Speaker Biographies

Speakers

Istvan Bozsoki

Head, Spectrum Management and Broadcasting Division, ITU

Mr Istvan Bozsoki joined the ITU in 1997 to work at the Space Department of the Radiocommunication Bureau and he was dealing with coordination and notification of satellite systems. In 2007 he moved to the Telecommunication Development Bureau and is responsible for spectrum management and broadcasting issues. Since April 2013 he is Head of Spectrum Management and Broadcasting Division.

After obtaining his degree in telecommunication engineering at the Technical University Budapest in 1980 he spent 17 years at the Hungarian Communication Authority and he was dealing with technical and regulatory aspects of the spectrum management. Among others, he was responsible for the development of a computerized spectrum management system. Later, he was appointed as director of international affairs. He has a master degree in radiocommunications and broadcasting.

Areewan Haorangsi

Secretary General, Asia-Pacific Telecommunity

Ms. Areewan Haorangsi has taken up her post as Secretary General of the Asia-Pacific Telecommunity (APT) on 9 February 2015. A native of Thailand, Ms. Haorangsi brings to her post over three decades of service both in national and international stage.

Before her election as Secretary General, Ms. Haorangsi served as the Deputy Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Information and Communication Technology (MICT), Thailand. Her long tenure with MICT included responsibilities for a variety of portfolios, i.e. Principal Adviser for Foreign Affairs, Executive
Director of Policy and Strategy Bureau, Acting Principal Adviser for Communications, and Executive Director of International Affairs Bureau. Ms. Haorangsi also had extensive international experience including her postings as Chairperson of ASEAN Telecommunication and IT Services Sectoral Working Group under the ASEAN Coordinating Committee on Services, Chairperson of the Working Group on Economic Transformation, People Empowerment & Engagement, Innovation and Human Capital Development under the ASEAN Telecommunication and IT Senior Officials’ Meeting, and Head of Thai Delegation to the APEC Telecommunications and Information Working Group as well as to Conferences, Assemblies and Meetings of International Telecommunication Union (ITU).

Ms. Haorangsi has longstanding ties with the APT since 2003 when she has started working at MICT. She had been the Head of Thai delegation at various APT events. In 2011 she was elected the Vice Chairman of the APT Management Committee. She was also Chairman of the APT Policy and Regulatory Forum (PRF) in 2014. In 2014, Ms. Haorangsi was elected Secretary General of the APT at the 13th Session of
the General Assembly of the APT held in Yangon, Myanmar. As Secretary General of the APT, Ms. Haorangsi has set a forward-looking vision in leading the APT towards the forefront of telecommunication and ICT development in the Asia-Pacific region and bringing in synergy among the stakeholders to maximize the benefits of ICT to the people.

Born in 1959 in Thailand, Ms. Haorangsi holds a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science (International Relations), Chulalongkorn University, Thailand and a Master of Business Administration (Management of Technology), Asian Institute of Technology, Thailand. She began her career in the Ministry of Transport and Communications (MOTC) in 1981, being responsible for Foreign Affairs Group and International Transport Group of the Department of Land Transport.

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.

Vadim Nozdrin

Counsellor, Radiocommunication Bureau , ITU

Since 2010 Vadim Nozdrin is BR Counselor of ITU-R Study Groups, in particularly dealing with operational and technical aspects of systems for remote sensing and space research, operating on both ground-based and space-based platforms, as well as airborne and maritime communications. Before Vadim Nozdrin has been working on technical and regulatory aspects of satellite coordination at ITU’s Radiocommunication Bureau since 2000.
Since 1992 he had technical and executive responsibilities at the Moscow Radio Research and Development Institute.
He has been involved in studies of technical, regulatory and economical aspects of spectrum management and have published more than 50 articles as well as co-authoring two monographs.
He has a degree in telecommunication engineering (1988), and a PhD in spectrum management (1998) from the Moscow University of Telecommunication and Information.

Magnus Ewerbring

Vice President, Chief Technology Officer, APAC, Ericsson

As Chief Technology Officer (CTO) for Asia-Pacific, Magnus Ewerbring is responsible for driving technology alignment as well as long term technology strategies for Ericsson in Asia-Pacific.

Magnus has been with Ericsson for more than 30 years and has held several senior executive positions within Ericsson R&D, the Business Units, as well as in customer accounts.

Magnus holds a Master of Science in Electrical Engineering from Chalmers University of Technology (Gothenburg, Sweden) and a Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering from Cornell University (Ithaca, N.Y., USA).
Magnus is based in Hong Kong.

