Keynote Speakers
Chair and Agency Head, ACMA
Nerida O'Loughlin commenced as Chair of the ACMA on 14 October 2017. Nerida has been a Deputy Secretary in the Department of Communications since 2011. Nerida led the Digital Television Switchover Program until 2013 and has since been responsible for a diverse range of policy, program and project areas. She also served as interim CEO of the Digital Transformation Agency from 2016 to 2017. Nerida was a General Manager in the ACMA from 2006 to 2011. Prior to that she had held senior positions in the Victorian and Commonwealth Governments, predominantly across the technology and cultural sectors.
Futurist, inventor, writer, entrepreneur, educator and podcaster
Mark Pesce co-invented VRML in 1994, a 3D interface to the web.
He now brings his skills as a futurist to diverse sectors of the economy, including financial institutions ranging from Westpac, World Bank, HSBC and SWIFT and regularly mentors hackathons on topics as diverse as fintech, blockchain, virtual reality, and education.
Mark hosts two podcasts, ‘This Week in Start-ups Australia’—exploring tech start-ups, and ‘The Next Billion Seconds’—winner of the best technical and scientific podcast of 2018, connecting the work of today’s brightest thinkers with the world of tomorrow.
He was a judge on the ABC’s hit series ‘The New Inventors’, celebrating Australia’s newest inventions, and writes an award-winning column for the global tech publication, The Register.
Mark has also written six books including The Playful World, where toys such as Furby and LEGO Mindstorms illuminate the interactive world of the 21st century.
Mark has founded graduate programs at both the University of Southern California, and the Australian Film, Radio and Television School, holding appointments as Honorary Associate at the University of Sydney, and Honorary Adjunct at UTS.
Chairman, Australian Competition and Consumer Commission
Appointed Chairman of the ACCC in August 2011 for a five-year term and reappointed for a further three years in August 2016, Rod Sims has extensive business and public sector experience.
He was the Chairman of the Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal of New South Wales, Commissioner on the National Competition Council, Chairman of InfraCo Asia, Director of Ingeus Limited, and member of the Research and Policy Council of the Committee for Economic Development of Australia.
Rod was also a Director of Port Jackson’s Partners Limited where he advised the CEOs and boards of some of Australia’s top 50 companies on commercial corporate strategy over many years.
Rod worked as the Deputy Secretary in the Commonwealth Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet, responsible for economic, infrastructure and social policy and the Cabinet Office. He also worked as Deputy Secretary in the Department of Transport and Communications.
He is a past Chairman of the NSW Rail Infrastructure Corporation and the State Rail Authority and has been a Director of private sector companies. Rod holds a first class honours degree in commerce from the University of Melbourne and a Master of Economics from the Australian National University.
Deputy Secretary, Infrastructure and Consumer Group, Department of Communications and the Arts
Richard Windeyer has worked in the Australian public service for 20 years in various roles, with much of his career in the Communications portfolio.
Within the Department of Communications and the Arts, Richard’s group is responsible for the broadband and telecommunications industry, infrastructure investment and consumer and radiocommunications policy, as well as oversight of the Australian Government’s interests in Australia Post and the National Broadband Network. The group is also responsible for policy and regulatory advice around public interest communications issues relating to provision of emergency calls, access to communications services by people with disabilities, and communications network resilience.
Prior to his current role, Richard worked as Chief of Staff for two Australian Ministers for Communications.
Partner, Aetha Consulting
Marc Eschenburg has worked in the telecoms industry since 2008, advising fixed and mobile operators, as well as regulators and other government bodies, on a wide range of commercial, technical and regulatory issues.
He has been very active in the area of radio spectrum policy, advising more than 30 operators worldwide on their spectrum strategy and assisting them to value spectrum ahead of spectrum auctions. He has worked with regulators and industry bodies on key spectrum management issues, including incentive pricing, forecasting future spectrum demand and identifying measures of efficient spectrum use.
