Conference on “Non-Terrestrial Networks, a Native Component of 6G"

DAY 1, Wednesday 3 April

9:00-10:30 SESSION 1 - SETTING THE SCENE & DESCRIBING THE OPPORTUNITIES
Moderator: David Boswarthick, Director NET, ETSI

9:00 Opening and Welcome
Luis Jorge Romero, ETSI Director-General

9:10 Space for 5G and 6G
Antonio Franchi, Head of the 5G/6G NTN Programme Office, ESA 

9:25 Insights from the Vision and Roadmap of the European SNS Research Program
Erzsebet Fitori, SNS JU Executive Director

9:40 3GPP 5G-Advanced and Beyond
Wanshi Chen, Qualcomm, 3GPP RAN Chair

9:55 6G Vision and Requirements - What's Next?
Isabelle Mauro, GSOA (Global Satellite Operator's Association)

10:10 6G Non-Terrestrial Network Concept
Nicolas Chuberre, Thales, 3GPP NTN Rapporteur

10:25-10:30 Posters Overview Presentation

10:30-11:00 Networking Coffee Break

11:00-12:30 SESSION 2 - FUTURE NTN ENABLED USE CASES
Moderator: Javier Albares Bueno, SNS-JU Office

11:00 Media and Satellite NTN
Antonio Arcidiacono, EBU

11:15 Satellite Communication and Computing Services for Railway Use Cases
Carlos Guimaraes, Siemens

11:30 Aviation Use Cases for 6G NTN
Arnaud Tonnerre, Thales

11:45 Future NTN Connectivity for Aero
Olivier Hauw, Airbus

12:00 Non-Terrestrial Networks for Critical Communications
Kari Juntila & Renaud Mellies, TCCA

12:15 Synergies between Disruptive Satellite Navigation Systems in LEO Orbit and NTN
Florin Grec, ESA

12:30 Panel Discussion
with the Session Speakers

12:45-14:00 Networking Lunch

14:00-15:30 SESSION 3 - TELCO & VENDOR VIEWS OF NTN-6G
Moderator: Michael Short, SA Catapult

14:00 NTN - From Ubiquitous Coverage to Full Integration and Beyond
Arashmid Akhavain, Huawei

14:15 A Telco's Perspective on Salient NTN 6G Applications and Challenges
Laurent Reynaud, Orange

14:30 Ubiquitous 6G Service through Non-Terrestrial Networks
Jeroen Wigard, Nokia

14:45 Connecting the World – by Mobile and Satellite
Markus Breitbach, Deutsche Telekom

15:00 Standardisation Approach towards the Inclusion of Satellite Components in 6G Networks
Sebastian Euler & Cyril Michel, Ericsson

15:15 Satellite and Terrestrial Network Convergence - from B5G towards 6G
Francesc Boixadera, MediaTek

15:30-16:00 Networking Coffee Break

16:00-17:30 SESSION 4 - SATELLITE OPERATOR & VENDOR VIEWS OF NTN-6G
Moderator: Maria Guta, ESA

16:00 Inmarsat/Viasat Views on Non-Terrestrial Networks (NTN) in the 6G Era
Luca Lodigiani, Inmarsat

16:15 Joint 6G Satellite-Terrestrial Network Integration and Operations Challenges
Joel Grotz, SES SA

16:30 Satellite Capabilities to Maximize 6G Benefits
Munira Jaffar, EchoStar

16:45 NTN-6G: The View of a LEO-GEO Satellite Operator
Daniele Finocchiaro, Eutelsat

17:00 Integration of NTN in 6G: Requirements, Enablers and Technology Building Blocks
NIcolas Chuberre, Thales, 3GPP NTN Rapporteur

17:15 Airbus Views on NTN-6G
Oriol Vidal, Airbus

17:30 Panel Discussion
With Session Speakers

17:45 Networking Cocktail

DAY 2, Thursday 4 April

9:00-10:30 SESSION 5 - EC FUNDED / CELTIC / SNS / OTHER RESEARCH PROJECTS
Moderator: Bernard Barani, 6G-IA

9:00 Projects Introduction 
Bernard Barani, 6G-IA

9:10 5G-STARDUST: Seamless Integration of NTN with 5G-Advanced
Tomaso deCola, DLR - 5GStardust

9:20 6G-NTN
Alessandro Vanelli-Coralli, University of Bologna - 6GNTN

9:30 ETHER: A 6G Architectural Framework for 3D Multi-Layered Networks
Chih-Kuang Lin, Collins Aerospace - ETHER

9:40 6G-SANDBOX Activities towards NTN-6G
David Artuñedo Guillén, Telefonica - SG-SANDBOX

9:50 TRANTOR: Paving the Path to 6G NTN through Multi-Connectivity
Xavier Artiga, CTTC - TRANTOR

10:00 HEXA-X-II View on 6G NTN
Mårten Ericson, Ericsson - HEXA-X-II

10:10 Integrating Terrestrial and Non-Terrestrial Networks for Rural and Remote Areas
Izzet Sağlam, Turkcell - COMMECT

10:20 ADROIT6G - AI-Enabled Open Architecture for Future NTN-Enabled 6G Networks
Carlos Guimaraes, Siemens - ADROIT 6G

10:30-11:00 Networking Coffee Break

11:00-12:30 SESSION 6 - ESA ENABLED RESEARCH PROJECTS
Moderator: Stefano Cioni, ESA