Qiu Heng

President of Wireless Marketing Operations, Huawei

Qiu Heng is President of Wireless Marketing Operations. In this role, he is responsible for the success of all wireless infrastructure product and solution related activities and competencies at Huawei. These include the development and implementation of effective marketing strategies, industry promotion, product launches, regional business development, and division leadership.

Since joining Huawei’s representative office in Japan in 2005, Qiu Heng has held several key leadership positions. Prior to his current role, Mr. Qiu was Vice President of Huawei’s TDD Product Line and led on all TDD related marketing and industry promotional activities. Instrumental in forging the business cooperation with KDDI, he was also Director of Huawei’s KDDI Business Unit, where he oversaw the provision of competitive, market leading terminals and network solutions.

In his early career at Huawei, as General Manager of the Wireless Product Department, Mr. Qiu managed the marketing and sales of UMTS ,CDMA, WiMAX radio access networks in Japan.

Qiu Heng began his career at NTT Docomo in 2002, where he was assigned to their Wireless Laboratories. A natural innovator; he was tasked with conducting research on medium access control, transmitting power control, wireless resource allocation, and building future business models for 4G systems. In recognition of his achievements, Mr. Qiu received the Outstanding Paper Prize from Japan-China Industry Association in 2004.

Qiu Heng received his Bachelor’s degree from Beijing University of Posts and Telecommunications in 1998. He later went on to obtain a Master’s degree from Department of Communications and Computer Engineering at Kyoto University in 2002.

Paul Brown-Kenyon

President, APSCC

Paul Brown-Kenyon is MEASAT’s Chief Executive Officer. In this role, Paul oversees the overall management of the company. Paul originally joined MEASAT in 2003 as Vice President of Sales and Marketing before assuming the role of Chief Operating Officer in 2005.

Prior to joining MEASAT, Paul spent six (6) years with McKinsey & Company in the firm’s Singapore, Hong Kong and Stamford (US) offices. As an Associate Principal in Singapore, Paul was one of the leaders of the firm’s regional telecom, high tech and media practices working with clients in the telecom and media industries across the Greater China and South East Asia regions. Prior to McKinsey, Paul worked at Inmarsat, the International Mobile Satellite Organization, in London, in the area of Spectrum Management.

Chairman of the CASBAA Satellite Industry Committee, Paul is also President of the APSCC (Asia Pacific Satellite Communications Council). 

Alan Jamieson

Chair, APG-15 (APT Conference Preparatory Group for WRC15)

Dr Alan R Jamieson is a professional engineer with a career of some 40 years predominantly within telecommunications and radiocommunications sectors. After progressing through various technical and senior management roles within the telco industry, Alan became an independent consultant specializing in radio and wireless communications, radio spectrum management, regulatory studies and studies related to mobile system standards as well as specialist radiocommunications systems for aeronautical and Public Protection and Disaster Relief applications.
Alan has extensive experience representing New Zealand at international meetings and industry conferences most notably of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) and of the Asia-Pacific Telecommunity (APT) including both administrative and technical meetings. He has chaired a number of ITU-R meetings and is the current chairman of the APT Preparatory Group for WRC-15. He chaired the Radiocommunication Assembly 2012, for which he received an ITU Silver Award, and was a vice-chairman of the World Radiocommunication Conference in 2012 (WRC-12).

Bharat Bhatia

Regional Director, APME,, Government Affairs, Motorola Solutions

Mr. Bharat Bhatia has over 40 years of experience in Public Protection and Disaster Relief (PPDR), spectrum management and ICT policies & regulations.
Currently he heads the Motorola Solutions’ Government Affairs and Public Policy activities for the Asia Pacific Region. Prior to this, he was a senior regulator with Government of India for 22 years as a spectrum regulator and Telecom policy specialist. He was also actively involved in formulation and implementation of India’s National spectrum plans and ICT policies. He regularly attends and speaks at various Global conferences and meetings and has been actively participating in various ITU and Asia Pacific telecommunity (APT) meetings including all World Radio Conferences during the last 15 years.

Mr. Bhatia was the key originator of ITU World Radio Conference Resolution (WRC) 646 on PPDR in 2003 and 2015. He was also the key originator of the WRC Agenda under which Resolution 646 on PPDR was successfully revised to include 700 and 800 MHz bands at the WRC-15 He has made presentations on the issue of PPDR at numerous global and regional conferences around the world during last 15 years. He was also asked by the ITU-D to help develop the emergency communications plan for Samoa.

