et Métiers

Bio will appear here soon

Branimir is responsible for the development and implementation of EU-level spectrum policy for wireless broadband and 5G as well as the integration of research and innovation policies. Specific topics include the 5G spectrum roadmap, harmonised spectrum allocation, coordination of authorisation practices, spectrum management for vertical sectors, international cooperation.

Branimir has been working for 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 (later National Instruments) in Germany in the area of wireless equipment design, manufacturing and marketing. He has made contributions to Wi-Fi standardisation.Branimir has a PhD degree in mobile communications from the Dresden University.

Neşe Guendelsberger serves as the Deputy Bureau Chief of the International Bureau at the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). The International Bureau administers international communications and satellite programs and policies, leads the FCC’s bilateral, regional, and multilateral initiatives, and coordinates global spectrum and other communications related activities. Ms. Guendelsberger has held a number of positions within the FCC, including the Wireless Telecommunications Bureau and the Wireline Competition Bureau, in various capacities. Before joining the FCC in 2000, Ms. Guendelsberger taught law at the University of Baltimore and the University of Ankara and was a consultant on international law matters.

Bio will appear here soon

With over 20 years of telecoms industry and consulting experience, Andrew works on projects of major strategic importance, focusing principally on the strategic and regulatory issues faced by mobile operators. Formerly the Managing Director of Analysys Consulting, Andrew brings a wealth of management experience to Aetha’s senior team.

Andrew’s work for operators, regulators and the financial community has included spectrum valuation, spectrum auction support, network sharing, support in transactions, expert witness testimony and valuations for international arbitration. In addition, Andrew has undertaken advisory work on topics including spectrum licensing, interconnection and other areas of telecoms regulation. Most recently, Andrew has advised regulators in Europe, Asia and the Middle East on the key spectrum policy issues of digital switchover, digital dividend and the updating of spectrum licensing regimes to allow for liberalised use of spectrum and the introduction of market mechanisms, such as auctions and spectrum trading.

Stefan Zehle, MBA, (CEO) Stefan is a co-founder of Coleago, was a Director Strategy, Marketing and Regulatory Affairs of a mobile operator. With 28 years telecoms experience, he is an expert in telecoms marketing strategy, spectrum valuation, and business planning. Stefan was responsible for many successful mobile licence bids and spectrum auctions and worked in 40 countries in developed and emerging markets. Stefan holds an MBA with distinction. Co-author of the Economist’s Guide to Business Planning.

Mohammad Aljnoobi is Senior Radiocommunication Engineer 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

Mohamed’s career experience in ICT spans 15 years. Before joining the GSMA as Public Policy Director – MENA in February 2017, Mohamed managed advisory and strategic consulting in the telecommunications regulation within PwC in all the African French speaking countries within MENA. Mohamed’s previous career experience included working as a senior manager Regulatory Affairs for Ooredoo Group in Qatar, between 2014 and 2016, where he provided support to the 11 Ooredoo operators worldwide and participated to several missions across Ooredoo’s footprint. Before that, Mohamed was the head of Regulatory Affairs and Wholesale Business Department at Ooredoo Tunisia for four years.
In addition to regulatory affairs and wholesale experience, Mohamed’s telecommunications experience also includes a role in 2003 as an engineer at the technical department of Ooredoo Tunisia where he ended in 2009 as Head of Rollout of the mobile network of Ooredoo Tunisia. Meanwhile, Mohamed was chosen by Orascom Holding in early 2009 to participate in the mission to restructure the newly acquired operator in Central African Republic (Telecel CAR) as a Head of Rollout.
Mohamed holds a Master’s degree in Engineering from Tunis School of Engineering (2001).

Dr. Andrew Arowojolu is Zain Group’s Chief Regulatory Officer. Andrew oversees the group’s regulatory roadmap and engagement with Zain’s operating companies, industry advocacy bodies and regulatory authorities within Zain’s footprint. He is responsible for policy development and execution support on regulatory matters impacting licensing, spectrum management, competition policy, industry taxation, interconnection, infrastructure, data protection and privacy, digital identity, FinTech, M2M/IoT, 5G and cloud services.

Andrew is a Senior Telecoms Executive with over 27-years of experience in the telecommunications industry, including 11+years in professional consulting in EMEA and Asia. Andrew is a member of the GSMA MENA Chief Policy & Regulatory Officers Group (CPROG), GSMA’s Spectrum Strategy Management Group (SSMG) and SAMENA Council’s Working Groups on Digital Services, Data Regulation and Spectrum Management. Andrew is also a Member of the Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET) and the International Association of Privacy Professionals (IAPP).

