9th Sub Sahara Spectrum Management Conference

Event Overview

The 9th Sub Sahara Spectrum Management Conference took place on 6 – 7 November 2024 in Nairobi, Kenya at the Mövenpick Hotel & Residences. 

ITU/ATU held a workshop alongside the conference focusing on “Strategic Satellite Services and Resource Management” which took place on the 4th (afternoon) and 5th (full day) November, at the Fairmont The Norfolk.

Across 2 days attendees had the opportunity to be involved in discussions on the key spectrum topics for the Sub Sahara region and beyond, through interactive sessions, networking opportunities, an exhibition area and much more.

The conference is part of The Global Spectrum Series. The world’s largest collection of regional spectrum policy conferences. Click on the images on the left to find out more about the series and to view the photos from last year. 

  • Event Day Vlog

    Highlights from the event in Yaoundé in August 2023
  • Global Spectrum Series

    This event takes places as part of the Global Spectrum Series - the world's largest collection of regional spectrum policy conferences.

Event Photos

Key Themes

Event Information

Mövenpick Hotel & Residences Nairobi
Mkungu Close, Westlands, off Parklands Road,
Nairobi, P.O Box 1853
00606 NAIROBI
Kenya

ITU and ATU held a workshop focusing on “Strategic Satellite Services and Resource Management” on the 4th (afternoon) and 5th (full day) November at the Fairmont The Norfolk.

Where is the conference being held?

The conference took place at the Mövenpick Hotel & Residences Nairobi. Please view the ‘venue’ tab.

There are no registration fees for this event.

Foreign nationals will need to apply for an eTA visa – more information can be found here. Please do check with your local embassy if a visa, or anything else, is required to visit Kenya.

ITU will be offering select delegates from LDCS countries fellowship in order to attend both the workshop and the conference. Fellowships will be granted by ITU on the basis of a partial fellowship (DSA only), and requests need to be received by 5 October 2024. 

You can find more information on the Global Spectrum Series here.

Organisers & Partners

Organised by

Forum Global (1)

Supported by

africa-telecommunications-unionb
CA Kenya
ITU

Organised by

Forum Global (1)

Platinum Partners

Amazon
Coleago
Ericsson
GSA
GSMA 2022
GSOA
Huawei new 2023
Intelsat logo 350x194
Newsky.plus
Nokia New 2023
Qualcomm logo 350x194
Safaricom website
Access Partnership
Coleago
DSA
Ericsson
GSMA 2022
GSOA
Huawei new 2023
Intelsat
Lynk
Meta
Nokia New 2023
Qualcomm
Secretariat
SES 2021 v1
SpaceX

Gold Partners

BNE-wp
Cullen
Ls telcom
PIP logo 350x194

Silver Partners

Shure

Refreshment Hosts

thinkRF logo 350x194

Audio Partners

Sennheiser-Logo

Knowledge Partners

Aetha 2021 logo
NERA logo 2024

Speakers Included

John Omo

John Omo

Secretary General
African Telecommunications Union (ATU)

Nikolai Vassiliev

Nikolai Vassiliev

Chief of Terrestrial Services Department
ITU

David Mugonyi 240

David Mugonyi

Director General & CEO
Communications Authority of Kenya

John Omo

John Omo

Secretary General
African Telecommunications Union (ATU)

Nikolai Vassiliev

Nikolai Vassiliev

Chief of Terrestrial Services Department
ITU

RLG-240

Ronel le Grange

Executive, Engineering & Technical Services
Communications Regulatory Authority of Namibia (CRAN)

Ntomiza Sithole

Ntombiza Sithole

Councillor
ICASA

El Hadjar Abdouramane 240

El Hadjar Abdouramane

Chair
ATU WRC-27 Working Group on Aeronautical and Radiolocation Services

Dut Acol De Dut

Dut Acol De Dut

Director of Spectrum Management
National Communication Authority, South Sudan

Kezias MWALE 5 (2)

Kezias Mwale

Technical Coordinator
African Telecommunications Union (ATU)

Andrew Changa

Andrew Changa

Liaison Manager, ICT, East African Communications Organisation (EACO)