11:00 HELENA Project
Thierry Berisot, Novamint

11:15 ESA Projects on NTN
Thomas Heyn, Fraunhoffer IIS

11:30 Intelligent Satellite Payloads for 3D Mesh Network Concepts as Enablers for 6G Unified TN/NTN Systems
Helmut Zaglauer, Airbus - 5G-IS and 5GEOSiS

11:45 6G-SmartSat - Networking Architectures for Multi-Layered Non-Terrestrial Network
Joerg Pfeifle, Airbus; 6G SmartSat

12:00 AIComS - AI For Satellite Communications
Armin Dekorsy, University of Bremen

12:15 Unlocking the Connectivity of 5G/6G Satellite Telecommunications Systems
Stefan Draskoci, Aalyria

12:30 Panel Discussion
With Session Speakers

12:45-14:00 Networking Lunch

14:00-15:30 SESSION 7 - NATIONAL & GLOBAL INITIATIVES FOR NTN-6G
Moderator: Alessandro Vanelli-Coralli, 6G-NTN Project Coordinator, University of Bologna

14:00 6G for Connected Sky
Dominic Schupke, Airbus

14:15 Luxembourgish activities on B5G/6G-NTN
Zaid Abdullah, University of Luxembourg

14:30 Fully Integrated Terrestrial / Non-Terrestrial Networks for 6G Communications - The ITA NTN Project
Simone Morosi, Universita Firenze

14:45 German 6G-Platform: 3D Networks
Armin Dekorsy, University of Bremen

15:00 5G RedCap Connectivity over Satellites: 6G-SatMTC Project
Marko Höyhtyä, VTT Technical Research of Finland Ltd

15:15 Free Space Optics and Radio Communications as 6G Building Blocks
Relja Djapic, TNO

15:30 The TUDOR Project
Barry Evans, University of Surrey

15:45 6G-TakeOff: Towards a Unified Architecture for 3D Networks
Markus Breitbach, Deutsche Telekom

16:00-16:30 Networking Coffee Break

16:30-17:30 SESSION 8 - CONCLUSIONS, RECOMMENDATIONS & NEXT STEPS
Moderator: Nicolas Chuberre, ETSI TC SES Vice-Chair and 6G-NTN Technical Manager, Thales Alenia Space

16:30 Summary of Each Session
Sessions Moderators

17:05 Conclusions and Next Steps
Nicolas Chuberre, ETSI TC SES Vice-Chair and 6G-NTN Technical Manager, Thales Alenia Space

17:30 END OF CONFERENCE

Javier Albares Bueno, SNS-JU Office
David Boswarthick, Director NET, ETSI
Nicolas Chuberre, ETSI TC SES Vice-Chair and 6G-NTN Technical Manager, Thales Alenia Space
Stefano Cioni, ESA
Maria Guta, ESA
Alexandros Kaloxylos, 6G-IA Project Manager
Alessandro Vanelli-Coralli, 6G-NTN Project Coordinator, University of Bologna

The Conference attendees had opportunity to visit the following posters during the networking coffee and lunch breaks.

6G Vision and Requirements - What Comes Next?
GSOA (Isabelle Mauro)

Satellite Communication and Computing Services for Railway Use Cases
ADROIT 6G (Carlos Guimaraes)

In-Lab Experimental Evaluation of 6G THz Intersatellite Communications
Eurecom (Florian Kaltenberger)

5G-STARDUST: Seamless Integration of NTN with 5G-Advanced
5G STARDUST (Tomaso deCola)

6G-NTN
6G-NTN (Alessandro Vanelli)

TRANTOR: Paving the Path to 6G NTN through Multi-Connectivity
TRANTOR (Xavier Artiga)

Integrating Terrestrial and Non-Terrestrial Networks for Rural and Remote Areas
COMMECT (Izzet Sağlam)

Intelligent Satellite Payloads for 3D Mesh Network Concepts as Enablers for 6G Unified TN/NTN Systems
5G-IS and 5GEOSiS (Helmut Zaglauer)

Unlocking the Connectivity of 5G/6G Satellite Telecommunications Systems
Aalyria (Stefan Draskoci)

Path Awareness Techniques in Non-Terrestrial Networks for 6G: Enabling Next-Generation Use Cases
RISE (Alfonso Iacovazzi)

The TUDOR Project
TUDOR (Barry Evans)

Free Space Optics and Radio Communications as 6G Building Blocks
TNO (Relja Djapic)

SeRANIS (Seamless Radio Access Networks for Internet of Space)
University of the Bundeswehr Munich (Kevin Li)

5G NTN E2E Testbed Using OAI Software and Dedicated LEO Satellite Channel Emulator
Lasting Software (Ionel Petrut)

Zaid Abdullah received his PhD in Communications and Signal Processing from Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK, in 2019. Between 2019 and 2021 he was a Postdoctoral Researcher with the School of Engineering, University of Leicester, UK. Since June 2021, he has been with the SigCom group, SnT centre, University of Luxembourg, Luxembourg, where he is currently a Research Scientist. He is involved in various National and European funded projects on wireless and satellite communications as a researcher, a task leader, and a project VPI. His research interests are on beyond 5G/6G networks, mmWave/THz communications signal processing, satellite communications, and the integration between terrestrial and non-terrestrial networks.