Prior to his current role, Andrew held senior leadership positions in Zain in the areas of corporate strategy development, M&A and business development. From 2003 until 2016, Andrew played leading roles in Zain’s major M&A transactions, initial public offerings, licence bids and digital venture capital investments in the MENA region. Landmark transactions include the purchase of 13 mobile operations from Celtel International for a total consideration of US$ 3.36 billion in May 2005 and the subsequent US$ 10.7 billion sale of Zain Africa BV to Bharti Airtel in June 2010; the 2008 Zain Saudi IPO and subsequent USD 1.6 billion rights issue in 2012; and the Celtel Zambia IPO, Zain Bahrain and Zain Iraq IPOs that were completed in 2008, 2014 and 2015 respectively.

From 1995 until 2003, Andrew was the Technical Director of Freshfield Communications Limited, a UK-based telecoms consultancy firm, developing 2G and 3G wireless radio planning platforms. From 1994 until 1995, Andrew worked for Mobile Systems International UK (MSI) as Head of Technology Group.

Andrew holds a Doctorate (PhD) in Mobile Radio Communications (1994) and an M.Sc., (Distinction) in Microelectronics and Telecommunications from University of Liverpool, UK (1991) and a B.Sc. (First Class Honours) in Electrical and Electronic Engineering from the University of Lagos, Nigeria (1988). Andrew is currently pursuing an LLM in Technology, Media and Telecommunications Law at the Queen Mary Centre for Commercial Law Studies, UK.

Dr. El-Moghazi is the Spectrum Management Research and Studies Director at the National Telecom Regulatory Authority (NTRA) of Egypt. At present, he is responsible of spectrum planning and pricing for new and current services.

He was the Chairman of Working Group 4B in WRC-15. He was also Egypt’s coordinator for WRC-15 A.I. 1.1 (additional spectrum allocations to the mobile service) and A.I. 1.2 (the use of the frequency band 694-790 MHz by the mobile).

Dr El-Moghazi is currently Egypt and ASMG coordinator for WRC-19 Agenda Item 1.13 (additional spectrum allocations to the mobile service and IMT identification above 6 GHz) at the ITU-R TG 5/1, which considers the identification of frequency bands for the future development of IMT in WRC-19.

Ali Cheema is the Head of Government and Industry Relations at Ericsson in the Middle East and Africa. Over the past fifteen years, Ali Cheema has held various senior management roles at Ericsson, contributing to ICT industry development across the Middle East, Africa, Europe, & Pakistan. Ali is the current Chairman Global suppliers Alliance (GSA) Middle East leading spectrum advocacy efforts in the region, and a seasoned campaigner at ITU-R.

A firm believer in the catalytic role of Mobile Broadband for socio-economic progress in developing economies Ali is a regular participant in regional discussion fora. He brings to the discussion, not only, technical expertise but also, a deep understanding of the policy provisions necessary to extract value from ICTs.

Richard is director of spectrum consulting for LS telcom. He has 20 over 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.

With over 20 years of telecoms industry and consulting experience, Andrew works on projects of major strategic importance, focusing principally on the strategic and regulatory issues faced by mobile operators. Formerly the Managing Director of Analysys Consulting, Andrew brings a wealth of management experience to Aetha’s senior team.

Andrew’s work for operators, regulators and the financial community has included spectrum valuation, spectrum auction support, network sharing, support in transactions, expert witness testimony and valuations for international arbitration. In addition, Andrew has undertaken advisory work on topics including spectrum licensing, interconnection and other areas of telecoms regulation. Most recently, Andrew has advised regulators in Europe, Asia and the Middle East on the key spectrum policy issues of digital switchover, digital dividend and the updating of spectrum licensing regimes to allow for liberalised use of spectrum and the introduction of market mechanisms, such as auctions and spectrum trading.

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.

Dr. El-Moghazi is the Spectrum Management Research and Studies Director at the National Telecom Regulatory Authority (NTRA) of Egypt. At present, he is responsible of spectrum planning and pricing for new and current services.

He was the Chairman of Working Group 4B in WRC-15. He was also Egypt’s coordinator for WRC-15 A.I. 1.1 (additional spectrum allocations to the mobile service) and A.I. 1.2 (the use of the frequency band 694-790 MHz by the mobile).