Mr. Bhatia is an expert on spectrum management and works closely with many Asian governments particularly in the area of spectrum and regulations for Public safety and mobile telecommunications (IMT). He chairs the APT Task Group on Public Safety and Disaster Relief communications as well as the ITU WP5D group on broadband public safety spectrum

He is also the founder President of the Core Group of Telecom Industries Association of India (CTIA) and Vice-President of ITU-APT Foundation of India. Earlier he was also the President of TEMA (Telecom Equipment Manufacturers Association of India) and a Vice President of Association of Telecom Industries of Singapore (ATIS) earlier.

Mr. Bharat Bhatia holds a B. E. degree from University of Delhi in Electronics and Telecommunications and is a fellow member of IETE, the Institution of Electronics & Telecommunications Engineers. Mr. Bhatia has completed a number of management courses from various institutes and universities including National University of Singapore and George Washington University.

Ahmed Nadeem

Head of Studio Technology and Training, ABU

Ahmed Nadeem holds the position of Head of Studio Technology and Training at ABU Technology Department. He is an Engineer and has been working in the broadcasting industry for over 19 years. Prior to joining the ABU he was the Chief Engineer at the National Broadcaster in Maldives and has worked with a System Integrator in Singapore. He has been with the ABU since 2008.

Gregg Daffner

Chairman, CASBAA Wireless Action Group &, CEO, GapSat

Gregg Daffner is CEO of GapSat, an innovative satellite venture that leases entire in-orbit satellites to satellite operators for use in their orbital slots for interim periods of time, generally until the operator launches its own custom-built satellite.

Previously Gregg co-founded and was president of Asia Broadcast Satellite (ABS). He is a former television producer and communications attorney who was the head of satellite services for Hong Kong Telecom, Vice President for PanAmSat and Lockheed Martin Corp, and Director of International Policy for the US Department of Commerce, National Telecommunications & Information Administration (NTIA) where he was instrumental in the promotion of private enterprise in space.

Gregg is a member of the Board of Governors and Secretary of the Pacific Telecommunications Council (PTC), the Chairman of the Cable and Satellite Broadcasting Association of Asia (CASBAA) Satellite Wireless Action Spectrum Group, Vice President for the Asia Pacific Satellite Communications Council (APSCC), and Asian Attaché for the Global VSAT Forum (GVF).

CASBAA is the Asia Pacific region’s largest non-profit media association, serving the multi-channel audio-visual content creation and distribution industry. The mission of CASBAA is to promote the growth of payTV and video content through industry information, networking exchanges and events while promoting global best practices.

CASBAA’s Wireless Action Group (WAG) is an industry body made up of executives from a dozen major satellite operators in the Asia-Pacific region. The group’s mandate is to collect information and coordinate activities to warn about interference from broadband wireless systems into satellite transmissions. The WAG monitors the situation in Asia, coordinates approaches for international discussions and engages in research and advocacy on satellite spectrum issues.

Lasse Wieweg

Chair, Spectrum Group, GSA

Lasse Wieweg, Director, Government and industry relations, at Ericsson, has worked with telecommunications topics his whole professional career, starting in 1973 with Ericsson. In 1986, following some over-seas assignments, he took up a position at the Frequency Management department within the Swedish Telecommunications Authority. In 1994, he took up a new position within the Swedish Defence Material Administration, looking after Frequency Management for the Swedish Defence Forces. Since 1997, Lasse is back in Ericsson, particularly addressing international policies in the Radio Regulatory and Spectrum domains within the Ericsson Group Function in Stockholm, Sweden.

Peng Zhao

Senior Policy Manager, Government and Regulatory Affairs, GSMA

Peng joined the GSMA in 2011 and works on the global campaign to allow the mobile industry to access more harmonised spectrum. He is involved in various ITU activities leading to World Radio Conferences (WRC-15). He also helps other projects in the wider GSMA Public Policy team such as Near Field Communications and Mobile Energy Efficiency for Asian markets.

Peng has an engineering background and prior to joining GSMA, Peng has worked for Orange in Switzerland and various non-profit organisations in the UK as consultant. Peng holds a MS Telecommunication Systems from Swiss Federal Institute of Technology of Lausanne. In addition to English, he is native French and Mandarin speaker.

Joe Guan

Spectrum Policy Manager, Asia Pacific, GSMA

As the GSMA’s Spectrum Policy Manager for the Asia Pacific region, Joe Guan is involved in a wide range of spectrum policy campaigns for the GSMA, and contributes to its advocacy programmes advising government and regulatory bodies across the Asia Pacific region.
Before joining the GSMA, he worked for the New Zealand spectrum regulator —
the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment — in a variety of roles ranging from radio engineering to business analysis and project management. Mr Guan has a bachelor’s degree in engineering from New Zealand, specialised in radio engineering and digital signal processing.
Mr Guan is also a certified PRINCE2 practitioner with many experiences in project and programme management. He was heavily involved in the development of the New Zealand government’s online register of radio frequencies and its online spectrum licensing and compliance systems.

