Speaker Biographies
Full speaker biographies can be found below, please check back regularly for updates.
Speakers
Moderators
Conference Rapporteur
Speakers
Francois Rancy
Director, Radiocommunication Bureau, ITU
Mr. Rancy was elected by the ITU Plenipotentiary Conference in 2010 to the post of Director of the Radiocommunication Bureau (BR) of the International Telecommunication Union.
As Director, Mr. Rancy is responsible for the management of the Radiocommunication Bureau which organises 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 the geostationary satellite orbit.
Previous to taking up his duties at the ITU in January, 2011, he was Director General of the French Agence nationale des fréquences. Since 1995, Mr. Rancy has served as the head or deputy head for national delegations at many ITU conferences and meetings.
Mr. Rancy graduated from Ecole Polytechnique in 1977 and from Ecole nationale supérieure des télécommunications in 1979.
Tariq Al Awadhi
Chairman, Arab Spectrum Management Group
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.
Abdoulkarim Soumaila
Secretary General, African Telecommunication Union (ATU)
Mr. Abdoulkarim Soumaila is the current Secretary General of the African Telecommunications Union (ATU) since January 2011, having been elected at an Ordinary Session of ATU plenipotentiary Conference held in Brazzaville - Congo, in September 2010. He is leading the continental body entrusted with building consensus within African countries and coordinating African Common Proposals in international fora. Prior to his election as the Secretary General of ATU, he was the Director of Information Technologies at the Ministry of Communication, New Information Technologies and Culture in Niger from 2007 to 2010.
Mr. Soumaila in his 20 years as a Telecommunication expert and professional, has acquired a solid experience in Management of Telecommunication networks and services development strategy and has contributed immensely to the implementation of sectorial policies and innovative investment projects in several African countries. He has also diligently managed the affairs of the Union for the period he has been the Secretary General.
Mr. Soumaila holds a Master of science in Operational Telecommunications from the University of Coventry (UK) and Telecommunications Application Diploma from National Institute of Posts and Telecommunication in Rabat (Morocco).
Peter Lyons
Director of Middle East and North Africa, GSMA
The GSMA’s regional lead for public policy in Africa and the Middle East, Mr Lyons engages with mobile operators and governments to promote best practice related to national broadband policy and spectrum management in one of the world’s most diverse and dynamic regions.
Mr Lyons was an equity research analyst on Wall Street from 2006 to 2010, advising leading hedge funds on investments in emerging-market telecoms, media and technology companies. Mr Lyons holds a master’s degree in telecommunications systems from DePaul University and has a bachelor of science degree in economics from Purdue University.
Sultan Al Balooshi
Engineer - Spectrum Policy, TRA, UAE
Engineer Spectrum Policy at the telecommunications Regulatory Authority of the United Arab Emirates with more than 5 years of experience in Policies and Regulatory Instruments design, draft and revision related to ICT sector and radio spectrum management. Responsible for UAE preparations for World Radiocommunication Conferences (WRCs) and representing UAE in different GCC, Arab, International ICT and Spectrum related meetings. Chairman of Rapporteur Group for Computer Aided Techniques Spectrum Management Handbook at the ITU (2012-2014) and Chairman of Working Group 1 at the ASMG which is responsible for Mobile Broadband issues.
George Salama
Senior Manager, Public Policy, SAMENA Telecommunications Council
George Salama, an Egyptian–Italian national has joined SAMENA Telecommunications Council in July 2011 as Senior Manager, Public Policy, and is responsible for setting up and executing the Council’s policy plan that includes broadband development, ICT policy, spectrum management, digitization, and Internet governance. Prior to joining SAMENA Council, Salama spent over six years at Egypt’s National Telecom Regulatory Authority (NTRA), was in-charge of International Technical Coordination and Internet public policy issues on national, regional and international levels. He was also part of the Egyptian government delegation to the Internet Governance Forum 2007 to 2010. Moreover, Salama was part of the team setting up Egypt’s Broadband Plan 2020 (e-Masr) comprising coordination with the World Bank. After completing his Bachelor of Science with a major in Computer Science and a minor in Electronics from the American University in Cairo, AUC, Salama completed his Master’s of Science degree in Business Information Technology from Middlesex University, UK, in 2008. His thesis topic was “Internet Governance - Multilingual Perspective”. Salama is currently a part-time PhD researcher with Tampere University, Finland, and is pursuing his thesis on “Internet Governance – Intergovernmental Model vs. Multi-Stakeholder Approach.”