Antonio Arcidiacono is Director of Technology & Innovation at the European Broadcasting Union where he manages a team of international experts to stimulate and support the Innovation and R&D activities of EBU Members. He is at the origin of the development of several AI-based media products from EuroVOX, an open toolbox for language management (https://tech.ebu.ch/eurovox), to the News Pilot combining news from 28 EBU Members supported by EuroVOX and PEACH recommendation tools (https://peach.ebu.io/). Antonio is Chair of the 5G Media Action Group (www.5G-MAG.com), a global organization representing the interests of the media in the 5G and 3GPP fields, as well as Chair of the Joint Technical Committee ETSI, CENELEC and EBU. At the European Space Agency, he played a pioneering role in the convergence between the world of Media and the world of the Internet since the mid-1990s conceiving and launching the DVB-IP standard. His successes included the launch of the first Internet services via satellite and later developed the first interactive satellite IP terminal for less than $100 (SmartLNB) and a series of innovations that were translated into new products and services. Having worked closely with the main players in the Media and Telecommunications sectors, and with the EU Commission at technical, regulatory, and competition management levels, Antonio joined Eutelsat as Director of Innovation and a Member of the Management Committee and took part in the key stages of its development from an international organization to its privatization in 2001, and to the IPO in 2005. As a founding member of DVB and member of the Board since its creation in 1993, he has worked on the development of new satellite systems and services in both the technical and commercial sectors, up to his appointment as Director of Innovation, developing the first satellite IOT services platform and the first satellite OTT services. He has participated in the development of the first GSM services and was responsible for the development and launch of the first digital TV services in Europe. He began his career working for Telespazio and Selenia Spazio. Inventor/co-inventor of 19 international patents, author of many technical articles, he is also the editor of Tech-i, a magazine dedicated to innovation in the world of Media.

Arashmid Akhavain is a network and system architect, a research engineer, and the leader of the Advanced Networking Research team under the Wireless Systems Division at Huawei Technologies Canada. He received his degree in Computer Engineering from Concordia University in Montreal and started his career at Bell Northern Research in Advanced Intelligent Networks and SS7 signalling. He next moved on to VoIP at Cisco Systems and then switched gear to data and optical networks at Nortel and Ciena, where he held leading roles in numerous projects involving architecture, design, and implementation of various control and data plane engines and protocols. Arashmid has over 30 years of extensive design experience in a diverse set of networking technologies ranging from ATM, Ethernet, IP, MPLS, to VPN and largescale Traffic Engineering, to SDN, NFV, Segment Routing, and Mobile Networks. Arashmid has contributed to a number of standards submissions. He is a prolific patent contributor and is currently focusing his efforts on advanced networking research and their inclusion and impact on 5G and 6G networks at Huawei.

Javier Albares Bueno is Head of 5G/6G Program at the Smart Network and Services Joint Undertaking (SNS-JU) of the European Commission. Previously, he worked as Head of Telco Solutions at Here Technologies, a location technology firm with focus on positioning and automation. He also collaborated in 5GAA, as Vice-chair of working group 5 (future business models). Between 2013 and 2021 he worked for GSMA, the world’s largest telecoms association, as Director of Innovation (Brussels office) and Director of Strategy (London office). During this time, he worked to identify future sources of value and opportunities for industry collaboration in the transition to 5G. Before, he worked for 13 years at Telefonica-O2, as Director of strategy, mobile services and alliances, both in Europe and Latin America. He started his career as Telecom analyst for HSBC Investment Bank in London. Javier holds an Advanced Management Program from INSEAD France, an MBA from IESE Business School and a double bachelor’s degree in business science and economics from ICADE-Comillas Pontificia University. He has also completed programs on Innovation Management at IMD and on Artificial Intelligence at MIT Sloan.

Mr. Xavier Artiga obtained his “Ingeniero Superior” degree (equivalent to M.Sc.) in Telecommunications Engineering at Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya (UPC) in July 2006. He joined CTTC in September 2007 and was promoted to Senior Researcher (R3A) in November 2020. He participated in more than 20 research projects. He is the Technical Manager of TRANTOR (HE-SPACE). He is co-author of more than 30 scientific publications and received the best paper award in ASMS/SPSC 2022 Conference.

David Artuñedo Guillén is the Head of Future Networks Lab inside Chief Digital Office in Telefónica exploring how apply new network technologies to Products and Solutions to deliver best user experience to TEF customers. Future Networks Lab team has developed the first Open Source version of Common API Framework specified by 3GPP Technical Specifications 23.222, 29.222 and 33.122. Prior to joining Future Networks Lab, he worked in Telefónica at several business units, including CTO for TU Go Communications Product (launched in O2 UK, Movistar Argentina, Perú, Colombia and Mexico, and VIVO Brazil), Technology Liasion Manager at Jajah in Israel, and Senior Manager on Communication Services at Telefónica Research and Development. David Artuñedo received Computer Science Engineer of the Year in Castilla y León (Spain) from Computer Science Engineering Professional Association in 2010, and has been associate professor in Computer Science Engineering at Universidad de Valladolid.

Bernard Barani is currently Senior Consultant for the 6G Industry Association, the private side of the Smart Networks and Services Joint Undertaking (SNS JU). Until March 2023, he was with the European Commission (EC) as Deputy Head of Unit where he launched and managed several R&I and policy initiatives such as the SNS JU and the EU 5G Public Private Partnership with responsibilities covering strategic R&D planning and implementation for 5G/6G systems, standardisation, international cooperation, demonstration and pilot programmes. He has more than 30 years experience in wireless and satellite communication system and has been vice chair of the Steering committee of the EUCNC conference, the showcasing event for telecom research sponsored by the EU. He has an engineering degree from the “Ecole Nationale Supérieure des Télécommunications de Bretagne” and is also a Fellow of WWRF (Wireless World Research Forum).