Le Van Tuan

Deputy Director General, Authority of Radio Frequency Management, , Ministry of Information and Communications of S.R of Vietnam

Mr. Le Van Tuan has joined the Authority of Radio Frequency Management since 1995 and has been working on different areas of frequency management and satellite orbit.

In 1999-2003, he had actively participated in satellite coordination with many countries to secure frequency and orbital slots for Vinasat satellites. He also actively attended the cross-border frequency coordination meetings between Viet Nam and neighbouring countries.

As responsible for spectrum planning and policy since 2005, he has actively contribute to development of Vietnamese spectrum policies and plans such as: Radio Frequency Law, National Allocation Table, Band Plans for mobile systems, allotment plans for broadcasting services, spectrum regulations to Short Range

Nevio Marinelli

Manager, Spectrum Planning Section, ACMA

Nevio Marinelli is the Manager of the Spectrum Planning Section of the Australian Communications and Media Authority. The Section’s primary role is to undertake the technical and frequency planning aspects of, and provide technical advice and input to, various projects related to wireless broadband and the Internet of Things. In particular, projects relating to the introduction of wireless broadband services into new and existing frequency bands. Nevio also lead Australia’s involvement in WRC-15 agenda item 1.1 which looked at the possible identification of additional spectrum for International Mobile Telephony (IMT).

Nevio has a Bachelor of Engineering in Communications from the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology, Melbourne Australia. He has worked as a spectrum planning engineer in the Department of Communications where he was involved in the planning of radio and television services and the replanning of spectrum to allow for the introduction of GSM services in Australia. From 1996 he worked for telecommunications operator Optus and equipment vendors Lucent and Nortel in the Middle East and Europe as a radiofrequency planning and optimisation engineer.

Hans-Martin Ihle

Senior Consultant, NERA Consulting

Hans-Martin Ihle is a Senior Consultant at NERA Economic Consulting where he specialises in auctions and regulatory issues concerning radio spectrum with a focus on the Asia-Pacific region. He has nearly 10 years of experience advising regulators and mobile operators on regulation, competition, public policy, and business strategy.

Hans has advised on the design and implementation of spectrum auctions in over a dozen countries using a variety of different formats such as combinatorial clock auctions (CCA), clock auctions, sealed bid auctions and various hybrid auction formats. He has also provided strategy advice to bidders in spectrum auctions worldwide. For bidders, he has convened workshops on bidding strategy and run mock auctions to help the bid team understand the likely dynamics of the real auction and provided onsite client support. Alongside his work on spectrum auctions, Hans has undertaken auction projects across a wide range of other markets such as energy, finance and water abstraction rights.

Prior to joining NERA, Hans was a Managing Consultant at DotEcon, where he focused on auctions, public policy, and strategy projects. While there, he advised UK regulator Ofcom on a number of spectrum management issues ranging from the design and implementation of the UK 4G auction to the revision of licence fees for 900MHz and 1800MHz spectrum.
Hans holds a Masters in Economics from the University of Cambridge, where he specialized in industrial organization, game theory and applied econometrics.

Fiodor Stankevitch

Director of Spectrum Management Projects, Middle East, Asia, Africa, ATDI

Fiodor has more than 20 years experience in the broadcast and telecommunications sector at both vendor and operator level.
Being Spectrum Management Director of ATDI group Fiodor managed large scale projects of spectrum management automation, as well as mobile (2G/3G/4G/TETRA) and digital broadcast (DVB-T/T2) networks planning and optimisation.
Prior to joining ATDI in 2004 Fiodor held different positions within France Telecom Mobile International and Orange group in France, UK, Portugal and Jordan, specially in the fields of network planning and optimisation, corporate purchasing and CAPEX optimisation.
Fiodor holds a M.Sc. from the Institut National des Telecommunications of Paris, France.

Scott Minehane

Principal, Windsor Place Consulting Pty Ltd

Scott W Minehane is an international regulatory and strategy consultant in the telecommunications sector and has been involved in advising investors, operators, Governments and regulators in Australia, Asia, the Pacific and South Africa for over 25 years. His expertise extends to policy, legislation, regulation, spectrum management, NBN and new generation fixed and mobile technologies.