Further to his work on spectrum, Marc advises clients ahead of major market transactions and has carried out various projects on next-generation broadband as well as in the TV and media space.
He holds a Masters in Infonomics from Maastricht University in the Netherlands.
Speakers
Chief Executive Officer, Australian Mobile Telecommunications Association
Chris Althaus was appointed as Chief Executive Officer of the Australian Mobile Telecommunications Association (AMTA) in 2005.
AMTA is the peak industry organisation representing Australia’s mobile telecommunications sector and operates programs covering all aspects of the mobile ecosystem. This includes telecommunications policy, mobile network infrastructure, radiofrequency spectrum, health and safety, product stewardship, e-waste and recycling, national security, content regulation, and consumer awareness and education.
Prior to joining AMTA, Chris held Chief Executive roles leading national industry associations representing the Australian road transport and logistics industry, and the Australian forests and forest products sector.
He has a Bachelor of Science from the Australian National University; Graduate Diploma in Economics from the University of Canberra; and Business Administration Diploma from Georgetown University, Washington, DC.
Vice President, Global Licensing and Spectrum, OneWeb
Tony Azzarelli has more than 25-years’ experience in the telecommunication sector, with senior appointments at OneWeb, the UK regulator Ofcom, Inmarsat, The Boeing Company, the European Space Agency and ICO Global Communications, as well as working as an independent consultant in the regulatory field.
In his professional work, Tony has strived to initiate, develop and promote global harmonised policies for space and terrestrial wireless technologies. He has participated in international regulatory forums, such as the International Telecommunications Union, International Civil Aviation Organization, International Maritime Organization, European Conference of Telecommunication and Postal administrations (CEPT), and European Telecommunications Standardisation Institute, and led European regulatory groups within the CEPT in preparation for the ITU World Radio Conference in Geneva.
Tony has a Doctorate in Electronic Engineering from the Polytechnic of Turin, along with a Master of Business Administration, a Certificate from the International Space University, and has attended the Air and Space Law (LLM) at the Institute of International Law, Leiden University.
Full-time Member, ACMA
Fiona Cameron joined the ACMA from Screen Australia, where she was Chief Operating Officer since 2008. Prior to this role she was a General Manager with DMG Radio Australia, responsible for launching the new radio brand Nova in Melbourne. Fiona has worked across state and federal government in portfolios as varied as education, regional development and communications. She has been a Director of AFTRS and Commercial Radio Australia.
Full-time Member, ACMA
James Cameron has over 20 years Australian Government public policy experience, including senior executive roles in the telecommunications, radiocommunications, broadcasting and digital economy fields. James has held executive positions managing government policies and programs supporting Australia’s arts and sports sectors and, immediately prior to joining the ACMA, was Chief Executive Officer of the National Water Commission.
James has also represented government agencies in parliament, in the media, at conferences and internationally.
Executive Manager, Spectrum Review Implementation, ACMA
Linda Caruso heads the Spectrum Review Implementation Branch at the ACMA, where she is responsible for leading the agency’s spectrum reforms through the design of new spectrum licensing arrangements, the annual spectrum work plan and spectrum pricing activities. Linda previously led the ACMA’s research program, its international engagement strategy, and economics and pricing analysis.
Prior to the ACMA, she held positions in the Commonwealth and Victorian governments, and at Telstra, in public policy design and implementation and regulatory advice roles, working across a range of infrastructure industries and with a diverse mix of industry and community stakeholders.
Deputy Chair and CEO, ACMA
Creina Chapman has held a number of senior executive and strategic adviser roles at commercial media companies; Southern Cross Austereo, News Corp, Publishing & Broadcasting Limited and the Nine Network. Her experience in the media and communications sector is gained from organisations spanning television, radio, print, mobile services, podcasting and online services which serve metropolitan, regional and remote Australian markets.
Creina has also been a senior policy adviser to Federal members of Parliament including; Senator Richard Alston, Minister for Communications and the Arts and Treasurer Joe Hockey MP.
