Speaker Biographies

Speakers

Moderators

Mario Maniewicz

Director, Radiocommunications Bureau, ITU

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.

Areewan Haorangsi

Secretary General, Asia Pacific Telecommunity (APT)

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.

Kyu-Jin Wee

Chairman, APG, APT

Dr. Kyu-Jin WEE is a Fellow of Korea Radio Promotion Association (RAPA) since 2017. He is a Chairman of APG (APT WRC Preparatory Group) since 2016. He was a Vice President of Telecommunications Technology Association (TTA) since 2012. TTA is an accredited standard development organization for ICT in the Republic of Korea. Before he joined TTA, he worked in the Korean Government for more than 20 years for spectrum management and standardization.
He has been participating in various international and regional conferences including ITU and APT.

Denny Setiawan

Director of Spectrum Policy and Planning, Ministry of Communications and Information Technology (MCIT), Indonesia

DENNY SETIAWAN, born in Ciamis, West Java (1971), holds the position of Director of Spectrum Policy and Planning, Directorate General of Resources and Standard, Ministry of Communications and IT since January 2018.

Dr. Denny Setiawan graduated from Bandung Institute of Technology (ITB) in year 1994, majoring in Electronic Telecommunication Engineering, MSc of Telecommunication Engineering from University of Indonesia in 1999, and Doctor of Engineering from University of Indonesia in February 2013.

Since joining the Directorate General of Post & Telecommunication in 1995, Dr. Setiawan has participated in many international conferences in Radio Communications, coordinating satellite orbits and frequencies bilaterally and internationally through ITU, and other regional and international telecommunication activities.

In recent years, Dr. Setiawan has been involved in formulating the strategic policy and planning in Indonesia, including Mobile Broadband Spectrum refarming and auction, Broadcasting Frequency Planning, as well as Broadband Satellite in Indonesia.

Dr. Setiawan has also become a guest lecture in University Indonesia and University Mercu Buana on policy and regulation of telecommunication issues since year 2013.

Kohei Satoh

Secretary General, 5GMF

Kohei Satoh joined the Electrical Communication Laboratories, Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Public Corporation (NTT), Japan, in 1975, and transferred to NTT Mobile Communications Network, Inc. (NTT DOCOMO) in 1992. Since 1975, he has been engaged in the research on radio propagation for satellite communication systems, research and development of mobile satellite communications and mobile communications systems. After 1985, he has been also engaged in standardization activities of mobile satellite services in ITU-R and international alliance activities for IMT-2000.

In July 2002, he moved from NTT DoCoMo to the Association of Radio Industries and Businesses (ARIB). He is now an Executive Manager on Standardization of ARIB, and his current job is to promote R&D and standardization activities for the 5th Generation Mobile Communications System. And, he is Chairman of APT Wireless Group and Secretary General of the 5th Generation Mobile Communications Promotion Forum (5GMF).

Dr. Satoh is a member of the IEEE and the Institute of Electronics, Information, and Communication Engineers of Japan, and a Fellow of Wireless World Research Forum.

Istvan Bozsoki

Head of Telecommunication Networks and Spectrum Management 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 and since 2017 he is head of Telecommunications Network and Spectrum Management 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 and for cross-border frequency
coordination. Later, he was appointed as director of international affairs. He has master degrees in radiocommunications and in broadcasting.

Aamir Riaz

Programme Officer, ITU

​​​Mr. Aamir Riaz is Programme officer in International Telecommunication Union (ITU) and is currently part of the team at its Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific.

In-line with the Global Objectives of ITU and Regional Initiatives of Asia-Pacific region, he has been working on development of ICTs in the region through country specific actions, sub-regional and regional activities across the region. He has implemented several initiatives and projects in partnership and collaboration with international/regional organizations like ASEAN, APT, PIRRC etc.; Administrations including, MSIP-Korea, DoC-Australia, SRMC-China etc. and industry including Intelsat, Nokia, Forum Global, Ericsson etc.

Mr. Aamir is currently involved in ITU development activities particularly on areas related to telecommunication policy, ICT market regulations and wireless innovation strategies with emphasis on issues related to Radio Frequency Spectrum.

Prior to joining ITU in 2013, he had been working in ict​Qatar (now CRC Qatar) from 2010 to 2013 as National Spectrum Manager where he implemented several management and planning initiatives. From 2007 until 2010 he performed his duties as Assistant Director in Strategy and Development department of the Pakistan telecomm Authority.

Mr. Aamir is an Electrical Engineer from National University of Science and Technology (NUST) Pakistan and possesses advanced degree in Radio-communication from École Supérieure d'Électricité (SUPÉLEC) France.​

CW Cheung

Consulting Director, APAC, Ovum

Dr Cheung, who joined Ovum in 2005, specializes in telecoms policy and regulations, telco strategies and market entry strategy and analysis.

Previously, he has held senior positions in both leading telecommunications companies and management consultancies. He also worked in government as a Senior Advisor in vocational education.

Before joining Ovum in 2005, his achievements included leading a workforce of 3,500 with an annual revenue of US$8m. At Ovum in 2013, he was project director leading one of the largest consulting projects in Greater China.

Dr Cheung is a fellow of the Hong Kong Institute of Directors, as well as a Fellow of the Institute of Management Consultancy.