He is the principal of Windsor Place Consulting Pty Ltd an independent consultancy practice, through which he has advised a range of leading corporates and organisations including the Australian, South Australian and Victorian Governments, the Malaysian Government, Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission, the Lao PDR Government, APEC Business Advisory Council, NBN Co, Competitive Carriers Coalition, Broadcast Australia, Macquarie Group, Leighton Holdings, Macquarie Telecommunications, IDA Singapore, Telekom Malaysia, Axiata Group and various Axiata Opcos, ARCIA, Australian Music Association, Investec, Fiberail, Telecommunications Regulatory Authority of the UAE, KPMG, Telecommunications Regulatory Authority of Bahrain, International Telecommunications Union (ITU), APT, Telkom South Africa, PCCW, Verisign Australia, Telecom NZ and the World Bank.

Scott is also an independent director of Etherstack plc (www.etherstack.com) an ASX listed company that specialises in wireless technology including waveforms and public mobile radio (PMR) solutions including LTE being used for first responders and iSignthis (www.isignthis.com) an ASX listed company with a range of US and Australian patents which allows merchants (via their credit card gateways or banks) to verify/authenticate identity, card not present and online credit card transactions.

Scott has a Bachelor of Economics (1986) and a Bachelor of Laws (1991) from the University of Queensland and holds a Master of Laws specialising in Communications and Asian Law from the University of Melbourne (1998).

Md Nurannabi

Deputy Director, Spectrum Division, Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission

I am Md Nurannabi, is now working as a Deputy Director at Spectrum Division in Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission. I completed my B.Sc in Electrical and Electronic Engineering from Rajshahi University of Engineering and Technology in 2000. In BTRC, I am designated to perform activities on spectrum management and monitoring. The activities include analysing new technologies relating to radio communication, formulation of different spectrum related policies, performance monitoring of spectrum, re-arrangement and revocation of spectrum etc.

Haim Mazar

Vice Chairman Study Group 5 (Terrestrial Services), ITU-R

Dr. Haim Mazar has more than 45 years of experience in wireless communications (including broadcasting, mobile, fixed, radiolocation, satellite and public services) and RF spectrum management. Haim contributed to all ITU‐R Study Groups (and their associated Working Parties) more than 170 technical contributions. Haim heads RF spectrum and engineering in ATDI, an ITU-R and D Sector Member. He was elected in ITU RA-15 as Vice Chair of ITU‐R Study Group 5 (Terrestrial Services). His PhD thesis, from Middlesex University London, also explains how culture influences the human radio frequency exposure limits, around the world. ITU-R SG 1, 5 and 6 had nominated him, to represent them in ITU joint studies regarding intersectoral activities on human-exposure and measurement of electromagnetic fields, including activities on human-hazards at ITU-D SG 2 (Q.7/2) and ITU-T SG 5 (Q.7/5).

Tim Miller

Partner, Plum Consulting

Tim has over fifteen years of experience in the telecommunications industry. He specialises in the application of economics to regulatory and competition issues, the analysis of markets and company interactions, and looking at future developments in telecommunications markets. 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.

Tim has worked in Malaysia, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand, Hong Kong, China and Brunei, assisting regulators with developing frameworks that can accommodate new technologies and encourage investment, as well as assisting operators with understanding the commercial economics of the industry.

Håkan Ohlsén

Director, Spectrum and Radio Technology Strategy, Ericsson

Håkan Ohlsén took his Ph.D. degree in Solid State Physics at Uppsala University in 1986, and was appointed an Associate Professor at Uppsala University in 1990.

He joined Ericsson Sweden early in the year of 1995 working with radio interfaces for the 3rd Generation/IMT-2000 mobile systems and spent three years at the Ericsson office in Japan participating in the early standardization of WCDMA as well as in the set-up of 3GPP.

Since 1999 he has been at the Ericsson Headquarters with focus on access standardization strategies. In 2004 he was elected Vice-Chairman the ITU group responsible for IMT and its evolution (today WP5D). Currently Håkan Ohlsén position is Director, Spectrum and Radio Technology Strategy in the Ericsson Group Function Technology, and is based at the Ericsson Hanoi office.

Kyung-Mee Kim

Director, Technical Regulation Division , National Radio Research Agency, MSIP

Kyung-Mee Kim is the Director of Technical Regulation Division of National Radio Research Agency, Ministry of Science, ICT and Future Planning and responsible for technical regulations and related spectrum issues for terrestrial matters. She has actively participated in ITU-R meetings, Radiocomminication Assemblies and WRCs and had taken positions of vice-chairman of ITU-R SG 6 related to broadcasting service and Committee 6 of WRC-12 and WRC-15 to develop future agenda items for WRC-15 and WRC-19, respectively. She also worked for APT countries as the Chairman of Working Party 1, dealt with mobile and amateur issues. She have contributed to WRC preparation works in Korea since 2000 and led the job to adopt WRC-19 agenda item 1.13 regarding IMT spectrum in the bands above 6 GHz. Now she is the vice-chairman of Steering Committee of WRC-19 Preparatory Group in Korea.