Dr John Dawson leads the Positioning Section at Geoscience Australia.
He is responsible for the Australian Government’s National Positioning Infrastructure, which includes the development of a Satellite-based Augmentation System (SBAS) that will improve the performance of GPS in Australia.
John is a satellite geodesist and was involved in some of the earliest measurements of glacial motion in Antarctica using GPS. His PhD research, undertaken at the Australian National University, was the first to observe and characterise Australian earthquakes from space using satellite interferometry.
Chief Executive Officer, Free TV Australia
Bridget Fair is the Chief Executive Officer of Free TV Australia, the industry body that represents Australia’s commercial television licensees, and is also a Non-executive Director of iSelect.
She has previously held a number of senior roles with Seven West Media, most recently Group Chief of Corporate and Regulatory Affairs.
Prior to joining Seven, Bridget worked as General Counsel for SBS, legal counsel for the ABC, and in private legal practice. She is also a former Chairman of Screenrights and has been on the Boards of OzTAM and Freeview.
Bridget holds a BA/LLB from the University of New South Wales (UNSW) and is a Graduate of the AICD.
Director, Regulatory Affairs, Viasat Inc.
Chris Hofer joined Viasat in January 2014 as Director, Regulatory Affairs. As the lead for all World Radiocommunication Conferences (WRC) activities, he has been very active in Working Party 4A and Task Group 5/1.
Chris has been the International Chairman of ITU Radiocommunication Sector (ITU-R) Study Group 4 since October 2012.
Before joining Viasat in 2014, Chris was the lead representative of the Office of Secretary of Defence, Chief Information Officer for all WRC activities.
Chris holds a Master’s Degree in Telecommunications from the University of Colorado and a Bachelor’s Degree in Electrical Engineering from New Mexico State University.
Vice President, Network Deployment
Lambo Kanagaratnum is responsible for mobile and fibre deployment for the Optus network across Australia.
Having over 18 years of telecommunication industry experience, Lambo is a technology leader with extensive knowledge in telecommunications network strategy, design, engineering, operations and rollout, across multiple countries and operating companies.
Prior to joining Optus, Lambo held several senior roles over a 15-year period with MTM in Africa and the Middle East, including tenures as both Chief Enterprise Business Officer and Chief Technology Officer at MTN South Africa. He was also Chief Technology Officer of MTN Irancell in Iran.
Lambo holds a Bachelor of Science and a Master of Science in Electrical Engineering from the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa.
Full-time Member, ACMA
Chris Jose has extensive experience in government and private legal practice, with a primary focus on competition and consumer law, and public administration. After various government roles, including with the Trade Practices Commission (predecessor to the ACCC), Chris has advised corporate and government clients on a range of regulatory and consumer affairs matters. Most recently, he was a partner and consultant at Herbert Smith Freehills, specialising in competition and consumer law and the economic regulation of markets.
In his telecommunications regulatory practice, Chris has advised governments and corporate clients on competition, consumer impacts, economic regulation and access to infrastructure. As the principal regulatory adviser to the Papua New Guinea government on comprehensive reforms of the Information and Communications Technology sector in PNG, he guided the government in the reformulation of the National ICT Policy, and the development and implementation of a new regulatory framework for the ICT sector in PNG.
Chief Executive Officer, Broadcast Australia
Peter Lambourne was appointed Chief Executive Officer of Broadcast Australia in 2016, following his successful tenure as Chief Operating Officer between 2011 and 2016.
With extensive experience in broadcast and telecommunications, Peter has led a range of operational improvements and successful project delivery across much of Broadcast Australia’s business. Peter’s focus is on driving the business’ strategy as a trusted industry leader and broadening its services to commercial and public broadcaster customers.
Prior to joining Broadcast Australia, Peter was a senior executive in the WIN group of companies in key roles including Managing Director of Digital Distribution Australia and Broadcast Transmission Services.
