Our Speakers

Mr. Jyotiraditya M. Scindia has been recently appointed as the Union Minister of Communications; and Development of North Eastern Region (DoNER), Government of India. He is a six-term Member of Parliament, which includes five terms in the Lok Sabha (2002-04, 2004-09, 2009-14, 2014-19, 2024-2029), and one term in the Rajya Sabha (2020-2024) representing the state of Madhya Pradesh. During the Lok Sabha 2024 elections and Vidhan Sabha 2023 elections, he was appointed as the star campaigner for Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the state of Madhya Pradesh. He is also the Member of the BJP Election Management Committee and the Core Committee of BJP in Madhya Pradesh. From 2014 to 2020 he was the Member of the Congress Working Committee (CWC) and from 2019-2020 as the General Secretary of the All India Congress Committee (AICC) he took charge for Uttar Pradesh West. From 2014-2019, he was appointed as Chief Whip of Congress in the Lok Sabha and also served as the Chairman of the Election Campaign Committee during the 2013 and 2018 Madhya Pradesh Assembly elections. Mr. Scindia began his journey in public service in 2002. In his tenure as the Union Minister of Civil Aviation and Steel (from 2021 to 2024), Mr. Scindia played an instrumental role in incorporating substantial improvements in the aviation sector, enhancing connectivity and infrastructure across the country. His tenure saw initiatives aimed at modernizing airports and increasing accessibility to remote areas, thereby boosting economic growth and tourism. As Minister of Steel, Mr. Scindia has been pivotal in driving policies that strengthen the steel industry, ensuring it remains competitive on the global scale and contributes robustly to India's economic framework. He also made dedicated efforts to boost the green steel sector in India. From 2007-2009, he served as the Minister of State for Telecommunications, Posts and IT; from 2009-2012 as the Minister of State for Commerce and Industry, and then, from 2012-2014 as Minister of Power (Independent Charge). Mr Scindia’s tenure as Minister of State for Telecommunications, Posts and IT ushered in the transformational Project Arrow that modernized the Indian post offices through new branding and IT-enabled procedures. In his tenure as Minister of State for Commerce and Industry, he successfully brought down transaction costs in Indian exports at various levels - right from the stage of production to the end customer. Additionally, as Minister of Power (Independent Charge), he led the establishment of a unified transmission grid network i.e. One Nation One Grid with a 6-sigma reliability system, linkages for power plants, and resolved last-mile distribution issues in collaboration with State Governments. Mr. Scindia has also been a member of Parliamentary Committees on Education, Women, Children, Youth and Sports; Defence; Finance; Home and External Affairs. Mr. Scindia completed his schooling from the Doon School, Dehradun. He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Economics from Harvard University, USA and an MBA degree from the Graduate School of Business, Stanford University, USA. Besides, Mr. Scindia has also worked at the United Nations, and as an investment banker at Morgan Stanley and Merrill Lynch. Apart from his political roles, Mr Scindia is passionate about education. He is currently serving as the President of the Board of Governors at the Scindia School (Gwalior), Madhav Institute of Technology & Sciences (Gwalior), and Samrat Ashok Technological Institute (Vidisha). He is also a Board Member for Scindia Kanya School (Gwalior) and Saraswati Sishu Mandir (Gwalior). With an avid interest in cricket, he has served as the Member of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), and as the Chairman of the Finance Committee and Member of the Disciplinary Committee of BCCI. For two years from 2014-16, he was the Member of the Governing Council for the Indian Premier League (IPL). He has acted as the Former President and Chairman of the Madhya Pradesh Cricket Association (MPCA) and also represented MPCA in the BCCI.

Dr. Pemmasani Chandra Sekhar is a graduate of Osmania Medical College in Hyderabad, India. He ranked 27th out of 60,000 students who took the EAMCET medical school entrance examination, one of the most competitive examinations in the country. He completed his residency in internal medicine at Geisinger Medical Center in Danville, Pennsylvania, and obtained the highest percentile scores in most board examinations. During his postgraduate training, he represented the state of Pennsylvania in a national medical knowledge competition for 2 years. He then worked at Johns Hopkins University – Sinai Hospital for about 5 years as an attending physician, teaching residents and medical students. He is also the founder of UWord, an online learning platform for high stakes competitive exams in the US. In 2020, he won the Ernst and Young Award of “Entrepreneur of the Year” in the US. Also, he is a member of Forbes Business Council. Dr. Pemmasani has worked in a free medical clinic providing care to uninsured/underinsured patients in the Indian community of Dallas. In India, he helped provide free and clean water to residents of the Palnadu in the Guntur district, for over 10 years, and donated land for a community hall in his father’s village. He has also provided educational funding to a number of children and adults besides giving charitable donations to local community organizations. In addition, through the CSR and foundation activities, he continues the philanthropic activities focusing on education, global crisis, and service basic needs. Dr Pemmasani Chandra Sekhar joined Telegu Desam Party (TDP) in year 2013 to serve the common people. He has been elected as Member of Parliament from Guntur Lok Sabha constituency in 2024.

Shri Amit Agrawal is a 1993-batch Indian Administrative Service officer of the Chhattisgarh cadre and currently serves as Secretary, Department of Telecommunications and Chairman, Digital Communications Commission, Government of India. He has held several senior positions in the Central Government, including Secretary, Department of Pharmaceuticals, CEO of UIDAI and Additional Secretary in MeitY. His experience spans technology, digital governance, public administration and policy, with a focus on strengthening India’s digital communications ecosystem.

Dr. Kumar N. Sivarajan is the Co-founder and Chief Technology Officer of Tejas Networks. He is an IEEE Fellow, Fellow of the Indian National Academy of Engineering and the Indian National Science Academy and has nearly three decades of experience in the field of telecommunications. Dr. Kumar received the prestigious IEEE W.R.G. Baker Prize Paper Award in 1997, which is presented for the most outstanding paper reporting original work in the transactions, journals, and magazines of the Societies or in the proceedings of the IEEE. He has been ranked among the top-2% most-cited scientists in the world in the field of networking and telecommunications by a Stanford University study and has co-authored the best-selling textbook titled “Optical Networks: A Practical Perspective”, which is currently in its third edition. Dr. Kumar was the founding Chairman of India’s national telecom standardization body (TSDSI) and is currently the Vice Chairman of the Bharat 6G Alliance (B6GA). Dr. Kumar obtained a B. Tech degree in Electrical Engineering (Electronics) from IIT, Madras and MS and PhD degrees from the California Institute of Technology (Caltech).

Prof. Rohit Budhiraja is currently a Professor in the Department of Electrical Engineering at IIT Kanpur, where he led an effort to design the indigenous 5G network. This 5G technology was recently transferred to the industry. He is also currently leading a Indian Government project to design 5G+/6G standards. He works closely with multiple companies. His current research interests include design and optimization of massive MIMO systems for 5G+/6G networks using machine learning and optimization methods. He has received CNR Rao award from IIT Kanpur for architecting and designing the indigenous 5G network, IIT Kanpur Excellence in Teaching Award, Visvesvaraya Fellowship from Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, Government of India, and Early Career Research Award.

Prof. Abhay Karandikar is Secretary, Department of Science and Technology, Government of India. He previously served as Director of IIT Kanpur and as Institute Chair Professor and Head of Electrical Engineering at IIT Bombay. He was a founding member and former Chairman of TSDSI and has contributed extensively to telecom standards, rural broadband, digital connectivity and 6G initiatives

Dr. Younsun Kim is a Master (VP of Technology) at Samsung Research and Chair of the 3GPP TSG Radio Access Network (RAN) plenary. A veteran in wireless communications with Samsung since 1999, he previously served as Chair and Vice-Chair of 3GPP RAN WG1, driving key physical layer innovations for 5G NR and 5G-Advanced. Currently, he oversees the standardization of 6G radio in his role as RAN Chair. He holds a Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering from the University of Washington. In 2025, he was elevated to IEEE Fellow for contributions to 5G physical layer standardization.

Dr. Revathi Mannepalli is a senior telecommunications and spectrum expert in the Department of Telecommunications, Government of India. She has represented India internationally, including as a member of the ITU Radio Regulations Board, and has contributed to spectrum policy, regulatory reforms, interference resolution, satellite spectrum and the Telecommunications Act 2023.

Prof. Bhaskar Ramamurthi heads the Centre of Excellence in Wireless Technology, located at the IIT-Madras Research Park, which is focused on emerging wireless standards and technologies. He is a holder of several patents related to 4G and 5G technologies and was the national coordinator for the project to build an end-to-end 5G Test Bed. He has served as the Chairperson of TSDSI. He is a Fellow of the IEEE and INAE and an Hon. Fellow of RWTH Aachen, Germany. He served as Director, IIT Madras from 2011-21. Bhaskar Ramamurthi graduated with a B.Tech in Electronics from IIT Madras (1980). He secured his M.S. (1982) and Ph.D. (1985) in Electrical Engineering from the University of California at Santa Barbara. After working at AT&T Bell Laboratories for a couple of years, he joined the faculty of his alma mater in 1986. His areas of specialization are Communications and Signal Processing. His body of research is in Wireless Networks, Modulation, Wireless Data, and Audio and Video Compression.