Thierry Berisot is Director IoT/Telecom, Standards and Spectrum at Novamint. In this role, he is leading the standardization efforts to help verticals and satellite to get a say in the standardization at ETSI/3GPP. He has been particularly active in 3GPP since Rel-15 in building trust & business between different stakeholders i.e. Verticals and operators. He has more than 30 years’ international experience from the inside at the heart of the Internet/Telecom/cellular/IoT evolution having hold different positions such as Head of Access Clients for Mobile Broadband and terminal product development at Deutsche Telekom (2006 - 2015) where he was strongly involved in the 4G launch as well as in industry and standardization initiatives (OMA, GSMA TSG…), as Senior Devices Vendor Manager at Proximus for 3G (2004-2005) or as SMS Product Marketing Manager in SFR in the end of 90's where he anticipated the success of SMS and defined the SFR's SMS long-term strategy prior to become Senior Product Marketing Manager for SMS and content services at Vizzavi France then Vizzavi Europe in London. Since November 2023, he is ETSI Board Member where he is the voice and the representative of the SMEs, the verticals as well as the satellite community.

Francesc Boixadera currently leads the MediaTek European Research and Standards team. During his career Francesc has been involved the definition and implementation of several cellular wireless technology generations, including GSM/GPRS, UMTS, TD-SCDMA, CDMA2000, LTE, NB-IOT, 5G and Iridium while at Mediatek, Motorola, MStar Semiconductor and TTPcom. He started in 1996 as a wireless research engineer with Motorola Labs and has since held various positions in cellular research and standards, contributing to 3GPP RAN groups, CEPT and ITU-R. Francesc has also held lead modem baseband architecture and implementation positions for the development of cellular chipsets that have shipped in large volumes in global smartphone consumer brands.

David Boswarthick is currently the ETSI Director of New Technologies (NET), which involves tracking the latest ICT technology and business trends and all relevant research initiatives in order to identify appropriate technology standards needs and future opportunities for ETSI. In addition, he works on outreach initiatives towards the research and academic communities, both in Europe and globally, as well as engaging with key European research programs such as Horizon Europe. David has more than 35 years’ experience in the telecommunications sector, which includes over 25 years’ working in ICT standardization supporting both 3GPP and ETSI Technical and strategic groups.

Dr.-Ing. Markus Breitbach is a Senior Expert in Deutsche Telekom’s Group Technology working on end-to-end network architecture. Currently he is engaged in Deutsche Telekom’s NTN activities and coordinating the BMBF project 6G-TakeOff.

Wanshi Chen is currently 3GPP TSG RAN Plenary Chair appointed in April 2021. From August 2017 to May 2021, he was 3GPP TSG RAN1 Chair, where under this position, he has successfully managed and led successful delivery of the first and the second 5G New Radio (NR) releases. He was a RAN1 vice chair from August 2013 to August 2017. Wanshi has over 20 years of experiences in telecommunications in leading telecom companies including operators, infrastructure vendors, and chipset vendors. He has been with Qualcomm since 2006. The highest degree that Wanshi has received is a Ph.D. degree in electrical engineering from the University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA. Wanshi is an avid Marathon runner with a personal best time of 2 hours and 54 minutes.

Nicolas Chuberre graduated in 1988 from “Ecole Supérieure d’Ingénieur en Electronique et Electrotechnique” in Paris. Previously with Nokia & Alcatel Mobile phones to design 2G cellular handsets & systems assembly, he joined Thales Alenia Space to manage the development of satellite payload equipment and the design of advanced Satellite Communication Systems (GEO and Non GEO). Currently he is defining and developing Satellite network Solutions for 5G and 6G systems. In addition, he is the rapporteur of the standardisation on the integration of satellite in 5G at 3GPP. He also chairs since 2006 the Satellite Communication and Navigation working group at ETSI. Last, he is the technical manager of the Horizon Europe research project “6G-NTN”.

Stefano Cioni was born in Imola (Italy) on October 12, 1973. He received the Dr.Ing. degree in telecommunication engineering and the Ph.D from University of Bologna, Italy, in 1998 and in 2002, respectively. In 2010, he joined the European Space Agency, Noordwijk, The Netherlands, where he is currently a telecommunication systems engineer within the Radio Frequency Systems, Payload and Technology Division. Since September 2016, he has been attending the 3GPP RAN plenary and RAN-WG1 meetings, with the specific interest to support non-terrestrial network (NTN) aspects and to facilitate the 5G terrestrial/satellite networks integration. Dr. Cioni has been elevated to Senior Member of the IEEE Society in August 2017. Dr. Cioni has selected as recipient of the IEEE ComSoc Satellite and Space Communications Technical Recognition Award 2020.

Tomaso de Cola has been with the German Aerospace Center (DLR) since 2008, where he has been leading the Integrated Satellite System group since 2015. He has been coordinating different activities and studies around satellite communication optimisation and integration with terrestrial network. Notably he is the coordinator of the 5G-STARDUST project and the chair of the SatCom WG within the NetworldEurope platform.

Prof. Armin Dekorsy serves as the Executive Director of the Gauss-Olbers Space Technology Transfer Center and leads the Department of Communications Engineering at the University of Bremen. Bringing over eleven years of industry experience, he has actively participated in more than 60 international research projects, with leadership roles in 20 of them.

Relja Djapic acquired PhD degree in signal processing for communication systems in the field of phased arrays and ultrawide band systems. Relja joined TNO in 2006 where he developed and rollout broadband communication systems for national and European telecom operators. Relja participated in numerous national and European projects in the field of 4G/5G cellular communication. Since 2017 Relja contributes to SA1, SA2, SA6 3GPP working groups on the topic of integration of satellite component in 5G standard.