Siok Tan

Director of Regulatory Affairs, APAC, OneWeb

Siok Tan is OneWeb’s Director of Regulatory Affairs, responsible for market access and international policy development in the Asia Pacific region. She holds a Doctor’s degree in Electronics and Computer Engineering and has more than 15 years’ experience in the telecommunication sector with appointments in the Telecoms consultancy industry as well as the research industry.

Dave Wright

Director, Regulatory Affairs & Network Standards, Ruckus Networks

Dave leads Ruckus’ policy and standards initiatives, ensuring the intersection of Ruckus’ technology and product innovations with suitable regulatory environments and technical specifications. Dave is a champion of open spectrum, including both unlicensed and dynamic sharing frameworks, while acknowledging the vital role that all spectrum management regimes play in our increasingly wireless world.

In addition to his role with Ruckus, Dave participates in a number of SDOs and ITOs and is currently the President of the CBRS Alliance.

Dave began his odyssey in networking / telecom / mobile / wireless in the early ‘90s while serving in the US Marine Corps. He then transitioned to the commercial sector as a systems engineer. In the intervening years he has spent much of his time in Technical Marketing, Standards Development, and Policy Advocacy. Dave is a Cisco Certified Internetworking Expert (CCIE) Emeritus (#2062) as well as a Certified Wireless Network Administrator (CWNA).

Richard Womersley

Director, Spectrum Consulting, LS telcom

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.

Nguyen Dinh Tuan

Spectrum Manager, Radio Frequency Policy & Planning Division , The Authority of Radio Frequency Management

Mr. Nguyen Dinh Tuan has been joined Authority of Radio Frequency Management since 2010, majored in the field of spectrum policy and planning. He has been responsible for researching of the following spectrum related issues:

- National radio frequency table,
- Radio frequency channel plans,
- Spectrum for unlicensed radio devices,
- Radio frequency fee policies,
- Technical standards conformity certification,
- Radio frequency compatibility studies.

Mr. Nguyen Dinh Tuan is also active in the regional and international forums on wireless communication such as ASEAN TELSOM- ATRC, ITU-R WP1B, ITU-R ITU-R WP5A/C, ITU-R WP5D, APT/AWG, WRC meeting. He has highly contributed to the promotion of spectrum harmonization in ASEAN region through his proposal on ASEAN cooperation projects, ASEAN Subworking Group on Spectrum Management.

Hazem Moakkit

Vice President, Spectrum Strategy, Intelsat

Hazem Moakkit is responsible for shaping Intelsat’s strategic long-term positioning in the marketplace. In his role, he works closely with the company’s product management and innovation service teams to analyze and identify emerging growth opportunities for Intelsat. In addition, he is responsible for managing efforts that protect, optimize and leverage the company’s spectrum assets in support of Intelsat’s broader long-term growth strategy.

Mr Moakkit is a veteran of the satellite industry. Prior to rejoining Intelsat in 2015, Mr Moakkit served as Vice President, Spectrum Development, at O3b Satellite Networks where he was responsible for managing and acquiring spectrum assets for the non-geostationary satellite operator, in addition to overseeing all of their regulatory activities at the ITU, CEPT and other regulatory bodies. Before that, he was the Director of Regulatory & Spectrum Affairs where he created and managed the spectrum strategy at Yahsat (UAE), and was a key member of the corporate strategy team where he was instrumental in formulating the expansion strategy for Yahsat in Africa and South America.

Prior to Yahsat, Mr Moakkit was a member of the spectrum & regulatory group at Intelsat (previously PanAmSat) in Washington D.C. During his tenure at PanAmSat, he also worked in various system and sales engineering capacities.

Early on in his career, Mr. Moakkit served as a systems engineer at ATCI, a nascent satellite systems integrator based in Tempe, Arizona. While at ATCI he designed and built RF systems for several Fortune 500 clients.

Mr Moakkit earned a Master of Business Administration Degree from Georgetown University and a Bachelor of Science Degree in Electrical Engineering at Arizona State University.

Cristian Gomez

Director, Spectrum Policy and Regulatory Affairs, GSMA

Cristian is responsible for providing policy advice and regulatory best practice on spectrum matters across markets in Asia Pacific and leads the engagement with governments on spectrum issues. He has over 17 years of experience in national spectrum regulation, international allocation and assignment strategy.

Prior to joining the GSMA, Cristian worked at the New Zealand spectrum regulator and the International Telecommunication Union (ITU). He served within Radiocommunication Bureau of the ITU as spectrum regulation and policy officer, providing assistance to Member States on spectrum issues primarily in Asia-Pacific and the Americas.

In New Zealand he was principal policy advisor at the spectrum regulator. He worked in policy development and represented the government at the World Radiocommunication Conference, Radiocommunication Assembly and the Asia-Pacific Telecommunity (APT). Previously, he undertook other regulatory roles including spectrum planning, engineering and licensing and has a former engineering background in military radiocommunications and digital microwave systems.

He has authored publications on spectrum regulatory issues and has been a speaker at international regulatory forums in Europe, the Americas, Africa and Asia Pacific.