Dennis Sonoiya

Dennis Sonoiya

Principal Officer / Data Management
CA Kenya

Luc Lukomba 240

Luc Lukomba

Head of Frequency Assignment Department
ARPTC, DRC

Basebi

Basebi Moisinyi

Deputy Director Spectrum Management
BOCRA

Ahmed Boraud 240

Ahmed Boraud

Director, Radiocommunications
ARCEP Niger

Mandialy Bodian

Mandialy Bodian

Head of Spectrum Management Department
ARTP Senegal

Lucy Nyakwera 240

Lucy Nyakwera

Telecommunications Engineer
UCC Uganda

Elizabeth Migwalla

Elizabeth Migwalla

Vice President International Government Affairs
Qualcomm

Jean Pierre Faisan 240

Jean-Pierre Faisan

Chair, Communications Working Group
Broadcast Networks Europe

Graham Friend

Graham Friend

Co-founder and Managing Director
Coleago Consulting

Cesar

Cesar Gutierrez Miguelez

Head of Africa Regulatory Policy
Huawei

Kamal Tamawa 240

Kamal Tamawa

Director, Spectrum & Industry Services, Sub-Saharan Africa
GSMA

Peng Zhao

Peng Zhao

Vice President, Policy & Regulatory
GSOA

Hazem Moakkit

Hazem Moakkit

Vice President, Spectrum Strategy
Intelsat

Helen K

Helen Kyeyune

Lead, Licensing and Regulatory Affairs, EMEA
Amazon Project Kuiper

256Dr Bienvenu AGBOKPONTO SOGLO_Headshot_Intel copy

Bienvenu Agbokponto Soglo

Chair of the GSA ATU Spectrum Team
GSA

Ivan Suarez

Ivan Suarez

Director, Regulatory and Policy
Newsky.plus

Abraham Oshadami 240

Abraham Oshadami

Director of Spectrum Administration Department
Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC)

Rihab Rabbaj 240

Rihab Rabbaj

Business Research Analyst
Cullen International

Mortimer Hope PIP 240

Mortimer Hope

Associate Director and Africa Lead
Policy Impact Partners

Judicaël Vivien

Judicaël Vivien Monde

CTO/HoT Mobile Networks, North & West Africa
Nokia

Ali Cheema new 240

Ali Cheema

Director Spectrum Regulations
Ericsson

Daniel Obam_resized

Daniel Obam

Special Advisor, Africa Policy & Regulatory Affairs
Huawei

Guillaume Mascot

Guillaume Mascot

Senior Manager, Global Regulatory Policy
Shure

Agenda

You can view the agenda in your preferred time zone by selecting it from the list below.
Day 1
2024-11-06
Day 2
2024-11-07
09:00 - 09:45
Session 1: Keynote presentations
Session 1: Keynote presentations image
David Mugonyi
Director General & CEO, Communications Authority of Kenya
Session 1: Keynote presentations image
John Omo
Secretary General, ATU
Session 1: Keynote presentations image
Nikolai Vassiliev
Chief of Terrestrial Services Department, ITU
09:45 - 10:55
Session 2: Making spectrum work for Africa – current and future strategies

Huge efforts have been made over the last decade or more by different industry stakeholders across Africa to ensure that they have access to sufficient spectrum to meet their growing needs. With decisions now taken on the future of many key bands, this session will provide an opportunity to look at the bigger picture of how the spectrum that has been allocated to both IMT and other users is currently being used, and at the next steps at the strategies going forward to ensure the value of bandwidth that is available is maximised. The discussion will assess the status of key bands in the Sub-Saharan region, examining the emerging plans from industry groups, governments, and policymakers to ensure that spectrum is used effectively for fulfilling Africa’s diverse needs. What impact can spectrum have on some of the issues facing African stakeholders today, and what challenges are ahead.
 