Stefan Draskoci is a Senior Engineer, and the 5G O-RAN lead for Aalyria, focused on exploring and developing new technologies for management and orchestration of 5G networks as they evolve into the Non-Terrestrial domain, by leveraging industry-standard methodologies being developed by the O-RAN Alliance.

Mohamed El Jaafari is a radio access network specialist engineer with 23+ years of experience in cellular communications including 5G NR, eUTRAN, GERAN, and Cellular IoT. He received the Engineer degree in telecommunications from EMI in 1999. He is an expert in radio access network design, RF Planning, Radio Network Optimization, and Radio Access Network System dimensioning with large multi-vendor experience. He currently conducts extensive research work on 5G NR NTN and IoT NTN. He joined the R&D department of the Telecommunication Business Line of Thales Alenia Space in 2020. He is the lead representative of Thales in 3GPP RAN1 working group where he is a feature lead for the 3GPP work item on satellite integration in 5G. Currently, he is defining and developing solutions for 5G NR to support non-terrestrial networks. He is active in national and international research projects on wireless and satellite communication systems in several European Space Agency and European Commission funded projects. His research interests include 3GPP wireless communication systems, Satellite Communications and their integration in 5G and future 6G Networks. He has recently led the drafting of a special edition on non-terrestrial network standard, https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/toc/15420981/2023/41/3

Mårten Ericson (marten.ericson@ericsson.com) is a Master Researcher at Ericsson, Sweden. He was leading the 6G architecture work in Hexa-X and is now currently leading the 6G architecture design work package in Hexa-X-II.

Sebastian Euler is currently a Master Researcher at Ericsson Research, where he drives the standardization of Non-Terrestrial Networks in 3GPP. He is also a delegate to the ITU-R, engaging in the standardization of the IMT-2020 satellite component. He holds a Ph.D. in particle physics from RWTH Aachen University, Germany, and has worked on neutrino experiments in Antarctica before joining Ericsson.

Barry Evans leads the satellite and NTN research group in the Institute for Communications Systems and 6GIC at the University of Surrey. He is currently involved in several ESA funded research projects on integrataion of satellites in 5G networks as well as the UK TUDOR project. Barry currently chairs the UKTIN expert Working Group on NTN. He has a long history in satellite communications research and is chief editor of the Int Journal of satellite Communications.

Dr. Daniele Finocchiaro is responsible for R&D and Technology Roadmap in the Engineering Department of Eutelsat Group. He holds a Ph.D. in Computer Science and he has a long experience in the development of new satellite architectures and services, including technical and business aspects.

Since October 1st, 2023, Erzsébet Fitori has been the Executive Director of the Smart Networks and Services Joint Undertaking. Previously, she was responsible for Vodafone Group’s engagement with the EU institutions and stakeholders, heading Vodafone’s Brussels office and as Board Director in industry organizations. Before joining Vodafone in 2020, Erzsébet was Director General of the FTTH Council Europe, the pan-European trade association representing over 160 technology innovators, network operators, and investors across the fiber value chain. As chief executive, she focused on transforming it into a growing organization, increasing its membership base, revenues, and engagement with key decision-makers. She joined the European Competitive Telecommunications Association (ECTA), where she represented 100+ challenger telecom operators. As Director of ECTA, she oversaw its public policy, regulatory, and PR activities and led ECTA’s engagement with the EU institutions, national regulators, and governments. Before joining ECTA, she was Head of Regulatory Affairs at Telenor Hungary in Budapest. In her early career, Erzsébet was an assistant professor in the department of European law and private international law at the University of Miskolc, Hungary. 

Antonio Franchi works at the European Space Agency as the Head of the 5G/6G NTN Programme Office in the Connectivity and Secure Communications Directorate. Antonio has over 30 years of experience in the satellite telecommunications industry. Prior to ESA, Antonio worked for over 20 years with a major global satellite operator, spearheading a new generation of satellite communications systems, covering various technical and managerial responsibilities for design, development, implementation and operation of advanced satellite systems and networks. Antonio received an MSc in Electronic Engineering from the University of Rome and an MBA from the London Business School. He is author of 30+ articles and papers published at international conferences and professional magazines and he holds six international patents in the satcom field. 

Florin Grec, LEO-PNT Mission and Experimentation Engineer at ESA, specializes in testing and validating LEO-PNT concepts. Representing ESA in 3GPP, he focuses on 5G positioning enhancements, advocating for open standards in high-accuracy GNSS and LEO-PNT services. He has also been a visiting researcher at Politecnico di Milano and Leica Geosystems.

Dr. Joël Grotz currently leads the System Engineering Technology Development within SES Engineering and is working on future GEO and MEO satellite projects within System Engineering at SES. He is responsible for the 5G NTN architecture and roadmap for SES and for the academic and industry cooperations for development of key technologies and leading the 5G-NTN team within System Engineering and leads SES’ 3GPP delegation. He previously worked on the implementation of a fully automated network operations and the multi-satellite and multi-platform dynamic resource management system. He has worked on interactive satellite internet services and VSAT systems from 1999 to 2004 aimed at consumer broadband services. He was working on DVB standardization. From 2004 to 2008 he has been a PhD student with the Royal Institute of technology, Stockholm and the University of Luxembourg on Signal Processing of Interference in Receivers related topics. From 2008 to 2012 he worked for SES on payload related topics on satellite procurement work on different satellites. He also led and contributed to technology development projects in collaboration with ESA, such as projects related to interactive Television via Satellite, MIMO via Satellite, signal pre-distortion and interference processing and cognitive radio systems and high throughput satellite (HTS) technology developments. Between 2012 and 2015, Dr. Grotz worked for the Technical Labs at STEi iDirect formerly Newtec Cy NV in Sint-Niklaas, Belgium on the development and implementation of satellite modems and products among others. Dr. Grotz is an IEEE Senior Member and has been a committee member of the Benelux Com/VT chapter and is an invited lecturer at the University of Luxembourg.