Gerry Oberst

Senior Vice President, Global Regulatory and Governmental Strategy, SES

Gerry Oberst is responsible for regulatory matters at SES, where his title is Senior Vice President, Global Regulatory and Governmental Strategy. Gerry took this position after a long career as a partner in the Hogan Lovells law firm, in both Washington, DC, and Brussels. During his 30 years of private practice, Gerry advised many clients in the spectrum field as well as governmental agencies, including numerous projects for the European Commission. He is a prolific author and for twenty years wrote the global regulatory column for Via Satellite magazine. While in Brussels, he was the chairman of the European Satellite Action Plan Regulatory Group. He now works in Brussels and Luxembourg, and soon is moving to Washington, DC.

Scarlett Han

Head of Partnership Development, China Mobile International Limited

Speaker bio to appear here shortly...

Shawn Covell

Vice President, Platform Engineering Group Director, Technology Advocacy and Spectrum Strategy, Intel

Shawn Covell is vice president in the Platform Engineering Group and director of Technology Advocacy and Spectrum Strategy at Intel Corporation. In this role, Covell is responsible for fostering impactful relationships with key business and policy leaders in Intel’s top 5G markets around the world. She coordinates closely with Intel’s policy teams to drive 5G advocacy aligned with business development and wireless technology platforms and helps create new wireless opportunities for Intel in areas such as 5G, the Internet of Things and automotive.

A 20-year veteran in government relations, Covell is experienced in building international government relations, strategic communications programs and public-private partnerships.

Before joining Intel, Covell served as vice president of Government Affairs at Qualcomm. She led teams responsible for elevating the company’s profile among policymakers, opinion leaders and governments. She oversaw Qualcomm’s corporate citizenship initiative, Wireless Reach, to bring wireless technology to underserved communities around the world.

Covell earned her bachelor’s degree in political science from the University of California, Santa Barbara and her master’s degree in international affairs from the School of International Relations and Pacific Studies at the University of California, San Diego.

Taylor Lam

Principal, Analysys Mason

Taylor Lam is a Principal at our Hong Kong office. He has over 13 years' experience in telecoms, IT and digital media in Asia and has advised a range of clients, including operators, investors and regulators.

Taylor has led projects across areas including commercial and technical due diligence, business and strategic planning, spectrum auction support, telecoms operations improvement and market competition assessment.

Taylor holds an M.Eng. and B.A. Honours degree in Electrical and Information Science from the University of Cambridge.

Pekka Ojanen

Deputy Director, LTE Industry Development, Huawei

His key expertise is in the area of mobile and wireless communications, the latest emphasis being in radio spectrum and regulatory issues. His expertise covers also development of technologies for flexible and shared use of spectrum, their standardization and promotion to regulation, contributing to international organizations working on spectrum and technical regulation such as CEPT and ITU-R, standardization in ETSI, management duties within international research activities and telecom industry collaboration.
He has chaired several working groups dealing with regulatory issues, research topics related to future radio systems and industry collaboration. He is a co-author of several books, and a co-inventor related to several patents.

Alex Orange

Director, Government Affairs South East Asia & Pacific, Qualcomm

In 2008, Alex Orange joined Qualcomm Incorporated as director of government affairs for South East Asia & Pacific. In this capacity, Alex directs Qualcomm’s public policy and regulatory agenda and oversees its relationship with Government and regulatory agencies in the region. Alex works with Ministries, policy makers and independent regulators on national frequency allocation plans, licensing and regulations for 3G, 4G, mobile broadband and broadband wireless access systems. Alex also interfaces with multilateral organizations and governmental forums such as the International Telecommunications Union and the Asia Pacific Telecommunity, to coordinate regional and international efforts in support of Qualcomm’s next-generation wireless technologies.

Alex has more than 18 years of experience in telecommunications related policy development, 11 of which were gained working with the Ministry of Economic Development of New Zealand, where, as the Senior Planning Engineer he developed national spectrum management policies, plans, allocation methodologies, and licensing mechanisms that are considered industry best practice. Alex chaired the New Zealand Radio Sector that developed New Zealand’s international position relative to radiocommunications and also participated in or led New Zealand government delegations to numerous bi-lateral, multi-lateral, and UN treaty level negotiations.

Majoring in physics at the University of Canterbury (NZ), Alex graduated in 1989. Before gaining his Master’s degree in electronics from the University of Otago (NZ), Alex worked within the consumer electronics manufacturing industry in Hong Kong.

Stefan Zehle

CEO, Coleago Consulting

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.