Dr El-Moghazi is currently Egypt and ASMG coordinator for WRC-19 Agenda Item 1.13 (additional spectrum allocations to the mobile service and IMT identification above 6 GHz) at the ITU-R TG 5/1, which considers the identification of frequency bands for the future development of IMT in WRC-19.

Sultan is currently (Manager Spectrum Policy) at the Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA) of the United Arab Emirates with more than ten years of professional work experience in ICT sector counting works on radiocommunication strategies and spectrum policies. He has been putting various efforts to develop and review regulations and policies related to spectrum management by setting the review plans, working on their implementation, and conducting public consultations and associated workshops with ICT sector stakeholders in the UAE.

Holding Masters Degree in Public Administration (MPA) from Mohammed Bin Rashid School of Government in UAE since 2015 and Bachelor Degree of Engineering (B.ENG) in Electronics (Honors) from Khalifa University in UAE obtained in 2008.

Mohaned Juwad is responsible for 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 10 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 fibre 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.

Mrs Ilham Ghazi is Head of the Broadcasting Services Division at the Radiocommunication Bureau of ITU.

During her 15 years in ITU and among the most important tasks, she had been appointed as WRC secretary during WRC-07 (Appendix-4 revision), WRC-12 (WG5C on fixe, mobile and broadcasting issues- a.is. 1.5, 1.8, 1.17, 1.20, 3, 5) and WRC-19 (WG6B on future conferences agendas- a.i.10).

From 2010 and 2018, she has successfully led DTT frequency planning in Africa, Arab Region and Central America and Caribbean, in order to facilitate the Transition to DTT and enable the release of 700/800 MHz.

In 2018, in parallel to her responsibilities, she had been appointed as Counselor by interim to ITU-R study Group 6 and its Working Parties (February to September 2018).

Prior to ITU, she had been working in the spectrum management in Moroccan Agence Nationale de Réglemenation des telecommunications, from 1996 to 2005 at in Morocco, with evolving level of responsibility that included head of national frequency planning and international frequency coordination Units.

In addition to her Engineering degree, she completed an executive Master in Business Administration, from the Ecole polytechnique Federale de Lausanne-Switzerland in 2009.

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). Before 2008, he joined three UAE universities and research centers. In addition, 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 and candidate for 3GPP RAN Vice chairman. 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.

Bio will appear here soon

Ali Cheema is the Head of Government and Industry Relations at Ericsson in the Middle East and Africa. Over the past fifteen years, Ali Cheema has held various senior management roles at Ericsson, contributing to ICT industry development across the Middle East, Africa, Europe, & Pakistan. Ali is the current Chairman Global suppliers Alliance (GSA) Middle East leading spectrum advocacy efforts in the region, and a seasoned campaigner at ITU-R.

A firm believer in the catalytic role of Mobile Broadband for socio-economic progress in developing economies Ali is a regular participant in regional discussion fora. He brings to the discussion, not only, technical expertise but also, a deep understanding of the policy provisions necessary to extract value from ICTs.

Neşe Guendelsberger serves as the Deputy Bureau Chief of the International Bureau at the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). The International Bureau administers international communications and satellite programs and policies, leads the FCC’s bilateral, regional, and multilateral initiatives, and coordinates global spectrum and other communications related activities. Ms. Guendelsberger has held a number of positions within the FCC, including the Wireless Telecommunications Bureau and the Wireline Competition Bureau, in various capacities. Before joining the FCC in 2000, Ms. Guendelsberger taught law at the University of Baltimore and the University of Ankara and was a consultant on international law matters.

Ethan Lavan is Director of Orbital Resources at Eutelsat since 2010. Prior to joining Eutelsat, Lavan was responsible for regulatory policy and management of service and spectrum licences at global level for Inmarsat Global, the UK-based mobile satellite services operator, which he joined in 2002. From 1989 to 2001, he held various responsibilities at Alcatel Space Industries, including regulatory standards coordination for the SkyBridge broadband satellite programme.

Faisal Hamady is a Principal at Boston Consulting Group (BCG) and is a core member of the firm’s global TMT practice (Technology, Media, & Telecom). His project work across the Middle East, Europe, and Southeast Asia span a wide variety of topics including growth strategies, business transformations, digital advantage, and national sector developments. Prior to BCG, Faisal worked at Intel on developing power reduction algorithms and energy-aware compilers for next-generation mobile platforms. He also worked on developing secure network gateways and power-efficient communication schemes for ad-hoc sensor networks.Faisal holds an M.Eng. (Honors) in Electrical & Computer Engineering from the American University of Beirut, and a B.Eng. (Honors) in Computer &Communication Engineering from Notre Dame University. He serves as a Technical Reviewer on several IEEE conferences and has authored numerous publications on energy efficiency and security in mobile and wireless networks.