Mr. N. Ganapathy Subramaniam (NGS), Chairman Bharat 6G Alliance, is with Tata Consultancy Service Limited as Consulting Advisor overseeing strategic initiatives, after a career of 42 years. He is also the Chairman of the Borad of Directors of Tejas Networks Limited and Tata Elxsi Limited. In the last four years, he was the Chair of TSDSI, India’s Telecom SDO, during which time he was also the 3GPP PCG Chair during 2023. He steers few initiatives under the aegis the Govt. of India as it relates to Standards Development and advancing the Bharat 6G Vision goals

Dr. Shivkumar Kalyanaraman is CEO of the Anusandhan National Research Foundation (ANRF). He has held senior leadership positions in academia and industry, including Chief Technology Officer for the Energy Industry, Asia at Microsoft and leadership roles at GE Power, and has contributed to wireless and mobile networks, IoT, AI, energy and other technology domains. He is a Distinguished Alumnus of IIT Madras and Ohio State University and a Fellow of IEEE.

Shri Alok Shukla is a senior officer of the Indian Telecom Service (ITS), 1988 batch, serving as Senior Deputy Director General (Personnel) in the Department of Telecommunications (DoT), Government of India. He has over two decades of experience in the planning, operation and maintenance of long-distance telecommunications networks and has held senior positions in DoT and BSNL. He has also served for over a decade in the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI), contributing to large-scale digital infrastructure initiatives. He holds a B.Sc. and B.Tech. in Electronics and Communications from the University of Allahabad.

Anil Kumar Bhardwaj is a senior government and regulatory professional with over 25 years of experience spanning telecommunications, policy, regulation, broadcasting, corporate affairs, and e-governance. He currently serves as Deputy Director General at the Department of Telecommunications (DoT), Government of India, where he leads and supports strategic engagements and policy initiatives, with a focus on promoting local manufacturing of telecom equipment and advancing initiatives in emerging areas such as Generative AI for Telecom Networks, spam call management, social inclusion, and meaningful digital connectivity. Prior to his current role, he served as Director General of the TRAI Centre of Studies & Research and Adviser, Broadcasting Services, where he worked on regulatory and technology-related issues in the broadcasting sector, as well as initiatives aimed at strengthening domestic manufacturing and technology adoption. Earlier, he served as Adviser (Economics) at the Competition Commission of India and led the e-Governance Division at the Ministry of Corporate Affairs, where he played a key role in the implementation of MCA21, India’s business registration portal. He holds a Master’s degree in International Development Policy from Duke University, an MBA in Finance from IGNOU, and an engineering degree from J.C. Bose University of Science and Technology, Faridabad. His contributions to public service and digital transformation have been recognized through several awards, including the Vishisht Sanchar Seva Padak, National Web Ratna Award for e-Governance, and other recognitions for e-governance and rural broadband initiatives.

Mr. Randeep Singh Sekhon is Chief Technology Officer for Airtel India and South Asia, with more than 28 years of experience in the telecommunications industry. He leads technology strategy and innovation, digitization, network operations, rollout, planning and quality. Prior to Airtel, he served as CEO of Hutchison 3 Indonesia, where he led customer-centricity and digital transformation initiatives.

Havish Koorapaty has B.S., M.S., and Ph.D. degrees in Computer Engineering from North Carolina State University. He has 30 years of experience with Ericsson in wireless communications systems spanning 2G to 6G and over 250 technical papers and patents. He was the recipient of the Ericsson Inventor of the Year award in 2016. Havish has participated in standardization efforts in the 3GPP, ATIS, TIA, IEEE, ETSI and O-RAN standardization bodies. He was the recipient of the 3GPP Excellence Award in 2015. Havish served as a vice-chairman in 3GPP RAN1 and as a co-chair for the O-RAN next Generation Research Group (nGRG). He is currently Vice President for standards and industry initiatives in the Americas at Ericsson. He is also a co-chair of the Steering Group in the Next G Alliance as well as a co-chair of the ATIS Open RAN Committee.

Shri Shyam Prabhakar Mardikar is the President & Group Chief Technology Officer – Mobility at Reliance Jio Infocomm Limited, with extensive experience in telecommunications, mobile networks and digital infrastructure. He has held several senior technology and network leadership roles across Reliance Jio, Bharti Airtel, Lebara and the Department of Telecommunications, with expertise spanning network strategy, architecture, wireless technologies, spectrum and next-generation mobile networks. He has played a significant role in the evolution and large-scale deployment of advanced mobile networks in India and has been actively involved in industry discussions on emerging technologies and the future of telecommunications.

David R. Koilpillai received the B.Tech. degree from IIT Madras, and the M.S. and Ph.D. degrees from the California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA, USA, all in electrical engineering.,In 2002, he joined the Electrical Engineering (EE) Faculty of IIT Madras. He is currently the Qualcomm Institute Chair Professor in EE and Dean (Planning). During 2008 to 2009, he served as the Co-Chair of the IITM Special Task Force for setting up the new IIT at Hyderabad. He also served as the Head of the Central Electronics Centre, IITM, from 2010 to 2011. His technical areas of expertise include cellular and broadband wireless systems, and DSP techniques for wireless communications. He is the Faculty Coordinator of the IITMSAT Student Satellite initiative. In 2007, he was on sabbatical from IITM and served as the Chief Scientist of the Centre of Excellence in Wireless Technology (CEWiT), a public–private research and development initiative of the Government of India, and was responsible for launching the national project Broadband Wireless Consortium of India. Prior to joining IITM, he was with General Electric (GE) Corporate Research and Development for four years and Ericsson USA for eight years, where he held different technical and managerial positions. In 2000, he became the Director of the Ericsson’s Advanced Technologies and Research Department, RTP, NC, USA, developing GPRS/EDGE handset technology. His technical contributions at GE and Ericsson have resulted in 32 U.S. patents, 10 Canadian patents, and 19 WIPO/European patents. His current technical activities are in the areas of cellular evolution—4G and 5G, smart grid communications, and DSP for high speed coherent optical communications.,Dr. Koilpillai received the Ericsson Inventor of the Year Award, the highest technical recognition within Ericsson, in 1999.

Mr. Jagbir Singh is a senior telecommunications professional and Chief Technology Officer at Vodafone Idea. He has held leadership roles across network and technology functions in the telecom industry, including experience with Smartfren Telecom, Ericsson and other major technology organizations. His expertise covers mobile networks, digital transformation, network quality and the evolution of 5G and future connectivity.

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.
Mr Ewerbring 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.
Mr Ewerbring holds a Master of Science in Electrical Engineering from Chalmers University of Technology (Gothenburg, Sweden) and a PhD in Electrical Engineering from Cornell University (Ithaca, New York, USA).

Dr. Rajkumar Upadhyay is CEO of the Centre for Developments of Telematics (C-DOT), a premier R&D Centre of the Ministry of Communications, Government of India. His previous assignments include working with Prasar Bharati, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India, Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL), and the Defence R&D Organization. He has also been the Chairman of the working group on ‘Policy and Regulation for South Asian Regulators Council (SATRC)’ during 2011-12.

Currently, he is a Governing Council Member of the Telecom Standards Development Society India, Broadband India Forum, Telecom Export Promotion Council, Telecom Centre of Excellence, and a founding member of the ‘Bharat 6G Alliance’. He is also a member of the National Committee on Electronics Manufacturing and the National Committee on Telecom and Broadband of the Confederation of Indian Industry.

He is the winner of several awards, including the J.C. Bose award by the Ministry of Defense, the National e-Governance award by the Government of India, the CIO 100 award by International Data Group (IDG), and the Deepak C. Jain Award by IIM Bangalore. Under his leadership, C-DOT has won various awards, namely Voice Data “Telecom Person of the Year”, the IETE Corporate Award for Telecommunication, the ELCINA Award for Innovation in R&D Category, and the 12th Annual Aegis Graham Bell Awards across three categories for Disaster Management, Secure Messaging & Calling Solution, and Covid Quarantine Alert System (CQAS), as well as the ELCINA Defennovation Awards for innovation in Defence and many more.

Dr. Upadhyay holds a Ph.D. in Corporate Strategy & Policy, an MBA from IIM Bangalore, and an M.Tech. from the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Roorkee.

