Amira Alloum - Senior Staff Engineer, Qualcomm Technologies International

Dr. Amira Alloum is currently Senior Staff Engineer at Qualcomm and lead of Qualcomm Wireless R&D Center in France. Amira’s work at Qualcomm is at the leading edge of 5G Advanced and 6G research, as she is currently setting up the 5G/6G innovation platform project in Lannion France.Her professional tenure spans over 15 years in industrial R&D for International Telecom Industries (Infra & Device Vendors, Operators, Chipset Vendors) and European Research Centers (CNES, inria, Telecom Paris).Amira contributed as a Principal Engineer in the field of applied error correcting coding in wireless communication & standards, post quantum security and optics within Nokia Bell Labs, Alcatel Lucent , Huawei, and Orange. She contributed to 3GPP RAN1 effort for the selection and the design of error correcting codes of 5G NR , as earlier to the upper layer decoding design of DVB-SH standard and to the specification of Alcatel Lucent LTE Modem.She has contributed to research projects and publications in collaboration with Professors at global top ranked universities and research centers in Europe, North America, India, China and Middle East ,  and mentored post graduate students affiliated to these Institutions.The highest degree Amira holds is a PhD. degree Majoring in Information Theory from Institute Mines Telecom/Telecom Paris. Her PhD and Post-Doctoral research were granted by Orange Labs, CNES and Bell Labs.

Henry Johnson - Director, Plum Consulting

Henry is a Director at Plum and has been delivering strategic projects within digital communications, with a particular focus on mobile and security, for nearly 25 years. At BBC Technology he worked closely with Hutchison Telecom to design and launch one of the first 3G services in Europe. He subsequently completed mobile and fixed network projects spanning Europe, Middle and Far East. Working for telecoms regulators globally Henry has provided detailed reports assessing the resilience of infrastructure to interference and both natural and man-made event risks. Most recently he helped to deliver a private 5G system procurement for Hong Kong airport which included spectrum allocation and novel regulatory issues. He also conducted a 5G standards security review for ENISA and has just completed a supply chain resilience review for DCMS which included open networking standards such as Open RAN and quantum networks. Henry has an MA degree in Interactive Media from the Royal College of Art in London and a BSc. in History and Philosophy of Science from Durham University.

Louise Lancaster - Head of Wireless Infrastructure Policy, Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport (DCMS)

Louise joined DCMS as a sector specialist in 2017, initially helping to develop the 5G Testbeds & Trials Programme, before moving on to focus on reducing barriers to the deployment of mobile networks.  Louise is now leading the development of the Government's Wireless Infrastructure Strategy which includes developing the Government's 6G strategy. Before joining DCMS Louise spent more than twenty years in the telecoms industry, working for both fibre and wireless network providers, in a variety of legal, regulatory and policy roles.

Rahim Tafazolli - Research Fellow, University of Surrey (ICS)

Rahim Tafazolli, Fellow of Royal Academy of Engineering, IET, WWRF and Regius Professor of Electronic Engineering, Professor of Mobile and Satellite Communications, Founder and Director of 5GIC, 6GIC and ICS (Institute for Communication Systems) at the University of Surrey. He has over 30 years of experience in digital communications, research and teaching. He has authored and co-authored more than 1000 research publications and is regularly invited to deliver keynote talks and distinguished lectures to international conferences and workshops. He was advisor to the Mayor of London (Boris Johnson) on London 2050 Infrastructure.

Nadia Aziz - Innovation Consultant, Unbounded Future Ltd

Nadia is an Evangelist of emerging technologies with an expertise in AR & VR and IoT technologies. She has advised C-level executives in Telecom and Media organisations for digital transformation and M&A projects over more than a decade. While being a SIG Champion of Future Devices and Technologies at Cambridge Wireless, she has recently co-founded Unbounded Future, a Deeptech consulting firm based in London. Previously Nadia led Emerging Technologies at NTT Data UK where she supervised R&D and innovation in Augmented (AR) & Virtual Reality (VR), AI, and IoT. Nadia is a supporter of Women in STEM initiatives and is a mentor at the University College London (UCL) IXN programme. She is an industry advisor to IoTerra, a USA-based B2B marketplace for IoT products and was a co-producer for the GIANT Health Event.

David Crawford - Emeritus Professor, Computer Science & Electronic Engineering, University of Essex, Professor, Digital Media Research, Ravensbourne University

David Crawford is Visiting Professor at University of Essex Colchester, and Emeritus Professor at Ravensbourne University London. David has worked for over 50 years across the telecoms/broadcast industries and UK academic institutions. His research interests are in new imaging techniques, applications for mixed reality technologies, and networks for multidimensional media. David facilitates and lectures in the UK on Degree Apprenticeship courses, promoting work-based learning curricula and collaborative industry-academia training.

David has worked in senior positions at BT, RE, Crown Castle and Harris Broadcast, and as a Director of a start-up company, TeamCast, in France. He has run his own technical consultancy company, and chairs and presents regularly at international events. David is a Member of the Royal Television Society, Fellow of SMPTE, Special-Interest-Group Champion for Cambridge Wireless on Content Production & Delivery, and Honorary Chairman of the Creative Science Foundation. He has previously served as a Council/Board Member of the Institute of Engineering & Technology (IET), the Conference Chair at IBC, and Executive Chair at the ‘mixed reality’ Community Interest Company, PlayLa.bZ.

Tony Lavender - Managing Partner, Plum Consulting

Tony Lavender is a managing partner at Plum Consulting. He has more than 35 years experience in technology, communications regulation, policy and spectrum management. His clients include governments, equipment vendors, network operators and regulators. Tony was a specialist adviser to the UK Parliament 2016 Culture, Media and Sport Committee Inquiry into “Establishing world class connectivity throughout the UK”, he chairs the Steering Board of the UK Spectrum Policy Forum and he was a member of the UK Government’s Expert Panel, established as part of the UK Spectrum Strategy, on “Incorporating Social Value into Spectrum Allocation Decisions”. He has worked on a wide range of studies including on the 5G mmWave ecosystem, spectrum sharing, spectrum valuation and more broadly on electronic communications infrastructure strategy. Tony is a Chartered Engineer and a member of the UK Institution of Engineering and Technology.

Chris Nokes - Senior Technical Advisor, Ofcom

Chris is a Senior Technical Advisor with Ofcom, investigating broadcasting and media technologies. He was previously the Head of Distribution Core Technologies Section at BBC Research & Development. With over thirty years' experience in Broadcasting R&D, Chris has been involved in the development of digital television since 1994, including as a key contributor to the DVB-T2 technical study group, and editor of the DVB-T2 specification and Chair of the RF Group of the UK Digital Television Group (DTG).