Shiv Bakhshi
Vice President, Industry Relations, Ericsson
Shiv K. Bakhshi, Ph.D., is Vice President, Industry Relations in Group Function Technology at Ericsson. He is charged with the responsibility of articulating technology and policy strategies for Africa and the Middle East, and works closely with industry and policy leaders in those regions.
A recognized expert in mobile technology, policy 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 headed the worldwide mobile network and device practices for a leading research and advisory firm 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 States, and can be reached at shiv.bakhshi@ericsson.com.
Fabien Migneret
Senior Manager, Government Affairs Middle East North Africa, Qualcomm
Fabien Migneret serves as Senior Manager of Government Affairs Middle East and North Africa for Qualcomm. Fabien is currently based in Qualcomm office in Dubai to develop and implement Qualcomm’s spectrum and public policies in the region.
He has more than a decade of experience in regulatory policies within multinational companies, trade associations and international organisations of the telecommunication sector. Prior joining Qualcomm in 2012, he was in charge of the Government Affairs in Europe for Huawei in 2011/2012 and for Orange from 2002 to 2011 where he coordinated spectrum strategies and positions across the operator businesses footprint.
Fabien holds 2 master’s degrees from ESIEA and ENST Paris in wireless communications as well as in electronic and computer sciences.
Göran Berntson
Secretary General, 3.5GHz Interest Group; and Director, TDD Industry Development, Huawei
Göran Berntson joined Huawei in 2008 and was then responsible for setting up the European Core Network Product Management organisation. Today he is Director of TDD Industry Development and still based in the Huawei Sweden R&D centre in Stockholm. In this role he is managing a team of people working with LTE/TDD ECO System development, this includes everything from regulatory matters to facilitate for operators and suppliers when adapting their solutions to LTE/TDD. Since 2012 he is also Secretary General of the 3.5 GHz Interest Group. He has more than 30 years of experience from the Telecom industry, based primarily in Sweden but also in other countries.
Stefan Zehle
CEO, Coleago
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.
Simon Edkins
Senior Economist, Copenhagen Economics
Simon is a Senior Economist and Leader of the Auctions Service at Copenhagen Economics. Simon advises both bidders and regulatory authorities in the preparation and execution of spectrum auctions. As an experienced telecommunications expert specialised in spectrum auctions and spectrum management, he has extensive experience with leading, challenging and facilitating the development of coherent and actionable business plans for spectrum acquisition and technology evolution. As a consultant, Simon combines his strong grounding in economic theory, business planning / modelling principles, and strategy development with the required pragmatism to distil complicated issues into robust plans and results. He has strong programming and quantitative analysis skills and is a certified project manager. Simon has been a key member of bidding teams in many recent high value spectrum auctions. Prior to joining Copenhagen Economics, Simon was a Senior Manager in the Spectrum Strategy and Economic Analysis team at Orange Group and holds a 1st Class Degree in Economics and Business Administration.
Soren Sorensen
Senior Consultant, NERA Economic Consulting
Dr Soren Sorensen is a NERA Senior Consultant with more than 10 years’ consulting experience, primarily focusing on auctions. Soren’s work spans spectrum auctions in more than 30 countries, and includes auction design and implementation for regulators as well as advice on bidding strategies for mobile operators. Soren has extensive experience with advising mobile operators in combinatorial clock auctions (CCA), and has also advised bidders on simultaneous multiple round auctions (SMRA), clock auctions, sealed bid auctions and various hybrid auction formats. During the majority of these auction projects, Soren has been involved in the development of software for analysing bidding behaviour and software for processing bidding data. Alongside his work on spectrum auctions, Soren has advised clients on auction design and auction strategy in diverse markets such as natural gas, electricity, terrestrial TV broadcasting licences, airport slots, water abstractions rights, rough diamonds and flue ventilation systems. Soren holds a PhD in economics from the University of Aarhus, Denmark, where he specialised in microeconomics, game theory and auction design.
David Hartshorn
Secretary General, Global VSAT Forum (GVF)
David Hartshorn is Secretary General of the GVF, the London-based non-profit international association of the satellite industry. GVF consists of member organisations from every major region of the world and from every sector of the industry, including mobile and fixed satellite operators, manufacturers, system integrators, and other service providers.
Supported by 15 affiliate offices, two regional offices and seven working groups, Mr. Hartshorn leads the Forum’s global efforts to facilitate the provision of satellite-based communications solutions throughout all nations of the world.