Jozef Svreck

CEO, Specure

Since 2001, Jozef Svrcek worked as IT manager and IT consultant at several global corporations, for example Bayer Schering, Deloitte and Red Bull. Since 2012 he participated at several spectrum auctions in central Europe as a project manager.
- Vendor's project manager in the recent auction of radio frequencies in the 800 MHz, 1800 MHz and 2600 MHz bands in Czech Republic (2012-2013, 2015)
- SPECURE / alladin-IT GmbH, Vienna (Austria):
Senior Consultant, project management - spectrum auctions, auction theory, consulting
- Red Bull, Fuschl am See (Austria):
Project manager, project portfolio management, vendor management
- Bayer Business Services, Leverkusen (Germany):
Project manager, managing international projects, change management (2006-2007)
- Schering AG (now Bayer Pharma AG), Berlin (Germany):
IT analyst, Lotus Domino and Lotus Notes administration, application support, incident, problem and change management, project management (2001-2006)

Stein Gudbjornsrud

Director Spectrum Strategy , Telenor

Stein works with spectrum strategy, spectrum valuation and spectrum acquisitions across Telenor’s 13 markets worldwide. Prior to joining Telenor in 2011, he worked as an international consultant with spectrum related issues and with mobile connectivity on aircraft. Stein was responsible for spectrum planning at the Norwegian telecoms regulator in the period 1987-2005 and served as a national representative to various European working groups such as the EU Radio Spectrum Committee and the CEPT Electronic Communications Committee and as the Head of Delegation to World Radio Conferences.

Sudhir Gupta

Secretary, TRAI India

Shri Sudhir Gupta is an Officer of Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI). Presently, he is working as Secretary, TRAI. Earlier as Principal Advisor Network, Spectrum and Licensing (NSL) he was dealing with the issues relating to license conditions of mobile operators, spectrum Management for 2G, 3G and future technologies like LTE and Broadband Wireless Access, spectrum refarming and liberalization, Mobile Number Portability, matters related to Universal Service Obligation (USO) etc. During the course of his tenure in TRAI, he has authored a number of Consultation Paper / Recommendation / Regulation on subjects like Quality of service for Mobile and Fixed Network, Mobile number portability, Spectrum for 3G and Broadband Wireless Access, Do Not Call Registry (DNC) for curbing Unsolicited Commercial Communication (UCC), Review of license terms & conditions and capping of number of access providers, Spectrum Management and Licensing framework etc.

Before joining TRAI, he has worked in various capacities in Department of Telecommunication in the field of Cable Construction, Installation & Maintenance of Exchanges, Planning & Networking etc.

Shri Sudhir Gupta has done his B.E (Electronics) in 1979 from the University of Indore and Post Graduate Diploma in IT & Management in 1999 from the Indian Institute of Public Administration, New Delhi.

Rizwan Ahmed Hydri

DG Licensing , Pakistan Telecommunication Authority

Mr. Rizwan Ahmed Hydri, is Director General Licensing in Pakistan Telecommunication Athority (PTA). He joined PTA in 2002 and has the experience of Enforcement, Wireless Communications, infrastructure sharing and Licensing. Some of the resent completed and ongoing assignments are: Refarming of 1900 MHz spectrum from Wireless Local Loop (WLL) licensees for 3G operations, auction of 1900 MHz spectrum in Extended PCS band and 3.4 GHz band, consultancy on market value and base price of Next Generation Mobile Services (NGMS) Spectrum for auction of NGMS spectrum in 1800 MHz and 850 MHz bands, merger of Mobilink and Warid (two mobile licensees), study on new Licensing Framework for Pakistan, and review of MVNO frame work for Pakistan.

Before joining PTA, he worked as Deputy Director and Director (Exams and Academics) in the National University of Science and Technology (NUST).

Mr. Rizwan has done his B.Sc. (Telecom Engg) and M.Sc (Elec Engg) from the University of Engg and Tech, Lahore, Pakistan.

Jeffrey Yan

Director Technology Policy, Microsoft

Jeffrey Yan is Director of Technology Policy at Microsoft where he is part of a global team examining long-term, disruptive technology trends with associated policy implications and societal impacts. The areas of interests include telecommunications, spectrum policy, cloud computing, Internet governance, trustworthy data management, and intelligent systems. Jeffrey has a specific focus on the Asia Pacific region where he is based.

Prior to his current role, Jeffrey was Director of Interoperability and Standards in Microsoft’s Legal & Corporate Affairs organization, where he represented Microsoft on a wide range of telecom, cloud computing, and online media policies and standards issues, including global standardization efforts such as ITU-T’s Focus Group on Cloud Computing where he served as a co-editor. He also worked on IPTV policy and standards for Microsoft’s Mediaroom product team.

