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Stefano Polidori
Study Group Counsellor, ITU
Stefano is a Counsellor at the International Telecommunication Union and responsible for the technical secretariat of ITU-T Study Group 9
“Broadband cable and TV". He is also responsible for the Intelligent Transport Systems (ITS) activities, including the Symposium on the Future Networked Car at the Geneva Motor Show. Stefano is the ITU representative to the European Multi Stakeholder Platform on ICT Standardization at the European Commission. After few years in the private sector, joined the ITU in 2004 covering various positions including Coordinator for ITU Kaleidoscope academic conference and Advisor for Study Group 11
“Signalling, protocols and test specifications". Stefano holds a Master in Electronic Engineering from the University of Rome, Italy and a Master of Science in mobile communication from Aalborg University, Denmark.
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| Simão Campos
Counsellor, ITU-T Study Group 16, TSB, ITU
Simão joined the secretariat of the ITU Standardization Sector in 2002, and is the Counsellor for ITU-T Study Group 16 (for standardization work on multimedia, including audio and video coding, accessibility/human factors, e-health, ITS, IPTV and digital signage) and ITU-T Focus Group on AI for health (FG-AI4H). He has a long experience in standardization, having started with voice compression standards in 1989. Prior to joining ITU, Simão was a Scientist at COMSAT Labs in the USA and a researcher at CPqD, a telecom research center in Brazil. A Senior Member of the IEEE, Simão authored several academic papers and position papers, served in the review committee of several IEEE-sponsored conferences, and organized the first ITU Kaleidoscope Conference.
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| Rosheen Awotar-Mauree
Advisor, ITU-D Study Group 1
Rosheen is the Advisor for ITU-D Study Group 1 which has as mandate
“Enabling environment for Meaningful connectivity". She has over 20 years professional experience in ICTs – leading IT Security initiatives and ICT projects in Government and ITU experience on regional and national work on ICT Regulation & Policies, Digital Inclusion, ICT centric innovation. She managed the Cyprus National CIRT project, the initial versions of the Global Cybersecurity Index & of the National Cybersecurity Strategy Guide formulation. More recently she led the development of a roadmap for Digital Knowledge Platform. She received her degree in Computer Science with honours in Information Systems, in 1994 and her MBA in 1996, both from Murdoch University, Perth, Australia with certifications CISSP, CRISC and PMD Pro level 1.
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| Jaroslaw Ponder
Head of the ITU Office for Europe, ITU
Mr Ponder is Head of the ITU Office for Europe at the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) (Geneva, Switzerland). Within the last years Mr. Ponder has been carrying out numerous projects, activities and initiatives at national, regional and international levels. He has been taking lead role in many international conferences and summits dealing with fostering ICT innovation and development of ICT ecosystem, information society, and advancements of digital economy worldwide, while setting strategies and ensuring their timely implementation. Along the professional career Mr. Ponder held official positions in the public sector and was a contributor to the legislative projects having impact on the public policy. Since 2014 Mr. Ponder has been working for ITU, in Market, Economics and Finance Unit (MEF/ITU), Strategy and Policy Unit (SPU/ITU), Project and Initiatives Department (PRI/ITU). From year 2008 upon his former duties he has acted as Europe Officer (EUR/ITU) as well as Project Manager for European Centres of Excellence Network (CoE-EUR). In August 2008 he was appointed as Coordinator for Europe. After successful recreation of the coordination for the region in 2009 he moved to the General Secretariat becoming Strategy and Policy Coordinator and one year later Senior Strategy and Policy Advisor with the objective to lead the ITU activities on World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS; United Nation Process on ICTs) and its 10 year review, amongst the others successfully establishing prime platforms, i.e. WSIS Forum, WSIS Prizes, WSIS Stocktaking, and organizing WSIS+10 High Level Event (2014) that resulted in negotiated texts. In parallel, since 2011 he has been working as Coordinator for Europe strengthening coordination and implementation mechanism. In 2017 he became the Head of ITU Office for Europe, directing actions, projects, initiatives, experts groups targeting 45 countries and representing ITU in Europe.