Cristian’s academic background includes electronics and communications engineering (Chile, New Zealand), post-graduate studies in Public Policy (University of London) and an MBA (Massey University, New Zealand)

Warren Kwok

Head of Standards, Office of the Communications Authority, Hong Kong

Mr Warren Kwok has been working in the Office of the Communications Authority for over 20 years. In his present role as Head of Standards, he leads an engineering tasked with setting local telecommunications standards and overseeing equipment testing and certification in Hong Kong. He also administers the APEC Mutual Recognition Arrangement for conformity assessment of telecommunications equipment which streamlines market access by avoiding duplicate testing and certification in APEC economies. Given the global demand of deploying the 3.5 GHz band for 5G mobile services, in August 2017, he steered a consultancy study on compatibility and mitigation measures for co-existence between 5G mobile systems and Satellite Master Antenna Television System operating in the 3.4 – 4.2 GHz band. In preparing for Hong Kong to enter into the 5G era, Mr Kwok is now developing local standards for 5G New Radio working in the 26 GHz and 28 GHz millimetre wave bands.

Laurent Bodusseau

Spectrum Senior Director, GSMA

In October 2017, Laurent joined the GSMA’s spectrum team as the Senior Director. He represents the organisation with governments and regulators. He focuses on developing policy positions on spectrum issues, responses to consultations and monitoring new technology developments in the communications industry.

Laurent is a chartered engineer. He has been working on spectrum management since 2000.

He has previously worked for the UK Radiocommunications Agency (UK), Ofcom (UK). He then led the London Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games spectrum programme from 2009 to 2012. After the Olympic Games, he joined the Agence Nationale des Fréquences (French administration) where he was the head of future spectrum and European Affairs.

Renato Lombardi

Chair, Millimetre Wave Transmission (mWT) Industry Specification Group (ISG) , ETSI

Renato Lombardi is Head of Huawei Italy Research Center, Vice President of Huawei’s Microwave Product Line. In these roles, he oversees the research and development of microwave / millimeter-wave technologies for wireless communications and the implementation of innovative mobile broadband backhauling solutions all over the world.

Renato Lombardi joined Huawei in 2008, founding the Huawei Research Center in Milan, Italy.
In 2011, he was awarded the title of “Fellow of Huawei”.

Renato has more than 25 years of experience in the microwave industry. He previously led the Siemens Microwave Business and Product Management and then appointed Head of Research and Development. He was member of the integration team of for the Siemens and Nokia joint venture in 2006, and later became the Head of Product Management of the Microwave Business Line.

In 2015 Renato Lombardi has been elected Chairman of the ETSI Industry Study Group mWT (millimeter-Wave Transmission).

Renato Lombardi graduated from the Politecnico of Milano, the largest technical university in Italy with a Master’s Degree in Electronic Engineering.

Stefan Zehle

CEO, Coleago

Stefan Zehle is the co-founder and CEO of Coleago. He has 29 years’ experience in telecoms consulting and as Director of a mobile operating company. He specialises in strategy and business planning, spectrum related issues such as spectrum policy, valuation and auctions, and telecoms regulatory topics. He gained his experience working in developed markets in Europe, Canada and the US and also in emerging markets in the Middle East, Africa, and the Far East.

As Director of Strategy, Marketing and Regulatory Affairs, Stefan launched the third mobile operator in Algeria. He developed the strategy, designed the organisation chart, recruited other Directors and 200 staff, built the Sales and Marketing department, oversaw the development of distribution and the offer, and managed the brand creation. He also successfully challenged the regulatory status quo, transforming the interconnect landscape in Algeria by introducing best practice interconnect agreements for the first time. He filed regulatory complaints, winning million dollar cost savings.

Stefan is also the co-author of “Guide to Business Planning”, published by “The Economist”, now in its second edition (“Outstanding Academic Title, 2009” awarded by Choice, the US academic reviewers) and is an experienced conference speaker, chairing the Ministerial Programme session at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona.

Stefan holds an MBA (with distinction) awarded by the University of Westminster in 1991 and speaks French, English, and German.

Kezias Mwale

Radiocommunications Coordinator, African Telecommunications Union

Kezias holds an MSc in Broadband and Mobile Communications and an MBA. He started his spectrum management career as a junior engineer in 2003 at the Zambia ICT Authority, rising to manager spectrum management in 2010 – a position he held until his appointment by the African Telecommunications Union (ATU) as a Radiocommunications Coordinator in 2012. He has been a keen and active contributor to national, regional and international spectrum management successes including development of the first Zambian national spectrum plan, the SADC spectrum plan, the GE-06 Conference during which he was appointed one of the planning experts for Eastern and Southern Africa. He has greatly contributed to the current improved status of Radiocommunications affairs of ATU.

Jeffrey Yan

Director, Technology Policy, Microsoft

Jeffrey Yan is Director of Technology Policy at Microsoft where he holds global responsibilities on regulatory policy engagements in areas of broadband, spectrum, Internet governance, and cloud computing. He had over 20 years of research & development, business management, and regulatory policy experiences in the ICT industry.

Jeffrey joined Microsoft in 2006 and has held various senior positions in the Entertainment & Devices division, Technology and Research group, and Corporate, External and Legal Affairs group. He represented Microsoft in many international technology and policy forums such as ITU, IGF, IIC, and ICANN, and industry associations such as Wi-Fi Alliance (WFA) and Dynamic Spectrum Alliance (DSA). Prior to Microsoft, he had a 13-year telecom career with Nortel Networks, where he held various senior positions in R&D, systems engineering, product management, and sales & marketing functions in North America and Asia Pacific markets.