Carlos Guimarães is currently a researcher at Siemens, investigating novel solutions for industrial networks and wireless. In particular, he is interested on Non-Terrestrial Networks (e.g., satellite networks) and their integration within 5G/6G networks as well as their extension to support Edge computing capabilities. Carlos is currently involved in the EU-funded ADROIT6G project.

Maria Guta is Senior 5G 6G SatCom Solutions Architect at the Strategic Programme Line for 5G/6G and Sustainable Connectivity, Directorate of Connectivity and Secure Communications in the European Space Agency (ESA). She co-ordinates, shapes and implements 5G and beyond developments in NTN networks and services involving combined use of space-based telecommunications, earth observation and navigation systems. She interfaces with external stakeholders i.e., space and non-space organisations, national space agencies and EC, e.g. DG Connect to develop common understanding for the requirements for satellite systems and services. She has more than 20 years of experience in SatCom field. In her previous positions, she was with Eutelsat in the Systems Studies Division and the Space Engineering SpA in the Telecom Programmes Division.

Olivier Hauw is the Airbus Fast Track Leader Connectivity, reporting to the Airbus CTO. Olivier is building the overall Airbus cross-division strategy linked to the development of connectivity solutions. In that frame, Olivier is in charge of steering all the relevant activities while fostering synergies cross-division. Over the past 30 years, Olivier has been working in the telecommunications industry. He has been leading the Satellite Communication Services business for Government customers including Operations and Solutions. He was also in charge of managing the relationship with all Satellite Network Operators for the group. Prior to this, Olivier held various roles in programs for Institutional and private customers as well as for the A380 development in Airbus Commercial Aircraft. Olivier joined Airbus after completing a master degree in Computer Science and Telecommunication at the Institut National Polytechnique (N7) in Toulouse, France.

Thomas Heyn received his degree in electrical engineering (Dipl.-Ing.) from Friedrich-Alexander-University in Erlangen in 1996 and joined Fraunhofer IIS shortly after, now heading the Mobile Communication Group. He is 3GPP RAN delegate since 2015 and 5GAA delegate since 2022. His research interests include future evolutions of 5G/6G technologies like convergence of satellite and terrestrial networks and connectivity of cars and UAVs. Furthermore, Thomas Heyn initiated that Fraunhofer joins Open Air Interface, now being our open platform offers for research and development for 5G New Radio.

Marko Höyhtyä works as Research Professor of Satellite Communications at VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland Ltd. He has 20 years of R&D experience in the development of terrestrial and satellite networks. He is internationally well-know expert who has made several research visits to places such as European Space Agency and University of Bologna.

Alfonso Iacovazzi is a Senior Researcher at the RISE Cybersecurity Unit (Sweden). He is involved in several national and European projects and he has vast research experience in communication security, with a particular focus on network traffic analysis, monitoring, and intrusion detection systems.

Munira Jaffar - As Director of Spectrum and Standards for EchoStar, Munira’s focus is on advancing satellite technology to be part of the next generation of integrated networks across the 5G ecosystem. In this capacity Munira plays an active role at 3GPP, ETSI and other global forums in contributing to and advocating for satellite or non-terrestrial networks (NTN) to be included in the 5G specifications and its evolution towards 6G. Along with other satellite stakeholders, she helped lead the successful effort to gain approval for work items resulting in the completion of NTN-NR and NTN-IoT specifications in 3GPP Rel-17. As NTN enhancement in Rel-18 will be concluding soon, Munira is currently focused on advancing and leading discussions for the upcoming Rel-19 work. Munira has a diverse background in both satellite and terrestrial systems. Prior to EchoStar, Munira served as a senior advisor developing business and technical strategy for FirstNet, the US nationwide public safety LTE broadband network, incorporating both terrestrial and non-terrestrial solutions. Earlier in her career Munira held various key positions with telecom and technology organizations including Sprint Nextel, Lockheed Martin, and LCC International. Her work included both management and technical roles in numerous wireless and spectrum management projects. Munira is currently Chair of the Standards Working Group of the Global Satellite Operator Association (GSOA) https://gsoasatellite.com. She received an MBA from the George Washington University and holds a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from MARA University of Technology in Malaysia.

Mr. Kari Junttila, M.Sc. (EE), Development Manager, is working in CTO office - Technology Research and Development with main responsibilities on roadmaps for new technologies, LEO satellite communication, private networks and EU funded projects. His other activities include GIS, participation on TCCA, ETSI work as well as 3GPP standardization and PPDR co-operation.

Florian Kaltenberger is an Associate Professor in the Communication Systems department at EURECOM (France). He received his Diploma degree (Dipl.-Ing.) and his PhD both in Technical Mathematics from the Vienna University of Technology 2002 and 2007 respectively. He is part of the management team for the real-time open-source 5G platform OpenAirInterface.org and and the general secretary of the OAI software alliance. He is coordinating the developments of the OAI radio access network project group, which delivered support for 5G non-standalone access in 2020 and for 5G standalone access in 2021. He also manages several research projects (industrial and academic) around the platform and teaches a course on radio engineering. His research interests include 5G and beyond systems at large, software defined radio, open source software, massive and distributed multi-antenna systems, as well as non-terrestrial networks. Florian is currently on sabbatical at Northeasern University, where he will intensify his research on 6G and open RAN systems as well as work on the creation of a community of communities around an end-to-end reference architecture with components from mature—but not integrated—open-source projects and organizations.