Aditya Chaudhuri has worked in telecommunications and digital technology for close to four decades. He is an Adjunct Professor of Practice at the School of Computing and Electrical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Mandi, where he works on academia-industry collaboration and research in AI-native networks. He is a member of the Bharat 6G Alliance Technology Working Group and of its Special Group on Technology, Standards, Patents and IPR, where he contributes to India's work on 6G standards in 3GPP and ITU-R. He is also the Founder, Managing Director and Chief Technology Officer of Advaya Networks, a DPIIT-recognised deep-tech startup and Bharat 6G Alliance Startup Member, where he works on bringing artificial intelligence into next-generation telecom networks. Earlier in his career he held leadership roles at Accenture, IBM and Ericsson, and before that at C-DOT and Escotel in India. Across these roles he led business and technology transformation programmes in several countries, including portfolios of over USD 800 million. He holds a Doctorate in Business Administration (DBA) and is a Fellow of the Institution of Engineers (India), the Institution of Electronics and Telecommunication Engineers, and the Institute of Directors. He is a Senior Member of the IEEE and of the ACM. He writes and speaks regularly on AI in telecom and the evolution of communications networks.

Abhijit Chaudhary is the Founder and CEO of Niral Networks, a deep?tech company pioneering Private 5G, Edge Computing, and AI?driven networking solutions for mission?critical industries. With over two decades of experience in telecommunications and data networking, he has held leadership roles at Cisco, Huawei, Motorola, and Sandvine, and co?founded Etrance Networks. He was also part of the founding engineering team at Apigee, later acquired by Google. Abhijit is a Governing Council member of the Bharat 6G Alliance and an active voice in the startup ecosystem, frequently speaking at forums on 5G, IoT, Edge AI, and open?source networking. He holds a Master’s degree in Computer Science from the Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru and is a Certified Product Manager from the Association of International Product Marketing & Management.

Ms. Priya Narayanan is the Client Chief Technology Officer (CTO) for India at Nokia. With nearly two decades of exhaustive experience in telecommunications, she leads Nokia's strategic technical engagements with customer CXOs and orchestrates comprehensive, cross-business solution architectures for major communications service providers (CSPs) across India. Prior to this executive appointment, Ms. Narayanan served as a Principal Consultant at Nokia Bell Labs, where she spearheaded technology strategy, future network transformation, and innovation roadmap designs for tier-1 operators globally. Over her distinguished career, she has built deep-domain expertise across 5G, 6G, non-terrestrial networks (NTN), edge computing, and cloud-native digital infrastructure, having previously held senior network operations and technology positions at airtel, Nokia Siemens Networks, and Alcatel-Lucent.

Luciana is the GSMA’s Head of Spectrum. She directs the GSMA’s range of advocacy issues on public policy relating to spectrum with national governments and multilateral organisations. Her career began with Brazilian regulator Anatel where she worked as part of the board advisory team. She joined the GSMA in 2012, where she has continued to be active in shaping the future of mobile services at international fora such as the ITU, CITEL and other multilateral organisations. She has chaired regulatory groups charged with developing communications regulation at the ITU and in regional organisations. She is an active supporter of the role of women in technology and is a former chair of the ITU’s Network of Women. Luciana earned an MBA in telecommunications from the University of Strathclyde, Scotland, and a degree in electrical engineering from the University of Brasilia.

Telecommunication professional with 25 years’ experience in the cellular industry in different capacities: ASIC and R&D system engineering experience on 3G and 4G, technical standardization leadership and technical group chairmanship (3GPP, GSMA), board representation (GSA). Etienne is currently responsible for Qualcomm’s engagement in regional standards worldwide and is the executive sponsor for AI and Security Standards.

Mr. Harbakhsh Singh Kahlon is the Vice President and Network Planning & Optimization (NPO) Head at Bharti Airtel Services. With nearly three decades of exhaustive experience in the telecommunications sector, he oversees network optimization architectures, portfolio delivery workflows, and key performance indicator (KPI) frameworks for Airtel’s core infrastructure. Prior to his current executive role at Airtel, Mr. Kahlon spent nearly 19 years at Ericsson in various critical leadership capacities, including Managed Services Director and Service Delivery Manager, where he successfully engineered large-scale multi-site network performance programs. His expansive career also features core network operations and engineering roles globally with global leaders like Nokia in Beijing and TelSim Telecom in Istanbul. He holds a Bachelor of Engineering (B.E.) in Electronics and Electrical Communications from Guru Nanak Dev Engineering College, Ludhiana, alongside a Postgraduate Certificate in Business Management (PGCBM) from XLRI Jamshedpur.

Mr. Jagmohan Singh Bali is Head – Radio SAE and Vice President – Network at Bharti Airtel, with extensive experience in the telecommunications industry. He has expertise in radio access engineering, network technologies and telecom innovation, with a focus on translating advanced research and emerging technologies into practical network solutions. He has also contributed to industry–academia engagement and discussions on global telecom standards and the evolution of next-generation networks, including 5G and 6G. He holds a degree from the University of Jammu.

Anita Doehler has extensive international experience in various business areas, including senior management positions with mobile network operators, vendors, and consulting firms. From 2016 until 2020, she held senior management positions at Accenture. Prior to that, she worked at Vodafone Group for 16 years, and also at E-Plus and Philips, among others.

Anita holds a Dipl.-Ing. degree in Telecommunication Engineering as well as an Executive MBA degree. Furthermore, she is a Systemic Business Coach.

Anita is passionate about driving technology innovation for the benefit of humans and societies and supporting the world’s leading operators, vendors, and research institutes. Since July 2020, she has been the CEO of the Next Generation Mobile Networks Alliance (NGMN).

Masaaki Koga has been honored to serve as a corporate advisor since April 2025, following his tenure as Executive Director in charge of industry standards. He joined KDDI (then DDI) after graduating from Kyushu University with a master's degree in electronics. Throughout his career, he has worked on the implementation, development, and strategic planning of mobile technologies from 2G to 5G, holding roles as a senior manager and general manager. He has been actively involved in numerous standardization activities, including 3GPP, 3GPP2, and ITU-T/R. For over eight years, he chaired the CDG international roaming team and received the 3G CDMA Industry Achievement Award in 2006 for his industry leadership. He firmly believes that industry standards will continue to be a key driver of technological and business innovation. Additionally, he has been a member of the GSMA Technology Group.

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Mr. Takehiro Nakamura joined NTT Laboratories in 1990 and currently serves as Chief Standardization Officer at NTT DOCOMO, Inc. With extensive experience in R&D and standardization, he has played a pivotal role in advancing radio and network technologies—including W-CDMA, HSPA, LTE/LTE-Advanced, 5G, and 6G—while fostering inter-industry collaboration. Since 1997, Mr. Nakamura has actively contributed to standardization activities in ARIB, ITU, and 3GPP, serving as Vice Chair and Chair of 3GPP TSG-RAN from 2005 to 2013. He has been instrumental in promoting and accelerating 5G and 6G both in Japan and globally, as a leading member of the 5G Mobile Promotion Forum, Beyond 5G Promotion Consortium, and ITS Info-communications Forum in Japan. Currently, he leads several projects on Local 5G, millimeter-wave, and 6G within the XG Mobile Promotion Forum (XGMF). He also serves as a board member of 5G-ACIA and as a sub-leader of the Human Augmentation Consortium.

NANDANA RAJATHEVA (Senior Member, IEEE) received the B.Sc. degree (Hons.) in electronics and telecommunication engineering from the University of Moratuwa, Sri Lanka, in 1987, and the M.Sc. and Ph.D. degrees from the University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, MB, Canada, in 1991 and 1995, respectively. He is currently a Professor with the Centre for Wireless Communications, University of Oulu, Finland, and leads the thematic area of wireless access technologies in the 6G Flagship Project. During his graduate studies, he was a Canadian Commonwealth Scholar in Manitoba. From 1995 to 2010, he was with the University of Moratuwa and the Asian Institute of Technology, Thailand. He is contributed to the intelligent radio air interface design task in EU Project Hexa-X-II. He has co-authored more than 200 refereed papers published in journals and conference proceedings. His research interests include physical layer in 6G, machine learning for PHY and resource allocation, multimodal sensing and communications, and channel coding.

Dr. Ravi P Gandhi is a renowned expert in the telecommunications, media, entertainment, retail, and e-commerce sectors, with over 30 years of outstanding experience. His leadership has played a pivotal role in transforming India's telecommunications landscape while driving significant innovations across other industries, including e-commerce and media. Known for his expertise in navigating complex technological and regulatory environments, Dr. Gandhi has consistently empowered organizations to thrive in rapidly evolving industries. His efforts have been instrumental in revolutionizing India's telecommunications sector. Currently, Dr. Gandhi holds key leadership roles, including serving as part of the Global Leadership Team at GSMA, Chairman of the ICT Committee of ASSOCHAM, Chairman of the Retail and Consumer Affairs Committee of the PHD Chamber of Commerce, and Co-Chairman of the E-commerce Committee at FICCI. He is also an active member of Nasscom's Special Interest Group. Dr. Gandhi's distinguished career began with the Indian Telecom Services, followed by his tenure as Chief Regulatory Officer at Bharti Airtel. He currently holds the position of President at Reliance Jio, Reliance Retail, and Jio Platforms, where he is known for implementing visionary strategies that transform technical and regulatory challenges into opportunities for growth and innovation. Dr. Gandhi holds a Ph.D. in Technology Management from IIT Delhi and a B.Tech from NIT Kurukshetra. His blend of technical expertise and strategic insight continues to drive innovation and make a meaningful societal impact. His career serves as a beacon for aspiring engineers and leaders who aim to make a lasting difference. Through his leadership, Dr. Gandhi continues to inspire a new generation of innovators committed to progress and transformative change.