He was a director for the WIN Corporation for five years, and a key stakeholder in the development and implementation of the ABC/WIN Media Hub joint venture.
Executive Manager, Operations, Services and Technologies Branch, ACMA
Mark Loney joined the Department of Defence in 1988 before moving to the Spectrum Management Agency and communications regulation in 1996, Over the last twenty one years, Mark has lead the development, implementation and delivery of regulatory arrangements for broadcasting, radiocommunications and telecommunications services. He played a key role in the establishment of Australian Communications and Media Authority in 2005 and has been responsible for service delivery in Communications Infrastructure Division of the ACMA since 2009.
Manager, Spectrum Planning and Engineering, Communications Infrastructure Division, ACMA
Nevio Marinelli leads a team responsible for undertaking technical and frequency planning for projects relating to wireless broadband and the Internet of Things, particularly the introduction of wireless broadband services into new and existing frequency bands.
Nevio is also acting manager of the International Regulatory Section, which coordinates Australia’s involvement in ITU-R Study Group work generally and leading into treaty level conferences such as WRC and APG.
He is currently the Chair of the ACMA Preparatory Group for the APT Wireless Group (AWG) and the Internet of Things Alliance Australia (IoTAA) work stream four, dealing with radiofrequency spectrum issues.
Prior to his current role, Nevio worked as a spectrum planning engineer in the Department of Communications, where he was involved in the planning of radio and television services and the replanning of spectrum to allow for the introduction of GSM services in Australia. From 1996, he worked for telecommunications operator Optus, and equipment vendors Lucent and Nortel in the Middle East and Europe as a radiofrequency planning and optimisation engineer.
Nevio has a Bachelor of Engineering in Communications from the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology, Melbourne, Australia.
Global Spectrum and Regulatory Policy, ESOA
Bashir Patel is Global Spectrum and Regulatory Policy Regional Advisor for EMEA Satellite Operator’s Association (ESOA), South Asia, Middle East and Africa (SAMEA) region.
He is widely recognised as a highly experienced executive in ICT, satellite systems and defence aerospace. He has over 35 years experience in the high-tech industry, mainly in the telecom sector, including satellites and defence industries, both in management consulting as well as in regional regulatory policy, business and market development. He has been working with governments throughout the regions, and launched satellite communications technologies as far back as the mid 1980s.
He is a passionate technologist, with experience gained from time spent in advance aerospace projects in BAe Systems, Inmarsat and ICO Global Communications. Prior to re-joining Inmarsat in 2013, he was the Chief Operating Officer of the Commonwealth Telecommunications Organisation, dealing with 54 Commonwealth governments around the world.
Service and Asset Performance Advisor, Airservices Australia
Simon Reynolds has eight-years’ experience as an aviation system specialist at Airservices, Australia’s civil air-traffic and air-navigation service provider.
He chairs the Safety and Efficiency Technology Working Group of Airservices’ industry engagement forum, and is the Australian-nominated Member of the Navigation System Panel of the International Civil Aviation Organization, the United Nations body responsible for the standardisation of global aviation. The Panel is responsible for developing the standards and recommended practices for Satellite Based Augmentation Systems, including the next generation Dual Frequency Multi Constellation technology.
Previously, Simon worked on the deployment of the Ground Based Augmentation System (GBAS) and the introduction of other navigation and surveillance services based on Global Navigation Satellite System. He holds a Bachelor of Aerospace Engineering from the University of New South Wales.
Executive Director, International and National Engagement, Australian Space Agency
Karl Rodrigues is responsible for developing the agreements to support joint space programs and missions with International Space Agencies, as well as engaging with Australian industry, agencies, research institutions and state and territory governments to help grow the Australian space sector.
Prior to this role, Karl was Deputy Director for CSIRO Energy responsible for the Business Unit strategy, science investment and operations. He delivered science impact, leadership and direction to the Business Unit, including the creation of the Hydrogen Future Science Platform to build a new energy security and export opportunity for Australia.