Prior to joining Microsoft in 2006, Jeffrey had a 13-year career with Nortel Networks in various management and technology positions. He was Director of Next Generation Networks (NGN) for Nortel China, responsible for all marketing and pre-sales operations. Jeffrey also led technology standards management across switching, optical, broadband access, and 3G wireless technology segments. Prior to Nortel China, Jeffrey was a Senior Member of Scientific Staff at Bell Northern Research (BNR), Ottawa, Canada and held various senior positions in R&D, Systems Engineering, and Business Ventures groups.

Jeffrey graduated from Dalhousie University, Canada, with an honor degree in Computer Science. He also did post-graduate studies in Software Engineering and Business Management. Jeffrey speaks fluent English, Mandarin, Taiwanese, and Cantonese, and is currently based in Singapore, with his wife and daughter.

Guillaume Mascot

Director, Government Relations APJ (Asia-Pacific, Japan) & India, Nokia

Guillaume Mascot is in charge of Government Relations for Nokia in APJ (Asia-Pacific, Japan) & India. He oversees all aspects of current and future policy and regulation in the Asia-Pacific region. In this role, he is working with institutions and other relevant stakeholders to create a favorable political and regulatory environment to foster public and private investment in the digital and broadband industries with a focus on innovation for sustainable growth, competitiveness, and quality of life in a connected environment.

Guillaume has been speaking at various international and regional/local regulatory events (CommunicAsia, Mobile Asia Expo, ITU, APT forum, etc).

Previously, Guillaume led Alcatel-Lucent’s EU representation in Brussels, managed European Affairs and engaged with the European Institutions. He was board member of the EIF (European Internet Foundation) - a European think tank supporting European political leadership for the development of European multilateral public policies responsive to the political, economic and social challenges of the worldwide digital revolution - and was also an associate member of the European Round Table of Industrialists (ERT).

Guillaume holds a Master Degree in Political science with a major on Public Administration and Public policy from the University of Lille.

Chee Keong Foong

Head of Regulatory Affairs, Corporate Office, Axiata

Foong Chee Kheong is Group Head of Regulatory Affairs, Group Corporate Office, Axiata Group Berhad. Axiata is one of the largest Asian telecommunications companies, operating in ten countries and servicing approximately 290 million subscribers.
CK has about 17 years of experience in the field of mobile and fixed telecommunications, internet broadband, broadcasting and multimedia. The roles have been primarily in regulatory strategy and policy development, complemented with prior experience in network engineering and project management.  Prior to this current position, he was in regulatory management roles in Digi Telecommunications, Celcom Axiata, U Mobile and the Multimedia Development Corporation.
CK holds a Bachelor of Science in Electrical and Electronic Engineering from Queen’s University Belfast, United Kingdom and an MBA from University of Strathclyde.

H. E Kan Channmeta

Secretary of State, Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications, Cambodia

Mr KAN Channmeta, Ph. D in Comparative and ASEAN Law from France since 2007, is the Secretary of State of Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications since 2013 (in charge of Telecom Cambodia; leading in formulation of Telecom law, Telecom-ICT Development Policy and National Spectrum Policy and regulation; ICT Development Sector; and International Cooperation) and Member of Supreme National Economic Council (SNEC) in charge of Science and Technology sector since 2012. His previous posts in public sector include Under-Secretary of State, Ministry of Commerce from 2008-2013 (leading in various tasks including ASEAN and WTO); Alternate ASEAN Economic Minister (Cambodia’s Country Lead) under Cambodian Chairmanship for 2012; and Deputy Director of the Division of Governance Policy Analysis and Studies, Supreme National Economic Council (SNEC) from 2007-2012. He was also the Legal Consultant at Cambodia Special Economic Zones Board and of Secretary-General of Council for the Development of Cambodia (CDC) from 2006-2008,
Dr. KAN has been in charge of draft law studies, preparing recommendations to the Chairman of SNEC and Minister of Economic and Finance, assisting to the Council of Minister on draft law meetings, the preparation of the strategy for the Royal Government of Cambodia and policy studies on Rice, Industry, Science, Technology and Innovation, and Investments since 2008. He was appointed as the International Expert for the Ordre des Experts Internationaux since 2010.
In addition to his posts in the public sector, Dr. KAN has been a lecturer at various universities since 2002, including the Royal University of Law and Economics for Lyon 2 University (Cambodia)), Build Bright University (Cambodia), Jean Moulin, Lyon 3 University (France), Aïnsham University (Egypt), French University in Erevan (Armenia), and National University of Lao (Lao PDR).