Mr. Hardeep Saini is a Senior Director – Engineering at Qualcomm India, with extensive experience in wireless and cellular technologies. His expertise spans 5G, LTE and advanced wireless systems, with a strong focus on engineering and next-generation communication technologies. He has been associated with industry standardisation and telecom ecosystem initiatives, including contributions through the Telecommunications Standards Development Society, India (TSDSI). With his extensive experience in wireless technology and telecom innovation, he brings valuable industry perspectives to the evolution of 5G and 6G networks.

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Ashok Kumar is an officer of the Indian Telecom Service, Department of Telecommunications (DoT), Government of India. He joined this service in 1995. A career technocrat with specialization in Mobile Communications and the telecom and related ICT sector, he is currently working as Deputy Director General in the Department of Telecommunications (DoT), Ministry of Communications. Presently, he is the Vice Chair of ITU-T Study Group 16, which develops standards for Multimedia and Digital services.

In addition to his expertise in telecommunications policy and regulations, he is an expert in 5G and other mobile technologies. During his tenure at the National Telecommunications Institute for Policy Research and Innovation, he designed and developed 30 courses totaling 40 hours on 5G Mobile Communications, which were published on the eLearning Platform (known as iGoT) of the Government of India. He has also conducted five batches of Online 36-hour/6-week Certificate courses on 5G Technology for officers of the Indian Telecom Service, other central/state government officials, and faculty members of engineering colleges.

Earlier, he worked at the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI), which was mandated to issue a biometric-based identity called Aadhaar to all residents of India. He contributed to creating enabling policies, processes, and guidelines to expand the ecosystem and keep it viable and healthy, resulting in the successful enrollment of over one billion people in India.

During his initial 10 years of service, he served in various parts of the country and contributed to the installation, commissioning, and operation of telecom networks.

Ravi Lakhotia is a senior telecommunications professional with over 25 years of experience spanning telecom equipment manufacturers and service providers, with extensive expertise in mobile networks, radio planning, network strategy, spectrum management, and 5G technologies. He is currently associated with Vodafone Idea Limited as part of the Strategy and Radio Planning team, where he focuses on 5G network planning and strategy. He is actively engaged in India’s evolving 5G and 6G ecosystem and contributes to industry-led initiatives supporting the development of next-generation mobile networks. He serves as Vice Chair of the Spectrum Working Group of the Bharat 6G Alliance, contributing to discussions and initiatives related to India’s spectrum roadmap and strategic priorities for IMT-2030 and beyond. He has also contributed to initiatives under the Telecom Standards Development Society, India (TSDSI), including industry efforts in Open Source RAN, Open Source Transport, and Open Source Applications.

Mahesh Marina is a Professor (Personal Chair of Networked Systems) in the School of Informatics at the University of Edinburgh. He holds or has held Visiting Professor and Researcher roles at Johns Hopkins Computer Science, ETH Zurich and at Ofcom (the UK’s telecoms regulator). Previously, he was a Turing Fellow at the Alan Turing Institute (the UK’s national institute for data science and AI) for five years (2018-23) and served as the Director of the Institute for Computing Systems Architecture within Informatics@Edinburgh for four years (2018-22). Prior to joining Edinburgh, he had a two-year postdoctoral stint at the UCLA Computer Science Department after earning his PhD in Computer Science from the State University of New York at Stony Brook. He is an IEEE Fellow and an ACM Distinguished Member.

Mr. Vivek Roy heads the “IT/OT Integration” Technology Portfolio in Siemens India, which offers complete range of industrial communication products covering industrial rugged networking switches, wireless, remote communication solutions, Industrial Identification covering solutions using Radio Frequency Identification, Code Reading. In addition, the IT/OT Integration portfolio elements also include data integrity which encompasses SCADA, Industrial Edge related topics. He also leads the Cybersecurity practice for Digital Industries which caters to Industrial security requirements across business units and sales verticals. With an experience of close to 25 years in the field of Automation & Control, he has worked in various functions including project sales and execution, product sales, business development.

Sandeep Sharma is a seasoned telecom leader with over two decades of experience in next-gen wireless technologies, including 5G, O-RAN, and AI-powered networks, Sandeep drives innovation, shapes industry standards, and builds strategic partnerships that are redefining the future of telecommunications. A recognized thought leader, Sandeep is a frequent speaker at high-impact forums and author of influential white papers that are helping steer the industry toward 6G. With deep expertise in product management, network planning, and pre-sales, he has led world-class teams across both mature and emerging markets. His vision continues to unlock new growth opportunities and enhance network capabilities in an increasingly digital world

Ashutosh brings in a unique blend of industry and academic experience. He is currently Chief 5G Strategist at The Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Labs and serves as associate research professor and the director of Doctor of Engineering program at Johns Hopkins University in addition to his teaching. His past career spanning more than 30 years, includes Director of Technology Security and Lead Member of Technical Staff at AT&T, CTO of cybersecurity company NIKSUN, Senior Scientist in Telcordia Research, Director of Central Research Facility at Columbia University, and Computer Engineer with TATA Motors. Ashutosh has published more than 110 papers, IEEE-Wiley book on Handoff Optimization, 6 book chapters and has 31 issued patents. As a Technical Leader in 5G, Ashutosh has served as the founding Co-Chair for the IEEE Future Networks (https://futurenetworks.ieee.org/), IEEE Connecting The Unconnected (ctu.ieee.org) and IEEE 5G/6G Innovation Testbed (testbed.ieee.org). Ashutosh served as IEEE Communications Society's Distinguished Lecturer for 2017-2020. He has served in IEEE Communications Society's director of Industry Outreach Board (2014-2019) and has been serving as Member-At-Large (2020-2025). He initiated and organized more than 90 5G Summits around the world (www.5gsummit.org) and has served as founding Co-Chair of IEEE Future Networks World Forum (https://fnwf2025.ieee.org/) since 2018. Ashutosh has served as Workshop Co-Chair in ICC and Industry Forum and Exhibits Co-Chair in Globecom. His most notable awards include, 2022 North American Region Exceptional Service Award, 2009 IEEE MGA Leadership award, 2022 IEEE-USA George F. McClure Citation of Honor, and IPv6 Hall of Fame in 2024. Ashutosh is a Distinguished Alumnus of NIT Rourkela with BS in Electrical Engineering, MS in Computer Science from NJIT, and Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering from Columbia University under the supervision of Prof. Henning Schulzrinne. Ashutosh is a Fellow of IEEE, Distinguished member of ACM, Fellow of AAIA, and Member of National Academy of Artificial Intelligence.

He is a seasoned R&D Executive and Technologist with a strong engineering background and extensive experience in the telecommunications domain, with proven expertise in R&D from a premier research institute. His areas of expertise include 4G, 5G and 6G ecosystem development, technology landscape studies, standardization, technology lab and capability establishment, project and program management, R&D collaboration, IPR, strategic planning, and multi-organization team building and leadership. He has also contributed to organizational change management, inter-country engagements, thought leadership, technology marketing, board review support, contract management, and external project review committees. With a strong focus on emerging telecommunications technologies, he brings extensive experience in fostering collaboration across industry, academia, research institutions, and the wider technology ecosystem.

Mombasawala Mohmedsaeed is Chief Technology Officer (CTO) at Keysight Technologies India Pvt. Ltd. heading the team of Industry Segment Experts (ISEs) in commercial communications, network security & testing, memory & peripherals interconnects as well as automotive & energy solutions. Mombasawala has 37 years of experience in various technology domains in the field of electronics, 5G, RF, network security, high speed digital & optical interface technologies, automotive electronics, and network operations. Mombasawala earned his bachelor's degree in Electronics and Communication Engineering from SVNIT- Surat. He received a Post-Graduate Diploma in Business Management (Marketing) from IGNOU.

Ramu is Co-Founder and Director of Lekha, bringing over 20 years of experience in wireless communication markets. He specializes in private networks, IPs, and solutions for the cellular telecom sector, with deep expertise in IEEE and 3GPP standards including WiMAX, LTE, and 5G NR. At Lekha, he leads business development, innovation, product strategy, and execution. Previously, he held roles at Cisco Systems, Navini Networks, Centillium, and Encore Software. Ramu holds a Bachelor of Engineering in Instrumentation Electronics from Bangalore University.

Rahim Tafazolli, Regius Professor of Electronic Engineering, was awarded this royal recognition to mark the Queen's Diamond Jubilee. He has been a Professor of Mobile and Satellite Communications at the University of Surrey since April 2000, the Director of the Institute of Communication Systems (ICS) since January 2010, and the founder and Director of the 5G Innovation Centre since 2012, which is the world's first dedicated centre on 5G research and innovation.