Mr. Hartshorn works closely to support national-, regional- and global-level policy makers as they formulate state-of-the-art satellite regulatory, policy and spectrum-management frameworks. He is also responsible for creating greater awareness of the commercial, economic, political and technological advantages that satellite-based communications provide. GVF’s training, product quality assurance, network validation, and other programmes are an important means by which these aims are achieved.
Mohammad Sadeq
Spectrum Affairs Manager, CRA Qatar
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.
Daniel Hamadeh
Director, Spectrum Policy and Regulatory Affairs Middle East and North Africa, Motorola Solutions
A technology and regulatory executive with 18 years of experience across the Middle East and Africa having worked in both private and public sector and in the development of public policy for managing radio spectrum, a key asset for mobile and ICT development and for the protection of public safety.
As an advocate of future of public safety broadband communications, Daniel works closely with regulators and public safety and emergency communication agencies to develop policy decisions 'today' that allow for modernizing public safety and disaster relief readiness through advances in technology.
He is featured speaker at public events such as the CCME, LTE World Summit, IEEE COMSEC, and Mobile Broadband events on spectrum and technology regulatory policy issues.
Frédéric Bonnin
Deputy Director, Group Spectrum Office, Orange
Frédéric has 20 years experience in the mobile communications industry. He has been deputy director of Orange Group Spectrum Office (GSO) since 2006. GSO is the Orange’s centre expertise on spectrum management best practices (technical/financial/strategical).
Previously Frédéric was Head of New Radio Access Technologies strategy Department at Orange Corporate for 5 years. He was at that time Orange delegate at 3GPP RAN plenary meetings.
Frédéric also worked for 7 years at Matra Communication (EADS group) developing Tetrapol cellular network.
Frederic is graduated from Ecole Nationale Supérieure des Télécommunications de Bretagne.
Syed Ismail Shah
Chairman, Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA)
Syed Ismail Shah did his PhD in Electrical Engineering from University of Pittsburgh, PA, USA in 1997. Dr. Shah is currently working as the Chairman of the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority and was instrumental in conducting the long awaited spectrum auction in Pakistan in the 2100 MHz and 1800 MHz bands simultaneously for 3G and 4G LTE technologies. He has over 20 years of professional experience in areas related to cellular wireless, technical aspects of spectrum planning, digital communication, regulatory functions and policy making. He has expertise in the areas of LTE, UMTS (HSPA+, WCDMA), CDMA2000 1x EVDO (Rev. A, B) and CDMA2000 1x Advanced technologies, spectrum management, satellite communication and has also carried out analytical assessments and policy roadmap for emerging Information Communication Technology (ICT) solutions. Dr. Shah has work experience in the industry, academia and in the government sector. He remained associated with the Central Asian Cellular Forum, Qualcomm Inc., University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA, Southern Illinois University,Illinois, Carbondale, IL, USA, the GIKI Institute Topi, Pakistan, Communication Enabling Technologies and Iqra University, Islamabad, Pakistan. He has also served as Member (Telecom) at the Ministry of Information Technology, IT and Telecom Division, Government of Pakistan, where his main responsibilities were to provide expert technical advice on policy issues related to Fixed Line, Broadband, Cellular Wireless (3G/4G), and satellite communications. He has served as a Member of the Board of Directors on Telecommunication companies, Frequency Allocation Board, Universal Service Fund Company, the National ICT R&D Fund Company, PAKSAT and Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority. Dr. Shah is the author of several research articles in the area of communication, signal processing and related issues. He is a Senior Member of Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), USA. Dr. Shah has vast experience of speaking at conferences and workshops on technical, regulatory and policy issues related to telecommunication in many Central Asian countries, Thailand, Mongolia, Pakistan, Morocco, Egypt, UAE, Australia, Singapore and USA.
Laith Hamad
Convener, The UAE Communications and Media Industry Group (UCMIG)
Laith Hamad is a Telecom regulatory engineer and is the Director of Abu Dhabi office of Access Partnership Ltd. He has advised global satellite and mobile operators on a large number of telecommunications regulatory issues, and facilitated co-ordination of operating agreements between clients and national telecommunications operators in the Middle East. He has contributed to the implementation of international agreements and best practices in national regulatory processes in the Middle East.
Laith Hamad is running a telecom and media industry group in the UAE which converge ICT and Media based companies at one platform - The UAE Communications & Media Industry Group (UCMIG). UCMIG is a meeting of industry stakeholders who work in co-operation with the UAE telecoms and Media regulators. The purpose of the group is to provide a forum with which the UAE regulators and government agencies can interact and consult, and from which it can receive feedback on key issues of the day. Members are drawn from UAE licensed operators, manufacturers operating in the UAE and the region, and related UAE companies.