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| Elind Sulmina
Project Officer, International Telecommunication Union
Mr Elind Sulmina has dedicated five years to the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), including three years at the ITU Office for Europe. He focuses on strengthening and securing ICT infrastructure projects throughout Europe and beyond, with an emphasis on enabling digital infrastructure development and cultivating digital innovation ecosystems to advance economic and social development. Mr Sulmina's background is a blend of sharp diplomatic knowledge supported by deep academic and work experience in telecom and ISO standards. His strong interest in telecom and space technology and his path at the ITU, along with his academic research, highlight his deep understanding of the intersection between diplomacy and technology and how to combine these elements for the benefit of society.
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| Thiago Aguiar Soares
Chair of the ITU-R Study Group 6 (Broadcasting)
He holds an M.Sc. in Electrical Engineering from the University of Brasília (UnB), Brazil, and a postgraduate degree in Telecommunications Regulation from the National Institute of Telecommunications (INATEL). Thiago has extensive experience, having spent 12 years at the National Agency of Telecommunications (Anatel), where he coordinated key projects on digital television, digital radio, spectrum policies, broadcasting technical regulation, and IT systems implementation. Since 2020, he has served as the Head of Innovation & Regulation of Broadcasting Services at the Brazilian Ministry of Communications. In this role, he is responsible for developing public policies for the broadcasting sector, including strategies for the implementation of next-generation broadcasting systems and regulatory innovation. With over 15 years of international experience, Thiago represents the Brazilian government in international forums such as ITU-R, ITU-D, CITEL, and Mercosur, discussing issues related to the global harmonization and standardization of technologies for the broadcasting sector.
https://www.linkedin.com/in/thiago-soares-mc/
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| Dilmurod Dusmatov
Head of Spectrum Regulation Department, MDT, Uzbekistan;
Vice-Chair ITU-R Study Group 6 Dilmurod Dusmatov is a specialist in the analysis of international standards and norms of electromagnetic compatibility and the use of the radio frequency spectrum. He has 15 years of experience in the field of radiocommunications.
Since 2021, he has been secretary for coordination work on Republican Council on Radio Frequencies. In particular, coordinates work on the use of spectrum for broadcasting in the Republic of Uzbekistan. He participates in the study work on future UHF band planning at the national level. International experience includes the preparation period for the World Radiocommunication Conferences 2015, 2019, 2023. He was one of the main coordinators in the delegation of Uzbekistan at WRC-19 and WRC-23.
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Paul Gardiner
Acting Chair of the ITU-R Working Party 6B (Broadcast service assembly and access)
Paul Gardiner is Standards Manager in the Advanced Technology Team of European Professional Engineering, Sony Europe B.V. Paul graduated with a degree in Electronic Engineering at the University of Southampton before joining the UK Independent Broadcasting Authority in 1974. Roles in successor bodies Independent Television Commission and Ofcom have included television technical regulation and managing international collaborative research projects. Participating in the work of the ITU-R since the 1990s, he has led the Working Party 6C Rapporteur Group on High Dynamic Range Television (HDR TV) since early 2016. Later in the same year he was appointed Chair of Working Party 6B. Since joining Sony in 2007, Paul has also been an active participant in the SMPTE Standards Community and has chaired several of SMPTE’s Technology Committees. Paul is a Chartered Engineer and member of the Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET) and is a SMPTE Fellow. |
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David Hemingway
Senior Distribution Manager • BBC, 2008 – Present
Vice-Chair ITU-R Study Group 6 and Vice-Chair of ITU-R Working Party 6A
David represents the BBC on UK and international working groups on access to broadcasting spectrum, including at World Radio-communications Conferences. He also leads the BBC's spectrum policy work inside the UK and internationally.
Current Positions
Chair, EBU strategic programme on Spectrum Management since 2012, overseeing preparation of common broadcaster positions on spectrum matters of interest in the EU, CEPT and ITU. Vice-Chair, ITU-R Working Party 6A since 2016, chairing meetings and handling negotiations between stakeholders; drafting and editing texts for inclusion in ITU-R reports and recommendations. Co-editor of ITU-R handbook on digital television systems).
