Director of Radiocommunication Bureau, ITU (International Telecommunication Union)
Mr. Mario Maniewicz began his second term as Director of the Radiocommunication Bureau (BR) at the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) on 1 January 2023.
He first took office in January 2019, following his election at the at ITU’s 2018 Plenipotentiary Conference in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. He was re-elected at the 2022 Plenipotentiary Conference in Bucharest, Romania.
He is an electronics engineer specialized in telecommunications. He has been with ITU for 35 years, holding several management positions in the Radiocommunication and Development Sectors as well as in ITU Regional Offices.
As Director, he is responsible for the management of the Radiocommunication Bureau, which organizes and coordinates the work of the Radiocommunication Sector aiming at ensuring the rational, equitable, efficient and economical use of the radio-frequency spectrum and satellite orbits.
Before joining the ITU, he occupied a managerial position in Uruguay’s main telecommunications operator and was Assistant Professor in the Faculty of Engineering of Uruguay’s main University.
He is married and has two children. He speaks Spanish, English, French and Portuguese.
Deputy Director, CRMS (Central Radio Management Service) Radio Monitoring Division
Mr. Taeho Lee has begun public service since 1996, at Korea Post, Ministry of Information, Korea Communications Commission (KCC), Ministry of Science, ICT and future Planning (MSIP), Ministry of Science and ICT(MSIT) and currently CRMS.
During KCC era, at User Protection Division he improved the rights and interests of communication service users through quality evaluation in the communication field and at New Media Policy Division he performed tasks of licensing policies for cable TV broadcasting and satellite broadcasting services.
During MSIP era, he was dispatched to the 2018 Pyeongchang Winter Olympics and played pivotal role in successful hosting of the Olympics by promoting the first ICT Olympics through services like 5G demonstration, Iot, and VR.
Now at Radio Monitoring Division of CRMS, he is in charge of radio monitoring duties like authorization and declaration of jammer, establishing ISP for digital radio monitoring platform based on AI and Big data and establishing 3rd generation hybrid radio measurement system etc.
Principal Spectrum Planner, MBIE (Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment), New Zealand
Mr. Craig Scott is a Principal Spectrum Planning Analyst with Radio Spectrum Management, Ministry of Business Innovation and Employment, New Zealand. He has been involved in spectrum management for 20 years and has broad experience in co-existence, spectrum policy and regulation both in New Zealand and Europe.
He is also leading New Zealand’s efforts for the World Radiocommunications Conference 2023, which takes place later this year.
In October 2017, Mr. Kihong Ahn joined the Telecommunication Technology Association. He is currently engaged in ITU activities as a part of the ITU-R Study Group 1 and WP5D Secretariat under the Korea ITU Committee.
He graduated from the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in Illinois. Afterward, he returned to Korea and obtained a master's degree in Electrical and Computer Engineering from Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology.
He later joined the Telecommunication Technology Association and is currently working as a Senior Researcher in the organization.
Deputy General Manager, KAC (Korea Airports Corporation)
As a member of Korea Airports Corporation's UTM & UATM Department, Dr. Jinyong Hong is in charge of developing UAM RF navigation facility, a national R&D project, and is leading the development and commercialization of ground monitoring systems and aerial drone systems for radio inspection of navigation facilities.
He received bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degrees in Radio Wave and Electronic Communication Engineering at Hongik University, and served as a senior researcher at Samsung-Thales Radar Group and an assistant professor at the Department of Electronics and Communications at Yeongjin College.
Dr. Sangyun Lee has worked as a mobile handset R&D engineer for LG Electronics, and after joining Korea Communications Agency, he has carried out spectrum planning related projects such as spectrum utilization analysis and evaluation, implementation of spectrum relocation and sharing. He was a member of public safety LTE deployment task force team in Korea government. He also has been participating in spectrum standardization activities such as ITU-R SG5, AWG.
He is now supporting local 5G spectrum licensing, utilization, coordination by running Local 5G Support Center in Sejong, Korea. He received BS from Hong-Ik University and MSc from Seoul National University all in electrical engineering.
Deputy Director, RRA (National Radio Research Agency)
Dr. Jaewoo Lim has been working for the National Radio Research Agency, Ministry of Science and ICT since 1997. He received his Ph.D. in wireless communication engineering and is the ICT expert on spectrum policy and technical regulations for radio communication including a new category of 5G.
He has been participating in global standard activities including APT and ITU meetings related to mobile services as a delegate or HoD of the delegation of the Republic of Korea for many years. He has been playing active roles to develop and provide spectrum resources for the radio communication industry including maritime, aeronautical and land mobile communications in APT and ITU as well as in the national level.
He has rich experience of chairmanships of national and international standardization of mobile telecommunication areas including 5G. In 2018, he joined the special task group on the 4th industry revolution technology to prepare 5G commercialization service in Korea. For honoring his achievements in “Korea 5G commercialization”, the President of the Republic of Korea awarded him a Presidential commendation in 2019.
Prof. Ilkyoo Lee obtained a degree of M.S and Ph.D. in 1994 and 2003, respectively at Chungnam National University, the Rep. of Korea. He had been working for the areas related to RF development of WCDMA, Mibile WiMax and Radio Monitoring System for almost 10 years in Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute. He became Professor at Kongju National University in 2004, and he has been working in the field of Wireless Communication, Spectrum Engineering and Radio Regulation & Policy.