Jeffrey graduated from Dalhousie University, Canada, with an honors degree in Computer Science. He did post-graduate studies in Software Engineering and Business Management.

Xu Weizhong

Vice President, Wireless Network Chief Strategy Officer, Huawei

Mr Xu currently serves as Chief Strategy Officer of Huawei’s Wireless Product Line. In this capacity he is responsible for the “everything@wireless” strategy planning and business development.

During his 20 years experience in Huawei, Mr Xu has held several senior roles in different departments. Previously he was the Director of Vodafone Account Marketing Department; in charge of marketing and joint innovations with the Vodafone Group. He has also worked within Huawei’s Research and Development organization as the President of the Packet Core Network Product Line. In this role he was responsible for the 2G/3G/4G Packet Switched Core end to end business planning business, solution design, R&D, sales and delivery.

Mr Xu graduated from the University of Xi'an Jiaotong with a MA degree in 1997. Then he joined Huawei as a R&D engineer.

Bashir Patel

Spectrum Policy, Global Satellite Coalition

Bashir Patel is Inmarsat’s Regional Advisor for the South Asia, Middle East and Africa (SAMEA) region. He is widely recognized as a highly experienced executive in ICT, satellite systems and defence aerospace. He has over 35 years experience in the high tech industry, working mainly in the telecom sector including satellites and defence industries, both in management consulting as well as in regional regulatory policy, business and market development. He has been working with the Governments throughout the regions and launched satellite communications technologies as far back as mid 1980’s. He is a passionate technologist with experience gained from his time spent in advance aerospace projects in BAe Systems, Inmarsat, ICO Global Communications and prior to re-joining Inmarsat in 2013 as the Chief Operating Officer (COO) of the Commonwealth Telecommunications Organisation (CTO), dealing with 54 Commonwealth Governments around the world.

Fauziah Abdullah

Head, Metro Strategic Business Unit , Edotco

Fauziah is one of the pioneer members of edotco Malaysia in 2013 , subsidiary of edotco Group ,an integrated telecommunications infrastructure service provides with end-to-end solutions in tower services sector including co-locations, built-to-suit, energy, transmission, small cells, BTS Hotel and O&M.
 
Fauziah was seconded to edotco Bangladesh as Director of Sales and Marketing from mid 2015 to Mar 2018. She is now leading edotco’s MeTRO Strategic Business Unit comprising In Building Systems, Indoor and Outdoor Small Cell solutions and BTS Hotels.
 
Fauziah has more than 24 years of technology and sales experience in the international telecommunication industry and over 8 years in design and implementation of telecommunication solutions specializing in OSS/BSS. Prior to joining edotco, Fauziah was Account Director at Cisco Malaysia for two years, managing accounts such as Telekom Malaysia, YTL, Celcom and Axiata.
 
In edotco, Fauziah has been instrumental in securing key deals with major customer like U Mobile, TM and Packet One. While in Bangladesh, she significantly grew the business not only in Axiata’s Robi but also in creating the second anchor customer with Telenor Grameenphone.
 

Ping Li

Bureau of Radio Regulation, Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT), China

Mrs.Ping Li has been working for the Chinese Administration sine 2005. Mrs. Ping Li graduated from BeiJing University of Posts and Telecommunications in year 2001, major in Management Science and Engineering, and achieved the Master degree of Management Science and Engineering in 2005.

Now she has been involved in formulating the frequency planning and policy in China, including frequency planning of 5G, IoT etc.

Rowan Hogman

Head of 5G Industry Collaborations, Ericsson

Rowan Högman is Research Leader and Head of 5G Industry Collaborations at Ericsson. In this capacity he is responsible for coordinating and accumulating insights from Ericsson’s more than 40 5G research industry collaborations. Mr Högman was between 2014 and 2016 Head of Ericsson’s Marketing & Communications Operations. Previous to this, Rowan Högman was Head of Strategic Marketing 2015-2016, Head of Tactical Marketing 2013-2015, and has held various other leading roles in the communications industry the past 20 years. Mr Högman obtained a Master of Science in Industrial Economics and Management from the Royal Institute of Technology in Sweden 1996.

Kai Sahala

Head of 5G, Asia-Pacific, Japan, Nokia

Kai Sahala is responsible for 5G sales in APJ at Nokia. Kai is a widely known spokesperson in the mobile networks domain while specializing in the radio access sector. He has a Master’s degree in Computer Science from the University of Helsinki and has more than 25 years of experience in telecommunications, with various roles in R&D, product management, business development, sales and marketing.

Philip Marnick

Group Director, Spectrum/ Representative, OFCOM / CEPT

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).

Jaewoo Lim

Senior Research Engineer, National Radio Research Agency, Rep. of Korea

Dr. LIM is senior research engineer of National Radio Research Agency of Rep. of Korea. He received his Ph.D in Wireless communication engineering at Yonsei University. He has many chairmanships of international and national standardization of 5G area. He joined the 5G mobile communication Division and his interests and working area are ITU 5G technology and spectrum standardization.

