5 December 2023 | Hinxton Hall, Cambridge & Online

CWIC 2023: From the moon to the deep blue sea

Exploring the reality of a future interconnected world

This year's conference explored the convergence of space, airborne, terrestrial and marine technologies to deliver the next evolution of wireless connectivity, unlocking new possibilities for applications and services.

Beyond providing a view of these future applications, the conference aimed to cut through the hype surrounding high-profile technologies like AI and Quantum and provide greater understanding of their actual business and societal impact.

This conference covered two key threads:

  1. Space, airborne, terrestrial, maritime technologies, and the potential for integration to drive the future connected world.
  2. The potential for emerging technologies and their convergence to have a transformative impact on business and society.

View the agenda

CWIC 2023 did a deep dive into these topics

Converging our World

We will explore how technology is bringing the world closer by convergence - allowing communications networks to become more seamless from space to the earth to the deep ocean with intelligence and compute more tightly coupled. As this transformative journey starts, we’ll uncover what remarkable innovations emerge from this convergence and resulting new challenges.

Space & Airborne platforms and application

Global mobile comms will converge across terrestrial, and non-terrestrial networks. Will this world be a utopian dream of always connected roaming for everyone, rich and poor, urban, rural and remote? Will it be the key to realising the IoT dream of global m2m connectivity? Or a dystopic nightmare of full orbits, space junk, RF interference and light pollution?

Terrestrial technologies and applications

Some proponents of 6G talk about the architecture being sufficiently flexible to enable the “easy integration of everything”. But what's new in this? Is this the kind of hype that was so prevalent at the outset of 5G? In some respects, we are still waiting for the magic. The challenges and costs of such technology-led innovation are immense, but where is the genuine commercial and human value?

Maritime technologies and applications

Our Oceans and waterways are precious resources, a critical component in managing the climate and a key enabler for UK manufacturers and suppliers to reach out into international markets. We will hear from experts on leading disruptive and enabling technologies, including green propulsion, autonomy, future communications and explore barriers to success and the drivers that will help overcome them.

Moonshot Ideas

What are the most ambitious innovation challenges for the coming decades? What are the bold, ambitious, and transformative ideas to solve these challenges? Where is the UK best placed to lead groundbreaking innovation that will have significant impact? This session will explore early-stage research and innovations which has the realistic potential to make a major breakthrough.

Feet on the floor

What are the real-world capabilities of AI? Will AI match up to our grandest visions, or is it caught in a cycle of inflated expectations? Are we on the cusp of a revolution, or still grappling with fundamental challenges? We will hold a candid dialogue with leading experts in different industry sectors, on their experience and insights on exploiting and exploring AI.

Deep Tech

How will quantum technologies change the world? What are the latest advances in quantum technologies such as: computing and its applications, cryptography, sensing and metrology, communications and networking, simulation, and modelling.

Debate - Barbie vs Oppenheimer

"This house believes that emerging technology will build a utopian Barbie world and not risk an Oppenheimer nuclear winter." Is a Barbie world in fact utopia? What is the potential for tech to cause devastation to our society?

CWIC 2023 Speakers and Chairs

  • Mosaab Abughalib

    Sr. Research & Development Director & GM, Wireless Group, Keysight Technologies Ltd

  • Richard Anthony

    Senior Application Engineer - Northern Europe, Protolabs

  • Ruth Brown

    Principal Analyst - Mobile Networks & 5G, Heavy Reading

  • Andre Burgess

    Strategic Partnerships, Security & Resilience, NPL

  • Richard Claridge

    Applied Physicist, PA Consulting

  • Neil Cooper

    Head of Marketing, VividQ

  • James Crawshaw

    Practice Leader, Omdia

  • Dr Maya Dillon

    Head of AI Capabilities, Cambridge Consultants

  • Dr Eleanor Drage

    Research Fellow, Leverhulme Centre for the Future of Intelligence, University of Cambridge

  • Paul Dupont

    Director, BD, Intralink

  • Walt Everetts

    VP, Space & Ground Services, Iridium

  • Paul Febvre

    CTO, Satellite Applications Catapult

  • Paul Harris

    Principal Wireless Architect, VIAVI Solutions

  • Luke Ibbetson

    Vodafone

  • Yasrine Ibnyahya

    Senior Director, Advanced Concepts & Technologies, VIASAT

  • Nick Johnson

    Head, UKTIN

  • Peter Kibutu

    5G NTN Market Lead, TTP

  • Paul Lee

    Partner & Global Head of TMT Research, Deloitte

  • Andrew Lord

    Senior Manager, Optical & Quantum Networks Research, BT

  • Maria Maragkou

    VP of Product, Riverlane

  • Dr Alastair McGibbon

    Head of Business Development, Space Forge

  • Richard Murray

    Co-founder & CEO, ORCA Computing

  • Olu Orugboh

    CEO & Founder, Synergy Solutions

  • Catherine Page

    Deputy Director Future Telecoms, Department for Science, Innovation & Technology

  • Graham Peters

    Managing Director Government Services, Arqit

  • Dr Mike Short CBE

    Former Chief Scientific Adviser, Dept for Business and Trade, & Chair, UKTIN Advisory Board

  • Professor Rahim Tafazolli

    University of Surrey

  • Dr Kimberly Tam

    Associate Professor, University Plymouth, & DCE Marine and Maritime Theme Lead, Alan Turing Institute

  • James Thomas

    CEO, JET Connectivity

  • Ben Timmons

    Senior Director, Business Development, Qualcomm Technologies International

  • Dr Fionagh Thomson

    Senior Research Fellow, Durham University

  • Lory Thorpe

    Quantum Safe Industry Lead, IBM

  • Eric Topham

    Co-founder & CEO, OctaiPipe

  • Prof Osman Turan

    Naval Architecture, Ocean & Marine Engineering, University of Strathclyde

  • Yue Wang

    Head of 6G Research, Samsung, & Chair, UKTIN AI EWG

  • Prof William Webb

    CTO, Access Partnership

  • Peter Whale

    Founder, Vision Formers

CWIC 2023 Organising Committee

  • Ruth Brown

    Principal Analyst - Mobile Networks & 5G, Heavy Reading

  • Andre Burgess

    Strategic Partnerships, Security & Resilience, NPL

  • Robert Driver

    Senior Advisor & Adoption Lead, UKTIN

  • Paul Crane

    CEO, Cambridge Wireless

  • Nick Johnson

    Head, UKTIN

  • Rachel Kerr

    Head of Events, Cambridge Wireless

  • Stewart Marsh

    Head of Aerospace, Cambridge Consultants

  • Yue Wang

    Head of 6G Research, Samsung

  • Theo Wilson

    Marketing Manager, TTP

Past CW International Conferences

CWIC 2022

The Hyperconnected Human

CWIC 2021

Wireless in Digital & Circular Economies

CWIC 2020

At the Edge

CWIC 2019

Digitising Industry

CWIC 2018

Thinking Beyond the Hype

CWIC 2017

Connecting Generations

FWIC 2016

The Future Connected World: Ubiquitous Wireless, Transforming Industries

FWIC 2015

Wireless is dead. Long live wireless!

FWIC 2014

Changing the World with Wireless

FWIC 2013

Everything Will Be Connected (Did you really say 50 billion devices?)

FWIC 2012

Reshaping the Mobile Industry

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