Previous Projects
Worked with Ofcom to redefine the UK's digital radio planning standards, providing a sound technical basis for the expansion of BBC and commercial DAB. Managed BBC's commercial relationships with digital radio service providers, including negotiations to define a roadmap towards a UK digital radio switchover Worked with consumer electronics and motor industry representatives to define broadcast radio receiver standards. From 2008 to 2012, worked on many aspects of the UK's digital TV switchover project, including devising the regionalised switchover timetable and developing the online coverage checker.
Previous Roles Senior
R&D Engineer • BBC (2002 – 2008)
Led the BBC's TV planning team in preparations for the digital TV switchover. Participated in the ITU Geneva-04 and 06 digital TV planning conferences. Developed radio planning software for use in bilateral and multilateral coordination meetings.
Field Manager • Nokia Networks (1999 – 2002)
Managed a radio planning team deployed across Europe, as well as leading customer-facing mobile network planning contracts.
Education
Bachelor of Science – Physics (HONS) • 1988 • University of York, UK
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| Roberto Hirayama
Co-Rapporteur ITU-D Study Group 1 Question 2/1
Roberto Mitsuake Hirayama, currently Advisor at the Regulations and Planning Department of Anatel (Brazilian Telecommunication Regulatory Agency), has lots of experience on the Telecom sector, having worked in telecom manufacturers, large and medium sized telecommunications operators and for 18 years at several departments of the Regulatory Agency (Anatel), especially on Planning and Regulation/Policy roles and in the discussions for the adoption of the Brazilian Digital Terrestrial Television System (SBTVD-T) and the discussion on the transition and analogue switch-off currently been performed in Brazil. In ITU, Roberto has been following ITU-T and ITU-D activities since 2008, both in the ITU-T in Study Groups 9 and 16, where he helped standardizing the IPTV/DTV middleware Ginga (H.761), alongside with R&D institutions of Brazil(PUC-Rio, UFJF, and UFPB) and also in ITU D in Study Group 1, where he is Vice-Chair for the Americas and Co-Rapporteur of Question 2/1.
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| Stanislas Kanvoli
Co-Rapporteur ITU-D Study Group 1 Question 2/1
Legal Manager, specialized in Telecommunications/ICT, with 19 years of experience in the sector. Executive of the Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (ARTCI), seconded to the Ministry of Digital Economy in 2020. In this capacity, is currently Technical Advisor to the Minister of Digital Economy in charge of regulation, legal affairs and reform. Previously Director of Legal Affairs and International Cooperation until 2022. In international affairs, was a member of the national committee for the transposition of ECOWAS/UEMOA community texts in 2010, and is a member of the UEMOA Task Force on the draft regulation on the digital economy in 2022. ITU Focal Point, former Vice-Rapporteur for Q6/1 of EC 1, delegate to CMDT-10, PP-10, PP-18, PP-22.
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| Nataša Kuzmanović
Vice-Rapporteur ITU-D Study Group 1 Question 2/1 and Question 1/1
Ms. Nataša Kuzmanović has more than 20 years of unique mix of experience and expertise in the electronic-communications and broadcasting regulation, international relations, project management and strategic development. Having been employed by the Communications Regulatory Agency of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Ms. Kuzmanović has been engaged on different assignments ranging from the ex-ante market analysis and SMP regulation in line with the EU Regulatory Framework, developing reports and studies, as well as monitoring the market. Ms. Kuzmanović was also a member of the Digital Terrestrial Television (DTT) Forum of BiH, an expert body founded by the government to lunch digital terrestrial broadcasting in Bosnia and Herzegovina, participating in the Working Group for Social and Economic Aspects of the introduction of DTT. Furthermore, Ms. Kuzmanović has a long-term international experience gained through representing the Agency in the Contact Network of the Body of European Regulators of Electronic Communications (BEREC), as well as holding the position of member of the Permanent Secretariat of the Euro-Mediterranean Regulators Group (EMERG). As of 2022 Ms. Kuzmanović has been following IT -D Study Group 1 holding a position of Vice-Rapporteur for Question 1/1 and Question 2/1.