U.K Srivastava

Principal Advisor, Network Spectrum and Licensing , Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI)

Mr. U. K. Srivastava is Principal Advisor in Telecom Regulatory Authority of India, looking after telecom networks, spectrum and licensing. He is a graduate in Electronics Engineering and possesses Diploma in Management.

He is trained in transmission technologies, including optical, radio and satellite communications. In his career of over 35 years he has managed various telecom activities including operations, maintenance, training, quality assurance, standardization and policy and regulation.

He was deputed to ITU to serve in Iraq for two years and at ITU HQ in Geneva for a year and half.

He has been associated with various standards development activities of ITU-T and ITU-R and has represented India in various conferences of these organizations. He also served as Vice Chairman of Study group-7 of ITU-R for a period of four years.

In his present capacity, he is involved in the issues related to Licensing, Spectrum and network related issues.

Lasse Wieweg

Chairman, Spectrum Group, GSA

Lasse Wieweg, Director, Government and industry relations at Ericsson, has worked with telecommunications 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 (now PTS). In 1994, he took up a new position within the Swedish Defence Materiel Administration (FMV), on 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.

Nor Azman Sulaiman

Head of Technology Strategy & Carrier Collaboration, Celcom Axiata

Nor has over 22 years experience within the telecommunications industry. In this time he has held various various roles within Celcom Axiata, including 12 years as a Network Engineer, 3 years long-term end-to-end Netork Planning, and 4+ years heading up technology strategy within the corporate team. He is based in Malaysia and is currently the Head of Technology, Strategy & Carrier Collaboration, Strategy & Intelligencce at Celcom Axiata Bhd.

Seint Seint Aye

Head of Spectrum Management, Post and Telecommunications Department, Myanmar

Seint Seint Aye is the head of Spectrum Management Division for the Posts and Telecommunications Department, the regulator of the Telecommunications Sector in Myanmar. She is mainly responsible for Planning, Management and Assignment of National Scare Resources (such as Spectrum, Telecom Numbers and Electronic Addressing).

Ms Aye previously worked for MPT (State-owned Telecom operator) as a regional engineer for PSTN telephone Switching Network and trainer in the training centre. She has been taking an important role in the reform of the Telecom sector which ends the monopoly of telecom market and creates competitive telecom sector.

She holds a Masters Degree in Advanced ICT from University of Ritsumeikan University, Japan and a Masters Degree in Public Administration from SungKyunKwan University, South Korea.

Yanbin Li

Deputy Secretary General, Telecommunication Development Industry Alliance (TDIA)

Ms. Ellen Yanbin Li is the Deputy Secretary General of TDIA (Telecommunication Development Industry Alliance). She has proven leadership and experience in ICT industry with heavy engagement in global regulatory affairs, industry ecosystem and partnership, technology standardization and commercialization. Ahead of her role in TDIA, she had been serving in Huawei Technologies for fourteen years, working as Chief Regulatory Representative of the Company in ITU and APT, and Chairperson on behalf of China and Asia Pacific Telecommunity in WRC2007-WRC2012, witnessing the glorious progress and harvest of the telecommunication industry. While she was assuming the responsibility as ICT expert of governmental affairs in Huawei Beijing office and Head of Mediterranean regional strategic marketing communication and branding at overseas, she initiated and engaged with multi-countries ministerial programs of ICT cooperation framework, national digital agenda, better connected world, smart cities and all- cloud initiatives.

Syeda Shafaq Karim

Deputy Director, Pakistan Telecom Authority

Roberto Tolentino

Chief, Radio Spectrum Planning Division, National Telecommunications Commission

A Professional Electronics Engineer by profession. He finished Bachelor of Science in Electronics and Communications Engineering from FEATI University in 1987. He attended Masters in Business Administration Major in Management at the International Academy of Management and Economics.

He joined the Philippine National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) in January 1989. His thirty (30) un-interrupted years of experience is mostly managing the radio spectrum. He is currently the Chief of the Radio Spectrum Planning Division.

Concurrently, he is the Chairman of the Sub-committee on International Telecommunications Union (ITU) and Inter-Governmental Organizations on Information and Communications Technology (ICT) dealing with international telecommunication and economic affairs of the NTC. He likewise chairs the Monitoring Task Force of the Digital Terrestrial Television (DTTB) Implementing Committee and he is also the Co-chairman of the Spectrum Planning Sub-Committee of the NTC Digital TV Transition Technical Working Group (TWG). He was the Vice Chairman of the Technical Working Group in the recently concluded New Major Player Selection Process conducted by the NTC.

He is a delegate to the ITU World Radiocommunication Conference (WRC) and Radiocommunication Assembly (RA) and APT Preparatory Meeting for Plenipotentiary Conference (PP). He heads the Philippine delegation to the APT Conference Preparatory Group for WRCs (APG).

He is an active member of the Institute of Electronics Engineers of the Philippines (IECEP), Inc. and an awardee as One of the Outstanding Electronics Engineers 2014. He was a recipient of PRC Awards 2015 Special Citation from the Philippine Professional Regulations Commission (PRC).

Imelda R. Walcien

Director of Regulation Branch, National Telecommunications Commission

Imelda R. Walcien is the Director of the Regulation Branch of the National Telecommunications Commission, an attached agency of the Department of Information and Communications Technology of the Philippines. She is responsible in the management and supervision of divisions assigned in the regulation of all telecommunication companies and value-added service providers in the country.