He has been working for ITU-R SG1 as vice chairman since he was appointed at Radio Assembly-15. Regarding his research and academic achievements, he has contributed more than 30 proposals for standards and published more than 50 papers in academic journals and conferences. He got an award from President of Republic of Korea in 2023 for honoring his efforts on international standardization in ITU-R.
Assistant Director, SRMC (Satellite Radio Monitoring Center)
Mr. Hwaseok Oh has been contributing to satellite radio monitoring and protecting satellite communication networks in Korea for 19 years. It resolves 15 to 20 satellite radio disturbances annually, and monitors compliance with international regulations for more than 120 geostationary satellites. He is also conducting investigations into mental illness commissioned by the International Telecommunications Union (ITU).
He is also carrying out international cooperation work related to whole-body investigation through joint search of the location of Oman and Earth stations. He also contributed to the establishment of a mobile satellite radio monitoring system and a non-local satellite radio monitoring system.
Director, ETRI (Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute)
After joining ETRI in 2001, Dr. Joongyu Ryu carried out satellite communication system and satellite broadcasting system development tasks, and is currently carrying out 6G satellite communication core technology development tasks.
In addition, he is leading technology exchanges between industry, academia, and research institutes in Korea's satellite communications as the technology chairperson of the SatCom Forum.
He received his Ph.D. from the Department of Radio Sciences & Engineering at Chungnam National University.
Vice-President of Government Affairs and Policy, OneWeb
Mr. Peng Zhao serves as the Vice-President of Government Affairs and Policy at OneWeb, where he oversees the company's international regulatory and policy matters, focusing on Europe and Asia-Pacific regions. With a wealth of experience in both mobile and satellite industries, he has been advising governments and the telecommunications sector worldwide on public policy, regulatory issues, and spectrum management.
Before joining OneWeb, he played a crucial role in GSMA's global campaign to ensure optimal licensing conditions for mobile operators. He led a team of policy experts across developing markets, engaging with policymakers and regulators to advocate for the industry's best practices in telecommunications policy.
He possesses an engineering background, having earned a MS in Telecommunication from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology of Lausanne. He also holds an Executive MBA from the London Business School. In addition to English, he is fluent in Mandarin and French.
Director General, CRC (Communication Regulatory Commission), Mongolia
Mr. Amgalan Zandraa is the Director General of the Spectrum Management and Monitoring Department in Communications Regulatory Commission of Mongolia. He holds a bachelor's and master's degree in engineering from National Science University of Mongolia, specialized in wireless communication.
He has 20 years of experience in spectrum management and monitoring.
Acting Director, TRC (Telecommunication Regulator of Cambodia), Cambodia
Mr. Kosal Soy is Acting Director of Radio Frequency Regulation Bureau, Telecommunication Regulator of Cambodia (TRC). He has more than 10 years of working experience in the public sector. Having been working at the central level of the government, in June 2021 he was appointed Chief of Radiocommunication Licensing Division and then in September 2022 was appointed Acting Director of Radio Frequency Regulation Bureau of Telecommunication Regulator of TRC.
Prior to joining TRC, he held various positions such as Planning and Statistics Official of the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, the assistant to the Senior Minister at the Council of Ministers, and consultant on social research projects.
He has earned his bachelor’s degrees in Agricultural Technology and Management from Royal University of Agriculture and English Literature from Western University in Cambodia. Thus, he obtained his master’s degree in Rural Development from the University of Queensland in Australia.
Ag. Director, TCRA (Tanzania Communications Regulatory Authority), Tanzania
From 2006 to date, Eng. Mr. Victor Kweka has been working in the telecommunications sector with different institutions such as Celtel (Airtel) Tanzania, Nokia Siemens Networks (NSN) and the Tanzania Communications Regulatory Authority (TCRA).
Currently, he is the Acting Director of Industry Affairs at TCRA. Prior to this position, He was the Manager of Spectrum Management at TCRA. He is also the current Chair for World Radiocommunications Conference (WRC23) preparatory process in Southern Africa Development Community (SADC) region.
Research Director, Infotech Oulu Institute, University of Oulu, Finland
Dr. Marja Mtinmikko-Blue is Director of Sustainability and Regulation at 6G Flagship and Research Director of the Infotech Oulu Focus Institute at the University of Oulu, Finland, where she also holds an Adjunct Professor position in spectrum management.
She has a Doctor of Science degree in communications engineering on cognitive radio systems and a Doctor of Philosophy degree in industrial engineering and management on stakeholder analysis from the University of Oulu.
She has been conducting multi-disciplinary research into the technical, business, and regulatory aspects of future mobile communication systems in close collaboration with industry, academia, and regulators for over two decades. She has published 180+ scientific papers and prepared 160+ contributions to regulatory bodies.
Director, ETRI (Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute)
Mr. Junghwan Hwang has been with Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute (ETRI) since 2005. His main research area is electromagnetic (EM) technologies. In the research for human body protection from EM waves, he has analyzed EM exposure in urban environments and developed EM probes for measuring exposure level.
In the research for a high-power EM wave, he has researched susceptibility of large-sized buildings against a high-power EM wave and developed technologies for measuring shielding effectiveness of a shielding enclosure. Currently, he is researching EM exposure from 6G EM wave and service technologies based on satellites.
Additionally, he has researched on channel modelling of body area network and developed a power amplifier used for a hand-held phone.