  • What should the overall spectrum goals be for Africa? How can the power of the available bandwidth be maximised and to what extent is this being seen today?
  • What role can regulators and other stakeholders play in ensuring that unused and underused spectrum is put to use as quickly and efficiently as possible? What do we want to achieve with spectrum, and how can we ensure that we get there?
  • What future strategies are emerging from IMT operators and other users on how to best use the frequencies that they have been awarded, and how are they planning to optimise the spectrum to best serve Africa and meet regional needs?
  • What regulatory, technical and structural obstacles exist across different bands which are stopping the available bandwidth from being used to its maximum value?
  • What role can regulators and other stakeholders play in ensuring that unused and underused spectrum is put to use as quickly and efficiently as possible? Are there regulatory frameworks in place to control the efficient use of spectrum?
Session 2: Making spectrum work for Africa – current and future strategies image
Moderator: Jean-Jacques Massima-Landji
Representative for Central Africa and Madagascar, Yaoundé, Cameroon, ITU
Session 2: Making spectrum work for Africa – current and future strategies image
Ahmed Amate
Senior Manager, Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC)
Session 2: Making spectrum work for Africa – current and future strategies image
Andrew Changa
Liaison Manager, ICT, East African Communications Organisation (EACO)
Session 2: Making spectrum work for Africa – current and future strategies image
Guillaume Mascot
Senior Manager, Global Regulatory Policy, Shure
Session 2: Making spectrum work for Africa – current and future strategies image
Judicaël Vivien Monde
CTO/HoT Mobile Networks, North & West Africa, Nokia
Session 2: Making spectrum work for Africa – current and future strategies image
Kamal Tamawa
Director, Spectrum & Industry Services, Sub-Saharan Africa, GSMA
Session 2: Making spectrum work for Africa – current and future strategies image
Mortimer Hope
Associate Director and Africa Lead, Policy Impact Partners
10:55 - 11:20
Refreshment Break
11:20 - 13:00
Session 3: Advancing towards a harmonised 5G strategy across Sub-Saharan Africa – from Network Rollout to Service Adoption

During each of the previous editions of this conference, a session has been held to discuss the progress, challenges, and opportunities as Sub-Saharan Africa plans for the implementation of 5G. This session will be a continuation of this. It will look at the progress towards the goals that continue to be seen and the impact that WRC-23 can have on driving forward 5G rollout in the region. With infrastructure now starting to become more widespread across the region, as well as looking at rollout, it will also look at the next steps towards increasing service adoption across the region. What needs to be done to deliver on the goals of a harmonised regional strategy for 5G and how to fully utilise its potential.
 

  • What progress has been seen in the past year, regarding the rollout and expansion of 5G networks across Africa?
  • To what extent can outcomes from WRC-23 help the Sub-Saharan region speed up the roll-out and implementation of 5G services?
  • With 5G infrastructure now becoming more widespread across the region, how can we move to the next-step of increasing the uptake of 5G services amongst both consumers and businesses?
  • How is 5G starting to enable different vertical use cases in sectors such as agriculture, healthcare, manufacturing, transportation and energy? What mechanisms, models and spectrum bands can best meet these connectivity needs?
  • What best practices can be learnt from the experiences in African countries or elsewhere for the introduction of 5G services and the allocation and award of 5G spectrum, and how can they contribute to forming a unified regional approach for 5G deployment in the region and at a national level?
  • What combination of technologies and solutions will best serve Africa’s 5G future, and how can we ensure that both the infrastructure and spectrum are in place to achieve this
  • How are regulators balancing the goal to continue the process of bringing 3G and 4G networks online and give citizens access to basic online services with 5G ambitions?
  • How can regulators ensure that the allocation of 5G spectrum does not exacerbate existing digital divides, but rather promotes equitable access to advanced connectivity to all users?
  • What role can AI and other emerging technologies play in smoothing the path towards the future 5G ecosystem? What impact could it have on the way spectrum is managed, allocated, and optimised, and ultimately on the efficiency and costs of network rollout and operation?
Session 3: Advancing towards a harmonised 5G strategy across Sub-Saharan Africa – from Network Rollout to Service Adoption image
Moderator: Elizabeth Migwalla
Vice President, International Government Affairs, Qualcomm
Introduction from Moderator
Introduction from Moderator image
Elizabeth Migwalla
Vice President, International Government Affairs, Qualcomm
Country Case Study: Kenya
Country Case Study: Kenya image
Gababo Wako
Spectrum Manager, Communications Authority of Kenya
Country Case Study: Namibia
Country Case Study: Namibia image
Ronel le Grange
Executive, Engineering & Technical Services, Communications Regulatory Authority of Namibia (CRAN)