Philip is Group Director, Spectrum at Ofcom, where he is responsible for setting and implementing the strategy for managing spectrum including clearing, awarding, licensing, monitoring and enforcement.

Philip is also Chairman of the EU’s Radio Spectrum Policy Group (RSPG) bringing together all the EU’s national spectrum authorities and the Commission.

Philip has over 30 years’ experience within the wireless communications industry. He has held senior executive positions covering technology, operations and strategy in both. Philip has worked in both start-up (from initial concept to sale) and large corporates in companies ranging from UK Broadband, O2, Orange, BT, J-Phone in Japan (now Softbank Mobile), Extreme Mobile and SpinVox (now Nuance).

Elizabeth Migwalla is Senior Director and Head of Government Affairs (Africa) for Qualcomm International Incorporated (Qualcomm). In this role, which she has held for eight years, Elizabeth interfaces directly with key government ministries, regulatory authorities as well as regional and international regulatory forums, in order to drive the adoption of advanced broadband wireless technologies and service on the continent.

Elizabeth’s distinguished career in various aspects of telecommunications engineering, operations, services and policy spans more than 31 years. She has built a reputation as one of Africa’s leading experts on communications policy through her many accomplishments during this period. In 2012 Elizabeth was named among the top 50 female executives in Middle East and Africa by CommsMEA magazine.

Prior to joining Qualcomm Elizabeth served The Boeing Company as its Regional Director for Regulatory Affairs for four years. Elizabeth also performed a similar role for ICO Global Communications for a period of five years.

Before entering the private sector in 1997, Elizabeth worked at the Kenya Post and Telecommunications Corporation, as both head of its International Services and Planning and Engineering departments. Elizabeth holds Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Engineering from the University of Nairobi (Kenya), and an MBA from Bond University in Australia

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). Before 2008, he joined three UAE universities and research centers. In addition, 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 and candidate for 3GPP RAN Vice chairman. 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.

Bio to appear here shortly.

Khalid Al Awadhi is the Manager of International Organizations in the Telecommunications Regulatory Authority of the UAE (TRA). The UAE TRA has been established according to the UAE Federal Law by Decree No. 3 of 2003 – Telecom Law. It is responsible for the management of every aspect of the telecommunications and information technology industries in the UAE.

Before his current role, Khalid Al Awadhi was manager of space services, where he was responsible for regulating spectrum use, developing, and protecting space services in the UAE.

In the domain of the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) Khalid is the Chapter Rapporteur for Chapter 5 “Satellite Regulatory Issues” of the World Radiocommunication Conference 2015 (WRC-15). He is the chairman of the Arab Space Services Group in the Arab Spectrum Management Group (ASMG) since 2012. Also, he leads the UAE in ITU meetings on space radio services and in Administration-level satellite coordination meetings.

Khalid lead the development of regulatory instruments for the space services in the TRA, including Earth Station Regulations, Guidelines for the Coordination of Satellite Networks, Earth Station on board Vessels Regulations, study on VSAT Regulations, and study on the use of spectrum/orbital resources.

Khalid obtained his Masters of Science (MSc ) degree in Modern Digital and Radio Frequency Wireless Communications from the University of Leeds in the UK in 2004, and Bachelor of Science (BSc) in Electrical and Electronic Engineering from the American University of Sharjah in 2003. He is a member of the American University of Sharjah Electrical Engineering Advisory Board.

Muhammad Atif Jamil is Director Solutions Smart Cities, 5G & Data Analytics, Huawei Technologies based in the UAE. Prior to Huawei, Atif was engaged in various Technical consulting roles with LM Ericsson Middle East, Etisalat Pakistan and Consistel Solutions Singapore.

Atif holds MBA degree from University of Manchester, UK in 2015 and accomplished Masters and Bachelor’s Degrees in Electronics & Communication Engineering from University of Engineering & Technology, Lahore, Pakistan in 2003 and 2007 respectively.

Atif has 16 years of experience within the Telecommunications and the ICT Industry across Asia and the Middle Eastern regions of which, 8 years focused on expert consulting on Smart City, IoT and Telecommunication solutions. He has worked across key industries digital transformation including Real Estate, Public safety, Transportation and Healthcare.