She actively participated in the crafting of the rules and regulations on the selection process for a New Major Player in the Philippine telecommunications market, and has served as the Chairperson of the Technical Working Group in the selection process. She is also tasked to conduct the technical and financial evaluations of post-qualification documents submitted by the New Major Player.

Director Walcien is a Professional Electronics Engineer. Currently, she is the National President and Chairman of the Board of the Institute of Electronics Engineers of the Philippines (IECEP), Inc., an organization of all electronics professionals in the country. She earned her bachelor’s degree in electronics engineering from Saint Louis University and master’s degree in business administration from Baguio Colleges Foundation in Baguio City, Philippines.

Sergio Bovelli

Manager, Market Access and Regulation, Airbus

Sergio Bovelli, Ph.D. is Manager, Market Access and Regulation at Airbus Defence and Space in Germany. In his role Dr. Bovelli works closely with Administrations, Regulatory Authorities and Policy Makers in all regions to promote and develop new aeronautical and space technologies and communication.
With over 15 years of experience in aeronautics and space industry, he joined Airbus in 2005, where he held several positions, both technical and managerial. He is co-author of several scientific articles and holds a number of patents related to communication systems.
Sergio holds a PhD degree in “Information Engineering” and a Master degree on “Telecommunication Engineering”

Andreas Wilzeck

Spectrum and Innovation, Sennheiser Electronic

Dr.-Ing. Andreas Wilzeck received the Dipl.-Ing. degree in electrical engineering from the Gerhard Mercator University Duisburg, Germany, end of 2002. He received the Dr.-Ing. degree from the Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science of the Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz University Hannover in August 2009. Starting from September 2006 he got a position as MIMO & UWB lab leader at the Institute of Communications Technology (IKT), Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz University Hannover, Germany. Since Summer 2008 he was leading together with Maria Dolores Pérez-Guirao the joint Software Defined Radio & Networks (SDRN) Group of the Departments of Communication Systems and Communication Networks. Since 2011 he is CEO and founder of the wiseSense GmbH, Hannover, Germany. Starting from April 2018 he is head of ‘Spectrum and Innovation’ at Sennheiser.
He is Vice-Chairman of ETSI TC DECT, ETSI TC DECT WG URLLC Chairman, and active participant in standardization work of other ETSI technical bodies including TC ERM and TC ERM TG17 WG3. Further, he is attending CEPT WGFM and PMSE related frequency regulation work.

Shiro Fukumoto

Director, Standardization Department, Softbank

Shiro Fukumoto is Director of Standardization Department at SoftBank Corp., responsible for international standardization work on spectrum aspects in ITU-R, APT and 3GPP.

Yi Shen Chan

Director, Plum Consulting

Yi Shen Chan is a Director at Plum and is a specialist in policy and regulatory issues in the telecoms, media and online sectors. His experience covers radio spectrum policy and management, digital broadcasting, economic regulation of networks, competition and market assessment of communications and audio-visual sectors.

In the field of spectrum management, he has worked on a range of projects on the valuation and pricing of spectrum for mobile and other uses. His expertise covers both theoretical and practical implementation of spectrum pricing approaches such as administered incentive pricing (AIP), cost recovery, benchmarking analysis and market valuation. As a key member of Plum’s spectrum advisory team, Yi Shen has provided advice to governments and regulators around the world, including Australia, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Mexico, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand and the UK. This has included work on mobile network technologies including 5G, digital switchover for broadcast TV and radio, competition analysis, impact assessments and broadcast-broadband convergence.

His previous work experience includes roles within regulatory authorities in Singapore (Media Development Authority) and in the UK (Ofcom). Yi Shen has an MSc in Media and Communication Governance (Distinction) from the London School of Economics, and a BA in Economics from the National University of Singapore.

Jim Schlichting

Deputy Bureau Chief, International Bureau, Federal Communications Commission (FCC)

Jim Schlichting has served as Senior Deputy Chief of the FCC’s International Bureau since the summer of 2017, where he has been integrally involved with issues regarding spectrum reallocation, including for 5G services; satellite broadband service; and international data comparisons. For instance, Mr. Schlichting served as the lead senior-level Bureau official on the ongoing Spectrum Frontiers and C-Band proceedings, which aim to make more spectrum available for 5G services, and on the annual International Broadband Data and the Broadband Deployment Reports.

Prior to his current position, Mr. Schlichting served as Senior Deputy Chief in the Wireless Telecommunications Bureau, beginning in the summer of 2009. In that position, he was responsible at various points for virtually every issue within the purview of the Bureau. Of particular note, Mr. Schlichting was involved in various rulemaking and other proceedings making more spectrum available for mobile broadband services, including 5G services. In addition, Mr. Schlichting dealt with competition issues, Internet issues, and mobility-related universal service issues.

Mr. Schlichting has been at the Commission since 1985, and has held senior-level positions in three Bureaus and served on the personal staff of an FCC Chairman. Since 1999, he has held Deputy Chief positions in the Wireless Bureau as well as the Office of Engineering and Technology, and served as Acting Chief of the Wireless Bureau for 15 months. During that time, Mr. Schlichting was heavily involved in various aspects of the FCC’s auction of the 700 MHz spectrum reclaimed as part of the Digital Television transition. Before 1999, Mr. Schlichting was responsible for wireline policy issues in various positions in the Common Carrier Bureau and on the staff of Chairman Dennis Patrick.