Professor Tafazolli has over 30 years of experience in digital communications research and teaching. He has authored and co-authored more than 500 research publications and is regularly invited to deliver keynote talks and distinguished lectures at international conferences and workshops.

He was the leader of a study on “grand challenges in IoT" (Internet of Things) in the UK from 2011 to 2012 for RCUK (Research Council UK) and the UK TSB (Technology Strategy Board). Professor Tafazolli is regularly invited by governments to advise on national 5G research and strategy and was an advisor to the Mayor of London regarding the London Infrastructure Investment 2050 Plan.

In 2011, he was appointed as a Fellow of the Wireless World Research Forum (WWRF) in recognition of his personal contributions to the wireless world as well as heading one of Europe's leading research groups. He was also awarded the 28th KIA Laureate Award in 2015 for his contribution to communications technology.

Dr. Hanumantha Rao received his PhD from The Queen’s university, Belfast, UK, M.S. from BITS, Pilani and B.Tech. from SV University, India. He has more than 38 years of experience in Research and Development in RF, microwaves and mm-wave technologies for strategic and civilian sectors. He has been working in SAMEER for the past 35 years after a brief stay at Space Applications Centre SAC (ISRO), Ahmedabad. As a scientist, in the initial part of his career and later as a senior member of the organisation, he has been actively involved in the implementation of various future driven next generation technologies for both strategic and societal applications for DRDO, MeitY and DoT. He has been part of multi-institute (IITM, IITB, IITD, IITK, IITH, IISc, CEWiT and SAMEER) collaborative research towards the development of Indigenous 5G solutions. He was part of 5G team and, demonstrated for the first time in India, a fully functional MIMO and Massive MIMO systems at sub 6-GHz band, and integrated mm-wave Tiled Phased array antennas. He was instrumental in building indigenous technologies, R&D facilities and executed various strategic projects to address the denied technologies to India. He actively participates in developing Indian standards for 5G and represented India at ITU global meetings. He contributed towards SoC, SoP and implemented Electromagnetic Band Gaps (EBG) and Metamaterial configurations in collaboration with Georgia Tech, Atlanta, USA. As a member of high-level committees at national level in driving the technology programs for India, he facilitated collaborative research between SAMEER-Academia and industry, both at national and international levels. He actively contributes in capacity building in terms of lectures, workshops and symposia and mentored number of scientific teams at various levels. He has guided more than 50 M.Tech. /MS students along with 11 PhDs. He is a member of Doctoral Committees for various IITs, NITs and reputed Indian universities. He created SAMEER-Academia interaction with various premier IITs and NITs. Most of his work has been published in highly referred journals. Some of his publications are the most referred / popular articles for a long period in IEEE. He has more than 120 publications in IEEE/IEE/John Wiley and referred journals and conferences. His current research areas include 6G solutions, intelligent reflecting surfaces, UAV detection and deactivation, Spectrum studies and RF SoC and Tiled Phased arrays systems.

Dr Kaveh Delfanazari is a Royal Society Industry Fellow in Quantum Computing and an Associate Professor at the James Watt School of Engineering and Centre for Quantum Technology, University of Glasgow (UofG), UK. He leads the UofG Quantum Information Cluster, a cutting-edge research laboratory that brings together leading academics, research scientists, and PhD students, and is equipped with state-of-the-art facilities dedicated to addressing the most critical challenges in quantum information processing hardware. Dr Delfanazari has been the recipient of several highly competitive research fellowships, awards and grants, including the Royal Society Fellowship in Quantum Computing, Royal Academy of Engineering/Leverhulme Trust Research Fellowship in Quantum Communication, Royal Society of Edinburgh Personal Research Fellowship in Quantum Microwaves, the UK Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) Fellowship in Quantum Innovation, Technologies, and Standards, the Monbukagakusho Scholarship from the Japanese Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science, and Technology, Dean’s Award for Innovation and Excellence in PhD Thesis, Multiple International Travel Grants, and Best Paper/Presentation Awards at National/International Conferences. Dr Delfanazari is a Fellow of the Institute of Physics (IOP), a Senior Member of IEEE, a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (UK), and serves as an Editor for IEEE Transactions on Quantum Engineering.

He is a Senior Research Scientist at VIAVI Solutions, specializing in AI/ML-driven solutions for telecommunications and wireless communications. He holds a Ph.D. in Wireless Communications and Artificial Intelligence from Heriot-Watt University, where his research focused on deep learning, reinforcement learning, optimization, and intelligent solutions for advanced communication networks. His expertise spans AI/ML applications in 5G and emerging wireless technologies, communication systems, spectrum sensing, resource allocation, and network optimization. He has contributed extensively to the research community through publications in leading IEEE journals and international conferences and has worked on innovative applications of artificial intelligence and machine learning for next-generation communication systems.

Mr. Erik Ekudden is Senior Vice President and Chief Technology Officer (CTO) at Ericsson, where he leads the company’s technology direction and serves as Head of Group Function Technology. He joined Ericsson in 1993 and has held several senior leadership positions, including Head of Technology Strategy, CTO Americas, and Head of Standardization and Industry. With over three decades of experience in telecommunications and technology leadership, he has contributed to the development of global mobile systems spanning 3G, 4G and 5G, and has worked extensively across mobility, distributed cloud, artificial intelligence and the Internet of Things. He holds an M.Sc. in Electrical Engineering from KTH Royal Institute of Technology, Sweden, and is a Fellow of the Royal Swedish Academy of Engineering Sciences (IVA).

Alla is a Standardization Expert at Federated Telecoms Hubs with 30 years of experience in telecommunications, including 20 years of extensive experience in international telecommunications standards and open-source organizations. Her expertise spans standards development, open-source initiatives, and industry consortiums, with significant contributions to 3GPP, the Linux Foundation, and the Telecom Infra Project (TIP). Within 3GPP, she provided technical leadership and served as Rapporteur for the introduction of the Traffic Detection Function (TDF) into the 4G Packet Core Architecture in Releases 11 and 12, covering SA2 (architecture), SA5 (charging), and CT3 (protocols); provided technical leadership and served as Rapporteur for 4G Release 13 Network Congestion Handling in the SA2 group; and provided technical leadership and served as Rapporteur for 5G Release 18 AI/ML (AIML) activities in the SA2 (architecture) and SA5 (charging) groups. Within the Linux Foundation, she has served as a member of the ONAP Technical Steering Committee (TSC), Chair of the ONAP Requirements Subcommittee, and member of the Linux Foundation Networking (LFN) Strategic Planning Committee. Within TIP, she has served as a Technical Committee member and Orchestration Stream Lead for the Open Core Network (OCN) project.

Ulrich heads the Standardization activities for Nokia. He is responsible for global and regional standardization and technical regulation as spectrum. The team is part of the Nokia BellLabs CTO group. Ulrich is board member of the 5G Alliance for Connected Industries and Automation (5G-ACIA). He also is a VP and Executive Committee member of the Global Mobile Supplier Association (GSA). Prior to his current role Ulrich was responsible for Nokia Networks Industry Environment activities. Between 2007 and 2012 Ulrich lead the NSN 3GPP standardization team and has served as Head of Delegation to 3GPP. Between 1996 and 2007, Ulrich held various positions in R&D of Siemens Mobile Networks unit. He was responsible for standardization activities of the core network business unit and managed Siemens 3GPP activities. Ulrich had instrumental role in the definition of the UMTS architecture as well as in set up of project management in 3GPP. Ulrich holds a Ph.D. from Télécom ParisTech from 1996; his research area was the definition of 3G Radio Interface and his research was part of EU collaborative research program (RACE II ATDMA).

Chandra Ranganathan is an accomplished business and technology journalist and editorial leader with over 18 years of experience across print, television, and digital media, having worked with leading media organizations including the Times Group and Network18. Currently leading the technology, startups, and new economy editorial team, along with the social media team, at Moneycontrol, they drive in-depth reporting, digital storytelling, and audience engagement. They have also served as the anchor and series editor of *Bits to Billions: The Unicorn Story* on CNN-News18 and *Pitch Craft* on Moneycontrol. Previously, they were Senior Editor at ET NOW, where they led the South India Bureau, launched and anchored *Startup Central*, and spearheaded the channel’s digital editorial strategy covering business, policy, and technology. Earlier, they reported for The Economic Times from Chennai, covering the IT and automobile sectors as well as prominent family-owned businesses. They hold a Bachelor's degree in Journalism from M.O.P. Vaishnav College, Chennai, where they were a university topper and topped the department throughout the three years of study.

Javan Erfanian is a senior wireless technology strategist and adviser with over 20 years of experience in telecommunications research, technology strategy, standardization, and industry practice. He has served as an IEEE Communications Society Distinguished Speaker, contributed as an editor and author to the Wireless Engineering Book of Knowledge, and served on the IEEE WCET Industry Advisory Board. His work spans wireless technology evolution, research, innovation, industry strategy, and standardization, with contributions involving organizations and alliances including NGMN, ITU-R, Next-G Alliance, ETSI, O-RAN, 3GPP, and IEEE. He has taught numerous academic and industry courses on communications and wireless systems and has held leadership roles within IEEE Communications Society. He is a recipient of the IEEE Millennium Medal and the NGMN Alliance Lifetime Achievement Award, and has contributed extensively to the development and evolution of next-generation wireless technologies, including 5G and 6G.