Said Aljane
General Director, Topnet and Consultant, Arab States Broadcasting Union (ASBU)
Said is General Director of Topnet which is an ISP (Internet Service Provider) in Tunisia (more than 50% market share in Tunisian internet market).
In addition, Said is a consultant in frequency management and broadcasting and he participated with ASBU in many subjects as a member in different working groups dealing with broadcasting and frequency
Previously said was a CEO of the Tunisian National Broadcasting Company from 2005 to 2011 and he piloted the implementation of the national roadmap for digital TV (smooth transition)
Before, Said was the General Director of ANF (Agence Nationale des Fréquences) which in charge of the frequency management in Tunisia from 2004 to 2005
Said was also technical director of the Tunisia Radio Television Establishment (ERTT) from 1996 to 2004
Said occupied a different positions as a Director in the Ministry of Telecommunication before the privatization of the telecommunication sector
Said in his 31 years as a telecommunication engineer, has acquired a large experience in a different component of the telecommunication /ICT fields (technical, content, regulation, business, policy, change etc…)
Said graduated from “Ecole Nationale d’Ingénieur de Sfax / TUNISIA " in 1981 as a principal engineer
Tim Miller
Director, Plum Consulting
Tim has over fourteen years of experience in the telecommunications industry. He specialises in the application of economics to regulatory and competition issues, and the analysis of markets and company interactions. Tim’s work has been used in the context of spectrum strategy, regulatory price cap models, top-down and bottom-up cost models for regulatory and business purposes, spectrum awards and bidding behaviour, financial disputes, and demand forecasting. He has advised operators, regulators, government and industry bodies across the world on the potential uses of spectrum and resulting benefits, how to determine the optimal use of spectrum, and regulatory road maps for achieving this.
Over the past few years he has worked in Egypt, Oman, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain, Jordan and Turkey, assisting regulators with lessons that can be learnt from other countries around the world and helping set out regulatory objectives, as well as assisting operators with understanding the commercial economics of the industry.
Moderators
Amit Nagpal
Partner, Aetha Consulting
Amit Nagpal is a Partner at, and one of the co-founders of, Aetha Consulting. Amit has over 20 years of experience on spectrum management issues having started his career with the Radiocommunications Agency (now part of Ofcom) in the UK. Amit advises regulators/government bodies, fixed and mobile operators, broadcasters, financial institutions and industry associations on a wide range of issues including spectrum policy development and spectrum valuation and auction support. Amit’s experience includes leading studies for the European Commission on the introduction of spectrum trading and a harmonised approach to the digital dividend. Amit has undertaken projects for clients in Europe, Middle East and Africa, Asia and North America and is therefore able to bring a global perspective to his work. He recently supported a mobile operator in Colombia with its preparations for the AWS spectrum auction.
Conference Rapporteur
Mark Colville
Principal, Analysys Mason
Mark Colville is a strategy consultant specialising in the telecoms, media and technology sectors and is part of the Regulation practice at Analysys Mason's Cambridge office. He joined Analysys Mason in 2003 and has advised a variety of clients including national regulators, fixed and mobile operators, media players, equipment vendors and investors on a wide range of projects across the globe.
Mark’s work focuses mainly on radio spectrum and wider regulatory issues across the telecoms and media industries. Amongst other topics, he has particular expertise in spectrum valuation and auction support, spectrum policy, and forecasting the future demand for spectrum. His recent project experience includes various projects assisting mobile operators with spectrum valuation in preparation for multi-band auctions. He has also recently led a project for Ofcom on calculating the opportunity costs of different uses (DTT, DAB, mobile, PMSE etc…) of broadcast spectrum, and another to assess the benefits of changing use of the 700MHz band to mobile. Prior to that Mark led a project for the Danish regulator on forecasting the future demand for spectrum for fixed and mobile broadband services.
Mark’s other areas of expertise include media regulation, with a focus on competition issues in pay TV markets, content rights issues and TV advertising. His wider regulatory experience includes work on a range of competition issues including wholesale pricing, predatory pricing and margin squeeze analysis and core and access network cost modelling. Mark also has extensive experience in pricing of fixed and mobile telephony services and has managed several projects to advise operators on the introduction of new tariff plans.
Mark trained as a mathematician and has an MA from Cambridge University as well as a Diploma in Computer Science, also from Cambridge University.

Logistics
When
Thursday 11 December, 2014
09.00 to 17.00
AST
Where
Al Nahda School Street
Airport Road
Doha
Qatar
Tel: +974 4402 3333
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