Adam Kapovits joined Eurescom in 1999. In the last twelve years he managed a number of ESA Advanced Research in Telecommunications Systems and Space for 5G/6G and Sustainable Connectivity research projects focusing on the integration of terrestrial mobile systems with satellite communication systems. Currently he leads the SATis5, 5G METEORS, 5GEOSiS and 6G SmartSat activities.

Kevin Li received his M.Sc. degree in electrical engineering from the Technical University of Munich in 2021. He is currently a research fellow at the Chair of Signal Processing, University of the Bundeswehr Munich. His research interests include techno-economic modeling and interference analysis of non-geostationary orbit (NGSO) satellite constellations and 6G non-terrestrial networks. He serves as the lead investigator for the Open Software-Defined Radio Space Lab within the SeRANIS (Seamless Radio Access Networks for Internet of Space) mission, the world's first small satellite mission, offering a publicly accessible multifunctional experimental laboratory in orbit.

Dr. Chih-Kuang Lin currently holds a Chief Technologist role in Collins Aerospace Applied Research & Technology. His research interests include wireless communications and networking, cross-layer protocol design and evaluation, integration of terrestrial and non-terrestrial networks, and AI-driven network optimization and resource management. In his career, he has filed and granted 22 patents and provided technical support and guidance in R&D and product development with different business units in Collins Aerospace, United Technologies Corporation, and Alcatel-Lucent.

Luca Lodigiani works as a Principal Systems Architect in Viasat’s Global Space Networks (GSN) Engineering Office, responsible for system evolution roadmap, R&D activities around terrestrial and non-terrestrial networks and for heading Viasat’s 3GPP standards team. He specializes in new technology development around 5G/B5G and future 6G in both Terrestrial and Non-Terrestrial Networks (NTN). He also acts as Inmarsat/Viasat’s lead in 3GPP, GSOA SWG, GSMA and SSIG.

Isabelle Mauro is Director General of the Global Satellite Operators Association (GSOA) that represents the interests of the satellite industry ecosystem. Under Isabelle’s leadership, GSOA and its member CEOs lead the effort to showcase the benefits of satellite communications for a more inclusive, sustainable and secure society - vital to bridging the world’s digital divide, achieving the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals and realizing the 5G ecosystem. Isabelle has 25 years experience in the Telecoms and Technology sector, starting at the GSMA, where she was responsible for government and international Affairs for fifteen years. In 2015 she moved to New York to join the World Economic Forum as Head of the Information, Communications and Technology (ICT) Industry, managing the portfolio for 60+ Tech companies globally and leading initiatives on inclusive and sustainable digital transformation. Isabelle is passionate about inclusion and sustainability. She is Chair of the High-Level Advisory Board of the DigitalGoesGreen Foundation. She also sits on the Advisory Board of Women in Tech and is a member of the UNESCO Advisory Group for the Declaration on Connectivity for Education. Isabelle holds an MSc in European Politics and Policy from the London School of Economics. She is fluent in French, English, Italian and Spanish.

TCCA supports all standard mobile critical communications technologies and complementary applications. TCCA Members are drawn from end users, operators and industry across the globe. TCCA members believe in and promote the principle of open and competitive markets worldwide through the use of open standards.
Kari Juntilla and Renaud Mellies are employed by governmental organizations,Erilissverkot in Finland and ACMOSS in France, members of TCCA.

Simone Morosi is currrently an Associate Professor with the University of Florence. His present research interests include Positioning techniques, Green ICT, Wireless and Satellite Communications. He has published more than 45 papers in international peer reviewed journals.

Ionel Petrut - Passionate about leveraging emerging technologies to optimize operations, drive innovation, and create competitive advantages. Proven track record of successfully leading cross-functional teams and aligning technology initiatives with organizational goals.

Joerg Pfeifle is a project manager and study engineer in the telecommunications business unit at Airbus Defence and Space. His current interests comprise 5G and 6G non-terrestrial networks and he is active in several related R&D projects such as 6G-TakeOff, 6G-SKY and 6G-SmartSat.

Jorge Querol is Research Scientist and Head of the 6GSPACE lab at SnT-University of Luxembourg. His research interests include AI-acceleration for satellite communications, real-time signal processing, non-terrestrial networks, software defined radio transceivers and joint 6G & satellite navigation.

Laurent Reynaud is a senior network expert specialized into the performance of agile infrastructures for challenging environments. He holds an engineering degree as well as a PhD in the domain of controlled mobility for drones from University of Lyon 1. He acquired a significant experience in the telecommunications field through successive positions in the French Home Department, in Alcatel-Lucent (Nokia), and in Orange since 2000, and now mainly investigates the topic of non-terrestrial networks. He participated to many French, European and international cooperative research projects.

Luis Jorge Romero, Director General of ETSI, has 30 years of experience in the telecommunications sector. At ETSI he has initiated a global standardization partnership for IoT communications, oneM2M. He has overseen the rapid development of ETSI’s Industry Specification Groups accelerating market penetration of new technologies and has enabled the first Open Source group in ETSI, leading to the new Software Development Groups initiated in 2022. Luis Jorge has also successfully positioned the institute to take a leading role in 5G standardization through the 3GPP global partnership project and through initiatives such as ETSI’s Multi-access Edge Computing, Network Functions Virtualization or Reconfigurable Intelligent Surfaces groups. He is driving the implementation of the ETSI Strategy, an ambitious plan to prepare the institute for the future. Previously he has held diverse Director positions in Spain, Morocco and Mexico, predominantly with Telefonica. As Global Director for International Roaming and Standards, and Director of Innovation and Standards, he oversaw Telefonica's participation in global standardization activities, and participated directly in the work of the Next Generation Mobile Networks (NGMN) Alliance and in the GSM Association (GSMA). Before joining ETSI in July 2011, he held the position of Director General of Innosoft and was also a partner and board member of the Madrid-based Innology Ventures.