Karl has over 25 years of experience in innovation, venture investment, research, development and commercialisation of technology.
He has also managed Intel Capital ANZ, where he invested in several Australian and New Zealand companies. He was one of the founding directors on the Australia New Zealand America Technology Network (ANZA TechNet), which supports Australian and New Zealand companies seeking to expand into the US.
Karl is passionate about innovation and start-ups and is an Adjunct Lecturer in Entrepreneurial Finance and Financing Innovation in the MBA programs for the Macquarie Graduate School of Management (MGSM) and the Sydney Business School (Sydney University).
He holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in Applied Computing Science from the University of Technology in Sydney, an MBA with Distinction from Griffith University in Queensland, and is a Graduate Member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.
General Manager, Communications Infrastructure Division, ACMA
Giles Tanner, PSM has worked in broadcasting and communications law and policy in Australia for over 25 years. As General Manager of the ACMA’s Communications Infrastructure Division, he is responsible for discharging the ACMA’s responsibilities as radiofrequency spectrum manager as well as some of its technical regulation roles.
Since the formation of the ACMA in 2005, Giles has worked on diverse matters within its portfolio, including digitisation of television and realisation of the ‘digital dividend’ from switching off analog television.
Giles is a former General Manager and Acting Member of the Australian Broadcasting Authority (ABA), where, among other things, he led the development and implementation of the ABA’s public spectrum planning process for analog broadcasting services.
Chief Engineer, Iridium Satellite Communications, Inc.
Patrick Tatum is a chief engineer in operations and system engineering at Iridium Satellite Communications, which provides global coverage for voice, broadband data and M2M services.
He has been instrumental in defining and developing the original and NEXT Iridium constellations and has authored several patents that enhance the satellite functionality.
Patrick’s experience includes 30 years of satellite payload design with eight years directing the implementation of 3G mobile terrestrial infrastructure projects all over the world.
Chief Executive Officer, Commercial Radio Australia
Joan Warner is the CEO of Commercial Radio Australia which represents 99% of all commercial radio broadcasters. She was responsible for the planning, rollout and implementation of DAB+ digital radio in the five metropolitan capitals, covering up to 60% of the Australian population, and continues the DAB+ implementation for commercial radio broadcasters across regional Australia.
Joan also oversees the whole of industry marketing campaign, Radio Codes of Practice, audience survey contracts and industry copyright agreements, and is responsible for the annual National Commercial Radio Conference, Siren Creative Awards and Australian Commercial Radio Awards.
She held senior executive levels in the private and government sectors and holds four degrees, including a Master of Business Administration and a Master of Education.
General Manager, EME Strategy, Governance and Risk Management, Telstra
Mike Wood is currently Chairman of the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) Technical Committee 106, which has global responsibility for EME testing standards for mobile phones, devices, wireless networks and radio communication systems.
The current focus for TC106 is the 2020 strategic business plan and development of standards for the assessment of future 5G mobile technologies. Mike is also active in the ITU standards, and in Australia chairs the Australian Mobile Telecommunications Association RF Safety Compliance Program.
Mike is a Distinguished Professional with Telstra and the General Manager for Telstra’s Strategy, Governance and Risk Management program and has worked in standards development for over 20 years.
Senior Radiofrequency Engineer, ACMA
Chris Worley’s career has, in its entirety, been centred around radiofrequency in some form or another, spanning several government and private industry appointments as an operator, developer and trainer. He has worked for the last decade as a spectrum planner in the ACMA’s Spectrum Planning and Engineering Branch.
While his day job entails planning for access to spectrum by Defence, emergency services and other government agencies, Chris also has carriage of a range of spectrum reform projects such as the ACMA’s 800 and 900 MHz band reconfigurations and, most recently, consideration of the 26 GHz band for future ultra-high capacity 5G services.
Chris holds a Bachelor of Engineering (Hons) from the University of Tasmania.