Dr. Chitranjan Singh is a semiconductor technology and business leader with over two decades of experience developing advanced wireless and computing technologies for global markets. He spent 10years at Qualcomm in San Diego, where he architected the world's first industry leading software-defined LTE modem for smartphones and led the development of six generations of modem chips including the first5G smartphone modem. Technologies developed under his leadership were deployed in more than 4 billion devices worldwide, contributing approximately $300 billion in Qualcomm revenue and achieving about 80%global LTE modem market share. His contributions were recognized with Qualcomm's Super Qualstar Hall of Fame award. Dr. Singh is the Founder and CTO of Ananant Systems , building advanced indigenous semiconductor platforms for wireless infrastructure, AI and edge compute. His expertise spans 5G/6G wireless, modem and DSP architecture, AI compute, heterogeneous computing, and hardware–software co-optimization, with a strong focus on performance, power and cost at the system level. He is passionate about building globally competitive fabless semiconductor product companies from India that can create foundational technologies for critical communication and compute infrastructure. Ananant Systems is building semiconductor platforms targeting significant improvements in performance-per-watt-per-rupee for infrastructure and edge AI applications. Dr. Singh holds a Ph.D. and M.S. in Electrical Engineering from the University of Texas at Dallas, with research focused on efficient wireless baseband and MIMO signal-processing architectures, and a B.Tech. in Electrical Engineering from IIT Kanpur.

Jishnu Aravindakshan is Principal Architect Technology in the CTO’s office at Tejas Networks India Limited and has 20 years of experience in the field of Telecom.

He obtained his BTech in electronics and communication from NIT, Calicut in 2001 and a Master's from IISc, Bangalore in 2004. Subsequently, he joined Tejas Networks and is responsible for deciding the long-term roadmap of the company. He has represented Tejas at ITU-T SG15 and has contributed towards the development of ITU-T G.8032 and MPLS-TP standards. His present interests include 5G-Advanced and 6G.

He is actively involved in 5G standardization through TSDSI (Telecom Standards Development Society, India) at ITU-R WP5D, and as an Individual Member at 3GPP RAN1/SA2. He was closely involved in the design of 3G/4G backhaul architecture with major Indian and International operators. He successfully represented India and TSDSI during the IMT2020 standardization activity for the inclusion of LMLC (Low Mobility Large Cell) as a 5G evaluation configuration in Rural eMBB.

He was the founding Chairman of the Optical Access and Transport Study Group (SG3) in TSDSI, which developed the CPRI Fronthaul standard. Later, he continued as the Vice Chairman of Study Group - Networks (SGN) and coordinated the effort from TSDSI for including a 5G Radio Interface Technology (RIT) or 5Gi from India in ITU-R IMT 2020. Recently, he, as part of the Indian delegation, contributed to the ITU-R IMT-2030, also known as the 6G Framework/Vision document ITU-R M.2160.

He has filed 16 patents (12 granted) and was awarded the best paper award by IETE in 2006. He has edited the Springer’s CSI Transaction on ICT on a special issue on “Wireless in the Future” as a guest editor in March 2019.

Dr. Jasper Pandza is Head of International & Standards in the Digital Infrastructure directorate within the UK Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport (DCMS). His team collaborates with international partners and engages in technical standards development to shape Advanced Connectivity Technologies (such as 6G), with a focus on security & resilience, promoting economic growth, and advancing societal goals. Previously, Jasper worked in cyber security in the UK Government, notably as editor of ETSI EN 303 645 which sets out baseline security requirements for connected consumer products. Jasper holds a PhD in War Studies from King’s College London.

Rajesh Kumar Pathak has done a Masters in Technology and has more than 37 years of experience in senior positions at the Government of India. Mr. Pathak is recognized for his exceptional contributions to indigenous manufacturing, technological innovation, and global collaboration. He was instrumental in setting up the Telecommunications Standards Development Society, India (TSDSI), driving technology standards and innovation.

Mr. Pathak's strategic insight extends to nurturing Indian start-ups and the "Make In India" campaign, fostering innovation. Prior to his position as Director General in the Bharat 6G Alliance, he was the Bharat 6G Mission Head in the Government and was instrumental in framing the Bharat 6G Vision statement. Leading the Bharat 6G Alliance with his forward-looking approach, he continues to shape India's telecom landscape, inspiring innovation, collaboration, and progress.

John David Kim is Strategic Engagement Director and Head of North East Asia at GSMA, where he leads engagement with mobile operators, ecosystem partners, and government and policy stakeholders across the Asia-Pacific region. He is also the Head of the 6G Partnership Forum, APAC, supporting collaboration and strategic initiatives related to the evolution of next-generation mobile technologies. With over 20 years of research and consulting experience in the ICT and telecommunications industry, particularly across North East Asia, he has led major research and consulting engagements for mobile network operators, technology vendors, governments, and regulatory bodies. His areas of expertise include 5G commercialization, 6G, IoT, digital transformation, technology adoption, business strategy, and policy and regulatory developments. Prior to joining GSMA, he held senior leadership positions with global ICT research and consulting organizations. He holds degrees in Science and Business/Marketing from the University of Melbourne and Swinburne University of Technology, along with postgraduate studies in Economics and Applied Information Systems.

Mr. Jerry Jae Yeol Kim is the Vice Executive Chair of the Executive Committee at the 6G Forum in South Korea and a Research Fellow in Technology Strategy at LG Uplus [Next G Alliance, 6G Forum]. An alumnus of KAIST with degrees in Physics and Electrical Engineering, Mr. Kim brings extensive expertise in product development and software engineering from his tenure at LG Electronics [Next G Alliance, 6G Forum]. Today, he drives the strategic vision for next-generation telecommunications, leading global standardization and ecosystem cultivation for 6G, AI-native networks, and robotics

Associate Professor Gao Yujia is the Assistant Group Chief Technology Officer at the National University Health System (NUHS), Singapore, and a Consultant in Liver Transplant, Hepatobiliary, and Pancreatic Surgery at the National University Hospital. A/Prof Gao is the founding Centre Director of NXAC, the NUHS 6G Artificial Intelligence Centre, which he established around three pillars: spatial and embodied artificial intelligence, advanced 5G/6G connectivity, and unified quantum networks. The centre serves as the operational engine for NUHS's work in next-generation connectivity, quantum-safe networking, unified platforms, XR technology, autonomous robots, and global surgery. He is also responsible for the integration and implementation of 5G wireless technology for hospital infrastructure development and building of secured high- speed integrated data networks. As part of his work, A/Prof Gao is heavily involved in leveraging on MR and wireless communication technology to help advance global surgery initiatives including remote surgical assistance and education. A/Prof Gao also serves as the Vice Chairman of the HIMSS APAC Advisory Board and is a member of the Southeast Asia Public Policy Committee of HIMSS APAC. He speaks internationally on the convergence of healthcare, advanced connectivity, and artificial intelligence.

Mr. Paul Geoghegan is the VP of Business Development at Net Feasa, a trusted mobile network operator pioneering IoT and intelligent agentic AI solutions for global supply chain and maritime logistics. With over 30 years of experience in the ICT sector, Mr. Geoghegan’s career spans senior leadership roles across wireless, cellular, cloud, and IoT technologies throughout Europe and Asia. Notably, he spent more than 18 years living and working in China, where he held critical management positions—including serving as the Head of Ericsson's Wireless and Cloud Innovation Lab for North East Asia.

Rajesh Tuli is the Managing Director of Coral Telecom Ltd, a leading Indian telecom solutions provider he has steered since 1991. With over three decades of experience in building end?to?end communication networks for government and enterprise clients, he has been instrumental in advancing India’s telecom infrastructure. He also serves on the boards of Usha Informatics, Coral Technology, and Maksat Coral. An alumnus of Panjab University with an MBA in International Marketing, and Hindu College, Delhi University with a B.Sc. in Zoology, Rajesh combines technical expertise with strategic vision to drive innovation in the telecom sector.

Colin is currently the chairman of the board of the 6G Smart Networks and Services Industry Association (6G-IA), the vice-chairman of the board of the European Smart Networks and Services Joint Undertaking (SNS-JU), and vice-chairman of the European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI) board. He has detailed knowledge and experience in the telecommunications industry, having worked directly or indirectly with many of the major players over a 30-year period. His roles have included software developer, technical consultant, technical marketing, standardization, and management.

In addition to his line manager roles, Colin has participated extensively in standardization activities at ETSI, ITU-T, and 3GPP, including instrumental work in creating and developing the TTCN-3 testing language. He has also been very active in the European research ecosystem, leading a number of award-winning European projects such as TT-Medal, D-MINT, and SEMAFOUR. Currently, Colin is the head of Research Alliances at Nokia.