Mr. Schlichting received his B.A. degree from Yale University, and his J.D. degree from the Harvard Law School. After law school, Mr. Schlichting served as law clerk to two judges on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit in Chicago.

Don Yeong

General Manager, Service Communications International

Mr. Don Yeong has been with Service Communication International for 7 years. In this short period he has managed to set the company on an extended expansion exercise and improved its operational capability and sustainability. He is the driving force for the future of the organization and also leading the team to the new era of technology.

Sok Puthyvuth

Secretary of State, Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications

H.E. SOK Puthyvuth was born in 1980 in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. He went to school in the United States in 1993, where he attended high school in Richmond, Virginia. Then he went on to attend Virginia Military Institute (Lexington, VA) in 1998, and obtain a BA in Economics and Business with minor in Computer Science in 2002. After which he went on to do his Master Program at EUROMED (Marseille, France) in Management, then worked in London, UK in 2004 for BNP in the banking sector. In 2005,he came back to Cambodia and work in a local petroleum company, Kampuchea Tela Co., Ltd. And in 2007, he founded SOMA Group, which focuses on agriculture, education, and infrastructure, which include energy, water and construction.

In July 2014, he was elected as the president of ICT Federation of Cambodia to unite all ICT related associations in Cambodia into one and to advance Cambodia into a digital age by using latest technologies. August 2017 to September 2018, he was appointed as Under Secretary of state of Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications (MPTC). In the new term of the Royal Government of Cambodia,
he was appointed again as Under Secretary of state of MPTC. In March 2018, he was appointed as the Chairman of Telecom Cambodia (TC) which is the state
enterprise. In September 2018, he was promoted as the Secretary of State of Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications.

In the past 11 years, he has been working hard in modernizing the way we run organization. He has learnt how to use technology to help us improve our productivity and all aspects of our lives. He is dedicated most of his time to support the rice and ICT sector and hopes to see Cambodia catching up with other advanced countries.

Robert Abbil

Technical Manager, Telecommunications, Radiocommunications and Broadcasting Regulator

Khoo Kangewi

AGM, Business Development and Strategy, Telekom Malaysia

Scott Minehane

Partner, Windsor Place Consulting

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).

Brad Partridge

Principal, Telcom Consulting

Brad Partridge has over 30 years’ experience in the ICT industry, predominantly in telecommunications and consulting. During his career he has worked for carriers, governments and as a consultant in telecommunications to a variety of corporate clients in sectors such as finance, heavy manufacturing and retail. Mr Partridge has worked for over 8 years in the Pacific Region initially with Digicel (Pacific, PNG and Vanuatu) and most recently with the Telecommunications, Radiocommunications and Broadcasting Regulator (TRBR) of Vanuatu.

In this role at the Regulators Office Mr Partridge was responsible for the overall management of the technical and engineering, market competition and universal access teams. The key outcomes of this engagement was the completion of the Government of Vanuatu’s Universal Access Policy, providing mobile and broadband coverage to 98% of the population of Vanuatu, the implementation of the ITU Spectrum Management System, implementation of the APT Frequency Information System (AFIS), setting of wholesale international cable bandwidth prices and overall staff development and capacity building. Overall, Brad brings a wealth of knowledge in strategic telecommunications in both developed and developing countries, regulatory policy, universal access, spectrum management, market analysis and staff capacity building.

Richard Handford

Asia Editor, Policytracker

Richard is the Asia Editor of PolicyTracker. He is an experienced telecoms journalist who has written for a variety of publications over many years.

He has contributed to The Economist, Financial Times and The Wall Street Journal, as well as working full-time for Financial Times Newsletters, Breakingviews and, most recently, Mobile World Live.

In January 2017, Richard moved to Australia. He has worked for PolicyTracker for over a year.

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.

Istvan Bozsoki

Head of Telecommunication Networks and Spectrum Management 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 and since 2017 he is head of Telecommunications Network and Spectrum Management 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 and for cross-border frequency
coordination. Later, he was appointed as director of international affairs. He has master degrees in radiocommunications and in broadcasting.

Aamir Riaz

Program Officer, ITU

​​​Mr. Aamir Riaz is Programme officer in International Telecommunication Union (ITU) and is currently part of the team at its Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific.

In-line with the Global Objectives of ITU and Regional Initiatives of Asia-Pacific region, he has been working on development of ICTs in the region through country specific actions, sub-regional and regional activities across the region. He has implemented several initiatives and projects in partnership and collaboration with international/regional organizations like ASEAN, APT, PIRRC etc.; Administrations including, MSIP-Korea, DoC-Australia, SRMC-China etc. and industry including Intelsat, Nokia, Forum Global, Ericsson etc.

Mr. Aamir is currently involved in ITU development activities particularly on areas related to telecommunication policy, ICT market regulations and wireless innovation strategies with emphasis on issues related to Radio Frequency Spectrum.

Prior to joining ITU in 2013, he had been working in ict​Qatar (now CRC Qatar) from 2010 to 2013 as National Spectrum Manager where he implemented several management and planning initiatives. From 2007 until 2010 he performed his duties as Assistant Director in Strategy and Development department of the Pakistan telecomm Authority.