Dr. Mehmet İzzet Sağlam is a 3GPP RAN2 delegate and researcher at Turkcell R&D. He uses his 20+ years of experience in Radio Access Network (RAN) obtained during his employment by top telecom vendors and through serving more than 15 operators in 10 countries. Dr. Sağlam has a BSc degree from Çukurova University in electrical and electronics engineering since 2001. He received his PhD from Istanbul Technical University in 2018, where he was also a research assistant from 2001 to 2006. He acquired his MSc degree earlier in 2003 from the same university where he got his PhD. His executive MBA degree is from Yıldız Technical University. Dr. Sağlam has been involved in European projects such as DRAGON (H2020), StandICT (H2020), and COMMECT (HE). Dr. Sağlam is currently following 3GPP RAN2 standard meetings as a standard delegate for Turkcell. Dr Sağlam’s research interests include AI/ML, MAC, and RLC layers in the fields of 5G Advanced for terrestrial and non-terrestrial networks.

Dominic A. Schupke is a leader in reliable communication networks research, currently focusing on Wireless Communications at Airbus, Munich, Germany. He is also a lecturer in Network Planning at Technical University of Munich (TUM). Prior to Airbus, he was with Nokia, Siemens, and TUM. He studied Electrical Engineering and Information Technology at RWTH Aachen, Imperial College London, and TUM, from where he received a Dr.-Ing. degree (summa cum laude). Dominic is Senior Member of IEEE and author or co-author of more than 150 journal and conference papers (Google Scholar h-index 34). His recent research addresses aerospace networks.

Dr Mike Short leads a portfolio career in research & innovation including Chief Architect at the Satellite Applications Catapult. He examines new coverage approaches with converged Mobile/Satellite services and supports adoption of new technologies including AI and Quantum. He chairs advisory boards for both the UK  Telecomms Labs (NPL) and the UK Telecomms Innovation Network. Mike was appointed Chief Scientific Adviser for DIT (now DBT) in 2017, where he led technical aspects of the department and worked on UK engineering exports and inward investment. He represented DIT on HMG committees for Telecomms, Space, Health and Quantum, and led overseas delegations to international trade events such as MWC Barelona and CES Las Vegas. He was an active member of GoScience as a CSA, and Board member on Innovate UK. His 30-year tenure at Cellnet/O2 UK/Telefonica Group included launching 2G (GSM) and 3G mobile technologies, winning mobile licenses overseas, and later led international research and standards (including 4G / 5G) for Telefonica. He also ran trials for Mobile TV, Smart metering, Driverless cars, and IoT. Mike was a Board member of the Ofcom Spectrum Advisory Board for 6 years. Mike is a former Chairman of the international GSM Association, the UK Mobile Data Association, EM3 LEP , and was President of the Institution of Engineering and Technology in 2012. Board roles have included ETSI, Innovate UK, UK 5G, and Trustee of the Archives of IT.

Arnaud Tonnerre is the Chief Engineer for Connectivity & Cybersecurity in the Thales’ Flight Avionics Business Line. He is also co-chairing the Technical Forum for the Seamless Air Alliance. Arnaud has more than 20 years’ experience in the Telecommunication and Aviation Connectivity Industries.

Alessandro Vanelli-Coralli is a Full Professor at the University of Bologna and a Senior Scientist at ETH Zurich. He is the leader of the Research and Vision Strategic SatCom Task Force in NetworldEurope, the delegate for the University of Bologna in 6G-IA, ETSI, and 3GPP. He is coordinating the HE SNS JU 6G-NTN project. He is the recipient of the 2019 IEEE Satellite Communications Technical Recognition Award.

Oriol Vidal, PhD (M) is currently E2E system & 5G/6G NTN roadmap owner in the Telecom and Navigation engineering department in Airbus Defence and Space. With more than 10 years in Airbus as an E2E telecom system engineer, he has been involved in many 5G/6G internal and institutional R&D/T projects, he has taken roles in prospective and business development teams and he is currently in charge of supporting and coordinating the Telecom E2E system roadmap/strategy with strong involvement in 5G/6G NTN connectivity solutions.

Jeroen Wigard is currently Principal Research Lead in Nokia. He received the M.Sc. degree electrical engineering from Technische Universiteit Delft, Netherlands, in 1995 and the Ph.D. degree on the topic of handover algorithms and frequency planning in frequency hopping GSM networks from Aalborg University, Denmark, in 1999. He joined Nokia Aalborg, Denmark, where he worked on radio resource management related topics for 2G, 3G, 4G, and 5G. He is currently with the Nokia Standards, Aalborg and involved in standardization work for NTN among others . He has authored and co-authored over 100 journal and conference papers and is inventors of more than 100 patents applications.

Helmut W. Zaglauer is a lead system engineer in the Advanced Systems team within Airbus Space Systems investigating new E2E system and constellation concepts for telecommunication and earth observation applications. Recently, he has focused on 5G/6G non-terrestrial networks and their application for vertical markets such as the automotive sector.

6G_NTN White Paper Vision on NTN in 6G r01v04

Presentations made during the event are available in PDF format.