Radhakant Das is the Global Head of Telecom Network Operations and Wireless Network Practice at Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), where he leads initiatives in AI?driven automation, cognitive networks, and zero?touch operations. With over 20 years of experience across telecom services and product companies, he has contributed to advancing next?generation network technologies and holds patents in virtual telephony and messaging services.

Dr. Dinesh Bharadia is an Associate Professor in the Electrical and Computer Engineering Department at UC San Diego, where he holds the Klein Gilhousen Chancellor's Endowed Chair and directs the Wireless Communication, Sensing, and Networking Group [WCSNG]. Recognized globally for disproving a long-held axiom in wireless communication, he designed the first commercial-grade full-duplex radio that transmits and receives on the exact same frequency simultaneously [Center for Wireless Communications]. His current pioneering research focuses on advanced architectures for 6G cellular networks, battery-free Internet-of-Things (IoT) sensing, and autonomous vehicle perception [IIT Kanpur, Dinesh Bharadia]. Dr. Bharadia has been named to Forbes 30 Under 30, MIT Technology Review’s Innovators Under 35, and is a recipient of the prestigious Marconi Young Scholar Award [Center for Wireless Communications]. He holds a B.Tech from IIT Kanpur, a Ph.D. from Stanford University, and completed his postdoctoral work at MIT CSAIL [Jacobs School of Engineering].

Gerard is a Full Professor in Telecommunications Engineering and has been Head of the School of Computing Sciences at the University of East Anglia (UEA) from 2016-2023, which involved a range of senior management roles and responsibilities covering Teaching, Research, Innovation, and Outreach.

He holds a PhD in Self-Stabilising Protocols from Ulster University, aspects of which were completed with University College London (UCL), and he was one of the founding fathers of the Internet (Professor Jon Postel) as a Visiting Research Scientist at the DARPA/University of Southern California Information Sciences Institute in Marina Del Rey, Los Angeles.

Within his academic career, areas of research include Self-stabilising Networks, Wireless Sensor Clouds, UAV for Disaster Response Communications, ICT for the Rural Economy, Converged Network Management, Control Protocols for Terrestrial and Non-Terrestrial Networks, delay-sensitive QoSLAs, energy-aware autonomic networking, and IoT-edge computing.

He has attracted several million pounds of external research and commercial funding and has advised governments on the allocation of funding to large-scale projects valued in total at approximately £3 billion. His industrial collaborations have included companies such as BT, Intel, ARM, Vodafone, IBM, Aviva, Ericsson, Siemens, InfoSys, Wipro, and SAP.

Professor Parr is an invited member of the EPSRC Peer Review College. His academic research collaborations include institutions such as MIT, Georgia Institute of Technology, University of Arizona, UC Berkeley, UC San Diego, USC-ISI Los Angeles, University of Florida, University College London, Southampton, Surrey, QMUL, Otto von Guericke University Magdeburg, Trinity College Dublin, University College Dublin, University of Oxford, St Andrews, Exeter, Lincoln, Lancaster and Cambridge, as well as Beijing University of Posts and Telecommunications (BUPT), Tsinghua University, Peking University, and Indian Institutes of Technology in Mumbai, Madras, Kanpur, Hyderabad, Delhi, Mandi, and IISc Bangalore.

He was previously appointed as a Visiting Professor to the Science Foundation Ireland/CTVR at Trinity College Dublin and to the Emirates-BT Innovation Centre (EBTIC) at Khalifa University in Abu Dhabi, UAE. He was the International Scientific Advisor to the UK EPSRC National Centre for Doctoral Training in Communications Engineering at the University of Bristol.

He was appointed as Senior Guest Editor for the prestigious IEEE Journal on Selected Areas of Communications (JSAC) for a Special Issue on Communications Challenges and Dynamics in UAVs. He has extensive experience working with developing economies, particularly India, where he was the UK Academic coordinator for the major EPSRC-DST India-UK Advanced Technology Centre in Next Generation Networks Systems and Services, which was the largest collaboration of its kind between the UK and India in the ICT sector, attracting a total investment of over £20 million and helping establish a Virtual Graduate Research School for 67 PhD students under the UKIERI Programme.

Presently, Professor Parr is working on the development of the East of England Smart Emerging Technologies Institute (SETI), one of the recommendations from the UK BEIS Science Innovation Audit, with colleagues from Essex, Cambridge, UEA, and BT Adastral. SETI will look at innovations in 5G, IoT, AI-Big Data/Cloud Computing, and Testbeds across a number of sectors, including Energy, Intelligent Manufacturing, AgriTech, and Smart-Supply Chains.

Gerard was awarded an MBE in the Queen's New Year Honours for 2018 for contributions to Telecommunications Infrastructure in Northern Ireland. During January 2020, Professor Parr was elected to the Strategic Advisory Committee for the UK Government UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) – Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) ICT Programme to assist with strategic developments, funding panels, and identification of funding priorities.

Most recently, Gerard has been successful in attracting Co-I funding for a 5-year EPSRC Next Stage Digital Economy Hub called DIGIT (Digital-Innovation-Growth-Impact-Transformation) valued at over £12 million, which will explore methodologies and business impact of Digital Transformation in Large Organisations. During 2021, Gerard was also successful as PI in attracting £1.4 million funding for the “UK-India Future Networks Initiative” with IISc Bangalore, IIT Delhi, UCL, Surrey, Southampton, and BT. Most recently, in December 2022, he was successful as a Co-PI on a bid to UKRI-ESRC concerning Digital Technology in Teacher Agency. The £5.3 million fund will support a total of nine projects. He is also a Member of the UKRI-EPSRC Digital Security & Resilience Advisory Group.

Amit Randive is an accomplished mining industry and digital transformation leader with more than 23 years of experience spanning digitalization, automation, business strategy, sales and marketing, operations, project management, aftermarket services and new business development. He currently leads the Digital Solutions Division at Epiroc’s India Customer Centre, supporting customers across India, Nepal, Bangladesh, Bhutan and Sri Lanka. Throughout his career, Amit has focused on translating emerging technologies into practical, outcome-oriented solutions for the mining and construction industries. His areas of expertise include connected mining equipment, collision avoidance and situational-awareness systems, automation, remote operations, fleet and operational intelligence, AI-enabled decision support, Mine planning and digitalizaiton and the integration of digital technologies to improve safety, productivity and sustainability. His work and thought leadership have addressed the application of AI, IoT, real-time monitoring, predictive maintenance and automation in advancing mine safety and operational performance. Amit is passionate about accelerating mining’s transition toward safer, smarter and more sustainable operations. He advocates a practical, customer-focused approach in which connectivity, data, artificial intelligence and automation work together to create measurable business and safety outcomes. At the International Bharat6G Symposium, he brings the perspective of an industrial technology practitioner on how advanced communication networks can enable connected equipment, autonomous operations, real-time intelligence and trusted digital ecosystems in the mines of the future. Amit holds a Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering and an MBA in Operations Management.

Mr. Jayanta Dey is the Executive President of the 5G Business at HFCL, a leading global telecom infrastructure and technology provider. In this role, he leads HFCL's global expansion into next-generation product development and system integration, focusing heavily on advancing indigenous 5G frameworks, 6G standardization, and AI-assisted wireless networks. Prior to joining HFCL, Mr. Dey spent over three decades at Wipro Technologies, serving in critical leadership positions including Vice President and Global Business Head for the Network, Edge, and Consumer Electronics vertical, as well as Chief Technology Officer (CTO) for multiple business units where he spearheaded innovation charters in autonomous systems and product engineering. He holds a Bachelor of Engineering (B.E.) from BITS Pilani and a High Technology MBA from Northeastern University in Boston.

Dr. Dileepa Marasinghe is the AI-RAN Research Manager in 6GFlagship at the University of Oulu, Finland, with experience in wireless communications, AI-native 6G technologies, multimodal sensing and experimental wireless systems. His research focuses on AI-native PHY/MAC, sensing, network automation and AI-RAN. He represents the University of Oulu in the AI-RAN Alliance and serves as Cluster 3 Lead on Sensing and Network Automation in the AI-for-RAN Working Group. He is the Principal Investigator for the University of Oulu in the SNS JU EU–Korea 6GARROW project and leads AI-RAN activities in multiple Business Finland projects. He has contributed to the Hexa-X and Hexa-X-II 6G programmes and completed research internships with Nokia Bell Labs and Nokia Standards. His work includes managing key AI-RAN projects and industry partnerships, and developing AI-RAN capabilities and experimental 5G/6G networks at the University of Oulu.