Mr. Aamir is an Electrical Engineer from National University of Science and Technology (NUST) Pakistan and possesses advanced degree in Radio-communication from École Supérieure d'Électricité (SUPÉLEC) France.​

Mario Maniewicz

Director, Radiocommunications Bureau, ITU

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 Bureau 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.

Stefan Zehle

CEO, Coleago

Stefan Zehle is the co-founder and CEO of Coleago. He has 29 years’ experience in telecoms consulting and as Director of a mobile operating company. He specialises in strategy and business planning, spectrum related issues such as spectrum policy, valuation and auctions, and telecoms regulatory topics. He gained his experience working in developed markets in Europe, Canada and the US and also in emerging markets in the Middle East, Africa, and the Far East.

As Director of Strategy, Marketing and Regulatory Affairs, Stefan launched the third mobile operator in Algeria. He developed the strategy, designed the organisation chart, recruited other Directors and 200 staff, built the Sales and Marketing department, oversaw the development of distribution and the offer, and managed the brand creation. He also successfully challenged the regulatory status quo, transforming the interconnect landscape in Algeria by introducing best practice interconnect agreements for the first time. He filed regulatory complaints, winning million dollar cost savings.

Stefan is also the co-author of “Guide to Business Planning”, published by “The Economist”, now in its second edition (“Outstanding Academic Title, 2009” awarded by Choice, the US academic reviewers) and is an experienced conference speaker, chairing the Ministerial Programme session at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona.

Stefan holds an MBA (with distinction) awarded by the University of Westminster in 1991 and speaks French, English, and German.

Quah Mei Lee

Industry Principal Analyst, Mobile & Wireless Digital Transformation, Frost & Sullivan

Quah Mei Lee is an Industry Principal Analyst with the Frost & Sullivan ICT practice. She leads Mobile & Wireless Research for Asia-Pacific. Her area of expertise lies in telecoms and payments strategy and she has completed several key strategy projects for leading mobile network operators in the region. Supported by her expert team, she drives thought leadership in telecoms and payments strategy and mobile digital services research.

Tharek Abd Rahman

Commission Member, Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission

Prof. Dr. Tharek bin Abd Rahman has been appointed as Commission Member of the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission effective from 12 September 2018 for a period of two (2) years.
 
He is currently a Professor in wireless communication at School of Electrical Engineering, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia. He obtained his BSc (Hons) (Electrical Engineering) from University of Strathclyde, United Kingdom, MSc in Communication Engineering from UMIST, Manchester, UK and PhD in Mobile Communication from University of Bristol, UK.  He is the Director of Wireless Communication Centre (WCC), School of Electrical Engineering, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia and currently conducting research related to mobile communications, antenna and propagation. He has also conducted various short courses related to mobile and satellite communication to the telecommunication industry and government agencies since 1988. Prof. Dr. Tharek has published more than 300 scientific papers in journals and conferences and obtained many national and international awards. More than 30 PhD students had graduated under his supervision.  He is also a consultant for many communication companies and an active member in several research academic entities and has been appointed as Fellow of Academy Science Malaysia.

As the Director of Wireless Communication Centre (WCC), the national Higher Institution Centre of Excellence (HICoE) in 5G, Prof Dr. Tharek plays a leading role in establishing the first 5G initiatives in Malaysia.  To foster collaboration and partnership between academia and industry in 5G activities in Malaysia,    Prof Dr. Tharek also works closely with international 5G initiatives such as 5G Mobile Communications Promotion Forum (5G MF) from Japan and 5G Forum from Korea to promote knowledge transfer and the collaboration in 5G research and development activities.  

Prof Dr. Tharek and WCC team has established partnership with Ericsson Malaysia to collaborate on the cutting edge research and development on 5G technology. The partnership is based on WCC long-standing prominence in wireless technologies research and development.   Among the activities are the establishment of Ericsson-UTM Innovation Centre for 5G and 5G Laboratory in UTM Kuala Lumpur.  To achieve world class leading edge research in 5G, Prof Dr. Tharek is also working closely with prominent research institutes around the world.  Specifically, Prof Dr. Tharek and his team has established MoUs with 5G Innovation Centre from University of Surrey UK, University of Sydney Australia, National Central University Taiwan and Chungbuk National University Korea.  In Feb 2016, WCC achieved an important milestones by securing a European Union Horizon 2020 Marie Sklodowska-Curie Actions Research Innovation Staff Exchange Grant, to work together with EU consortium coordinated by Lancaster University in collaboration with University of York and University of Cyprus to advance the state-of-the-art of multiple input and multiple-output (MIMO) antenna technology for 5G.
 
Currently, he is also holding the position of Adjunct Professor of the Multimedia University from 2015 to 2019.  In 2015, he was also appointed as member of Board of Studies for Master of Technology in Electrical and Electronics programme, Universiti Kuala Lumpur.  Recently, in April 2018, he was appointed as the member of “Inter Agency Working Committee on the Health Effects of Non-Ionising Radiation” by Ministry of Health Malaysia. 
 
In view of Prof. Dr. Tharek’s experience and expertise and as the Fellow of Academy of Science Malaysia, he was also appointed as an evaluation panel for the “Newton Mobility Grants (Natural Sciences)” in June 2018.