Atif’s signature industry involvement includes citywide ICT master plan design, development of innovative applications, citywide IoT, Security and Telecom services, data analytics platforms and its integration with central Intelligent Operations Centers. He has delivered several innovative technology keynote, consulted nationwide ICT development projects with Carriers, Governments and Enterprises some of which include Etisalat/du in UAE, Zain in Jordan, STC/Mobily in Saudi Arabia, Batelco in Bahrain, Omatel in Oman, Mobilink/Ufone in Pakistan and Dubai Design District in UAE.

His current research interests include emerging technologies convergence, specifically AI, 5G, IoT, Big Data, fixed/mobile infrastructure technologies and in creating value chains for Digital Economy, Society and Sustainability.

Branimir is responsible for the development and implementation of EU-level spectrum policy for wireless broadband and 5G as well as the integration of research and innovation policies. Specific topics include the 5G spectrum roadmap, harmonised spectrum allocation, coordination of authorisation practices, spectrum management for vertical sectors, international cooperation.

Branimir has been working for 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 (later National Instruments) in Germany in the area of wireless equipment design, manufacturing and marketing. He has made contributions to Wi-Fi standardisation.Branimir has a PhD degree in mobile communications from the Dresden University.

Mohammad Aljnoobi is Senior Radiocommunication Engineer 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

Rami Diya

Lead Technology Use Cases Strategy & Architecture

Throughout his experience in planning and developing the next generation networks in telecom operators and multinational companies, Rami Diya has worked in different domains within infrastructure and technology that are covering planning, design, development and implementation of Fixed, Wireless and Mobile networks. He has also a good exposure to the digital transformation, technology development and automation.

He is currently leading the 5G use cases within his role as a Lead of Technology Use Cases Strategy & Architecture.

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.

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.

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.

Steven Doiron is the Head of Regulatory Affairs and Spectrum at Yahsat, the UAE based Satellite Communications Operator, a wholly owned company of Mubadala Development Company.

Steven joined Yahsat in 2015 to manage the Regulatory and Spectrum Affairs within the Strategy & Business Development Department.

Steven brings 24 years of experience in the Satellite and Spectrum field. He started his career as a Project manager in the Canadian Forces supervising the deployment of multiple military satellite networks. He then moved to Telesat Canada, Intelsat General, and later in 2003 worked in Hughes Network System (HNS).

His most recent position has been Senior Director-Regulatory Affairs at HNS. In that position Steven managed HNS’ orbital strategy in regards to its Ka-band satellites and earth stations.

Steven holds a Bachelor Degree in Electrical Engineering from McGill University and has continued his training in the Canadian Forces School of Communications and Electronics.

Shiv K. Bakhshi, Ph.D., is Vice President, Industry Relations at Ericsson. He is charged with the responsibility of technology and regulatory strategies for Africa and the Middle East. In his role, he works closely with industry and policy leaders in those regions.
A recognized expert in mobile technology and markets, Dr. Bakhshi is a strong believer in the role mobile broadband can play in economic development and in helping unleash the digital vitalities of the peoples in emerging economies.
Earlier, as an industry analyst and consultant, Dr. Bakhshi was a director at IDC, a global research and advisory firm, where he headed the company’s worldwide mobile network and device practices for several years. A frequent speaker at industry and academic conferences, he has presented on a broad range of topics pertaining to the structural transformation of the mobile industry.
Dr. Bakhshi started his career as a journalist in India. Later, as an academic, he taught international telecom policy and strategy, and directed graduate and doctoral research, at the University of Kentucky. A political economist by training, he has a bachelor’s in Economics from Calcutta University. He earned his master’s as well as his doctorate in Communication from The Ohio State University. He is based in the United Sates.

Amy Mehlman leads Viasat’s government relations efforts in the United States and helps determine its global policy strategies.

Amy is well-known and respected by government leaders as an effective advocate, navigating the public policy environment and anticipating trends likely to impact the global marketplace.  She brings more than two-and-a-half decades experience representing innovators before the U.S. Congress, Federal Agencies, and the Executive Branch.

Most recently, Amy served as a U.S. delegate to the 2019 World Radiocommunications Conference in Egypt.  She founded and ran a boutique telecommunications consulting firm in 2004 that advised business leaders across satellite, wireless and telecom equipment sectors.

Amy started her career at the premier Washington, DC law firm specializing in telecommunications policy as the U.S. Congress wrote the historic Telecommunications Act of 1996 and the Internet bubble transformed the marketplace.  She remains politically engaged and volunteered for several Presidential campaigns and FCC transition teams.

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.

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.