Jaikishan Agnihotri is a seasoned technology and business executive with over 19 years of leadership experience at the intersection of enterprise strategy and automotive transformation. In his current role at Volvo Group, he serves as the Global Head of Connectivity, Head of Software-Defined Vehicles, India where he holds take care of Vehicle responsibility for APAC region for SDVs. His mandate spans setting regional technology roadmaps, scaling global connectivity platforms, managing complex multi-energy business models, and building high-performing cross-geography engineering teams. Beyond his corporate leadership, Jaikishan is deeply committed to shaping the broader mobility ecosystem. He actively contributes to industry standards, regulatory policy-making, and academic collaborations, bridging the gap between cutting-edge research, future-ready institutional frameworks, and large-scale industrial execution. He is widely recognized for driving resilience and strategic growth through complex industrial shifts.

Mr. Ankit Bose is the Head of AI at nasscom (and CEO for the Center of Excellence for Data Science & AI), where he spearheads the organization's overarching artificial intelligence vertical to drive enterprise adoption, startup growth, and tech policy across India [nasscom AI Team, ET Edge AI Disruptors Awards 2026]. With over 20 years of global expertise spanning engineering, consulting, operations, and corporate strategy across the Americas, Europe, and Asia-Pacific, he acts as a critical link translating deep-tech infrastructure into executive strategy [ET Edge AI Disruptors Awards 2026]. At nasscom, Mr. Bose architects high-impact ecosystem initiatives like the GenAI Foundry and leads the formation of Responsible AI governance frameworks to ensure safe, scalable, and trusted technological self-regulation nationwide [ET Edge AI Disruptors Awards 2026]. He holds a Bachelor's degree in Computer Science from Mumbai University and a postgraduate qualification in AI-ML from the University of Texas at Austin [Speaker Ankit Bose - Foundry Events].

Mr. Bennette Simon John is the Head of Innovation – Automotive Connectivity at Bosch Global Software Technologies, where he spearheads technology strategy and advanced development for next-generation vehicle ecosystems. With over 16 years of engineering and leadership experience at Bosch, his expertise spans across cooperative mobility, Software-Defined Vehicles (SDVs), over-the-air (OTA) update frameworks, and edge computing. A recognized industry thought leader and patent holder, he also actively contributes to global automotive engineering bodies, including the 5G Automotive Association (5GAA) Working Group 6 in India, to drive localized, deployment-ready connected vehicle and V2X communication standards.

Tommy Svensson is a Full Professor in Communication Systems at Chalmers University of Technology in Gothenburg, Sweden, where he leads the Wireless Systems research on air interface and wireless backhaul networking technologies for future wireless systems.

He received a Ph.D. in Information Theory from Chalmers in 2003 and has worked at Ericsson AB with core networks, radio access networks, and microwave transmission products.

Professor Svensson has been involved in top European and international research towards 4G, 5G, and currently 6G on physical layer algorithms, multiple access, resource allocation, cooperative/context-aided/secure communications, mm-wave/sub-THz communications, C-V2X, JCAS, satellite networks, sustainable design, and end-to-end architecture.

He has been the coordinator of the MSc program at Chalmers and is currently a board member of the Swedish Post and Telecom Authority (PTS).

Radha Krishna Ganti is a Professor at the Indian Institute of Technology Madras, Chennai, India.

He received his B. Tech. and M. Tech. in Electrical Engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology, Madras, and a Masters in Applied Mathematics and a Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering from the University of Notre Dame in 2009.

His doctoral work focused on the spatial analysis of interference networks using tools from stochastic geometry. His research interests include digital communications, convex optimisation, and building communication systems.

He received the 2014 IEEE Stephen O. Rice Prize, the 2014 IEEE Leonard G. Abraham Prize, and the 2015 IEEE Communications Society Young Author Best Paper Award. He was also awarded the 2016-2017 Institute Research and Development Award (IRDA) by IIT Madras.

In 2019, he was awarded the TSDSI Fellow for technical excellence in standardization activities and contribution to the LMLC use case in ITU. He was the lead Principal Investigator from IIT Madras involved in the development of 5G base stations for the 5G testbed project funded by DOT.

He is a seasoned RFIC and analog design professional with over 20 years of academic and industry experience in semiconductor and wireless communication technologies. He has extensive expertise in RF and analog circuit design, including sub-7 GHz infrastructure products and mmWave transceiver technologies, with experience across CMOS, RF SOI, and GaAs technologies. He has previously led mmWave transceiver design efforts at Renesas in San Diego and RF/Analog design initiatives in India, taking complex projects from concept through product development. His technical expertise spans RFIC design, 5G infrastructure, mmWave technologies, analog circuit design, and advanced semiconductor solutions. With a Ph.D. from UC San Diego and a B.Tech. from IIT Kanpur, he brings a strong combination of academic research and industry experience to the development of next-generation RF and wireless technologies.

Satish Jamadagni is currently Senior Vice President and head of Global Standards at Reliance Jio. He has about 25 years of industry experience in the telecom domain. He is the current Chair of TSDSI (Previously Vice Chair of TSDSI). He is active in 3GPP, GSMA (member of the Strategy Group) and in O-RAN alliance. Earlier he was a Co-Chair of the Asia Regional Operators Group; Small Cell Forum (SCF) and was on the board of the International Multimedia Teleconferencing Consortium (IMTC). He has around 200 granted patents in the wireless and network domain and around 30+ published papers.

Himamshu Khasnis is the Founder and CEO of Signalchip Innovations, one of India’s pioneering fabless semiconductor companies, known for developing indigenous chipsets for advanced wireless communication standards. With over 27 years of experience in the semiconductor industry, he has played key roles in technology roadmaps and chipset definitions for 3G, 4G, 5G, DSL, WLAN, and GNSS applications. Prior to founding Signalchip in 2010, he worked at Texas Instruments and Ittiam Systems, leading chip design activities and contributing to broadband technology patents. Under his leadership, Signalchip grew from a two-person garage startup to a full-fledged SoC development company, creating India’s first semiconductor chipset “Agumbe” for complex wireless networking standards. Himamshu holds an MS in Microelectronics from IIT Madras and a BE in Electronics and Communication from Bangalore University, and has filed more than fifteen patents in communication, signal processing, and RF architectures.

Shri Rakesh Kumar Bhatnagar is a distinguished telecom professional with five decades of experience in India’s telecommunications sector, having joined the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) in 1976. He is the Founder and Director General of the Voice of Indian Communication Technology Enterprises (VoICE) and has served as an Advisor to DoT, TRAI, and TRA Oman, besides contributing as an expert to various international missions of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU). He is actively engaged in advancing India’s 6G ecosystem through industry collaboration, technology development, standardization, and international partnerships, with a strong focus on strengthening India’s digital self-reliance and global leadership in next-generation communications.

Dr. Magnus Frodigh?is Vice President and Head of Ericsson Research. In this role, he leads Ericsson’s long-term technology research organization, its close collaboration with academia and industry, and its contributions to Ericsson business and product development.

He holds a Master of Science degree from Linköping University of Technology, Sweden, and a Ph.D. in Radio Communication Systems from the Royal Institute of Technology, where he is also adjunct Professor in Wireless Infrastructures. He is a Fellow of the Royal Swedish Academy of Engineering Sciences (IVA).

Frodigh joined Ericsson in 1994 and has over the past three decades held various key senior positions within Research & Development and Product Management throughout the generations of mobile technology.

from?2G?all the way to current research on 6G technologies. He holds 29 patents.

Dr. Mallikarjun (Mallik) Tatipamula is a Chief Technology Officer at Ericsson Silicon Valley, bringing over 34 years of expertise in telecommunications, networking, cybersecurity, wireless, cloud, and AI technologies. He holds a Ph.D. in Information Sciences and Technology from the University of Tokyo, a Master’s degree in Communication Systems from IIT Madras, and a Bachelor’s degree in Electronics and Communications Engineering from NIT Warangal, India.

During 34 years of his professional career, Dr. Mallik has held leadership positions at F5, Juniper Networks, Cisco, Motorola, and Nortel, playing a crucial role in transforming innovative ideas into market-leading products. A recognized thought leader, he holds over 100 publications and patents and has delivered more than 500 keynotes. His leadership has driven the launch of numerous products and solutions, advancing the telecom industry.

Dr. Mallik has been instrumental in pioneering key 5G innovations, including network slicing, Control-User Plane Separation (CUPS), and distributed cloud technology, that are fundamental in scaling 5G networks for low-latency IoT use cases. Today, as a CTO at Ericsson, he drives early 6G research efforts, advocating for industry-academia collaborations and public-private partnerships.

He serves on several academic and industry advisory boards, including the Commonwealth Nations Steering Committee on AI. He has mentored over 100 university students and is a frequent guest lecturer at leading universities worldwide.

He has co-authored two books and has served on over 40 IEEE conference committees. Dr. Mallik’s accolades include CTO of the Year by the Silicon Valley Business Journal, Technologist of the Year by Total Telecom's World Communications Awards, and the IEEE Communications Society Distinguished Industry Leader Award. He is also an inductee of the IPv6 Hall of Fame by the IPv6 Forum and a Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering, the Royal Society of Edinburgh, and the Canadian Academy of Engineering. He has received honorary doctorates from Concordia University (Montreal), Carleton University (Ottawa), and Middlesex University (London).

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