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| Paolo Lazzarini Vice-Chair ITU-R Study Group 6
Born in Rome 28th July 1971, married three children.
Nationality: Italian
Education 2001 University of Rome” La Sapienza” Electronic Engineering master's degree 2002 Engineer qualification at the University of Rome “Roma Tre”. 2014, 2016, 2018 ITU World Radiocommunication Seminar Professional Experience 2017 – now Dicasterium Pro Communicatione Head of Radio Communication Division 2008 – 2017 Vatican Radio Head of the Antenna Maintenance dep. 2004 – 2017 Vatican Radio Technical Director’s Assistant - Vice head of the Short-Wave Transmitting Centre “Santa Maria di Galeria”. 2000 – 2004 Vatican Radio Member of the IT dep.
International Experience ITU
Plenipotentiary Conference 2022 Delegate 2018 Deputy head of Vatican delegation World Radiocommunication Conference 2023 Delegate 2019 Head of Vatican delegation 2015, 2012 Deputy Head of Vatican delegation Radio Assembly 2023 Delegate 2019, 2015, 2012, 2007 Head of Vatican delegation Radio Advisory Group
2010 – now Head of Vatican Delegation Study Groups and Working Parties 2019 – present Vice-Chair of ITU Study Group 6 “Broadcasting service”
2015 – 2023 Vice Chairman of Working Party 6A “Terrestrial broadcasting delivery”
2008 – present Head of Vatican Delegation at ITU-R Study Group 6 meetings
2012 – 2015 Head of Vatican Delegation at the JTG-4567 meetings
High Frequency Coordination Conferences (HFCC)
2004 – 2015 Member of the Vatican Radio delegation
EBU/UER Expert member of the groups B/LMS, B/SMC, Spectrum Technical Liaison Officer for Vatican Radio at EBU/UER Multilateral Frequency coordination meetings Member of the Vatican Delegation in many coordination meetings with neighboring countries.
Publications Contributor to the following ITU-R documentation: Rec. ITU-R BS/BT.1698-1 “Evaluating electromagnetic fields from terrestrial broadcasting transmitting systems to assess human exposure to non-ionizing emissions” Report ITU-R BT.2140 “Transition from analogue to digital terrestrial broadcasting” Report ITU-R BS.2144 “Planning parameters and coverage for Digital Radio Mondiale (DRM) broadcasting at frequencies below
30 MHz” Report ITU-R BS.2251 “Digital Radio Mondiale in the 26 MHz band (25 670-26 100 kHz)” Report ITU-R BS.2384 “Implementation considerations for the introduction and transition to digital terrestrial sound and multimedia broadcasting”. Articles: P. Lazzarini, Vice-Chair of ITU-R Study Group 6 (Broadcasting Service), D. Ratkaj, Senior Project Manager, European Broadcasting Union (EBU) “In radio we trust: The role of technical standards” - ITU World Radio Day 2022. P. Lazzarini, Vice-Chair of ITU-R Study Group 6; D. Hemingway, Vice-Chair of ITU-R Working Party 6A; and B. Poor, Project Manager at the European Broadcasting Union “Radio’s key role in crisis and emergency situation” - ITU World Radio Day 2021.
Languages
Italian (mother tongue), English (fluent), French (basic), Latin (school).
Skills Profile As member of the IT department, many competences were acquired in the field of the information technology applied to the back-office services and in the industrial automation field. Developer of the SQL based software platform “AutoSuono” used in Santa Maria di Galeria for automatic FTP download and playout of audio clips from external partners.
As assistant of the Director of the Transmitting division competences were developed on project management and RF operations on Transmitters and Antennas operating in the MW, SW, VHF and UHF frequency bands. Responsible of many field strength measurements campaigns in the MW, SW, VHF and UHF frequency bands with the purpose of evaluation of human exposure to Non-Ionizing Radiations.
Leader of many projects for rebuilding, upgrade and modification of short waves transmitters.
Responsible of the extraordinary maintenance and upgrade of the SW Rotatable Antenna “2” installed in the Transmitting Center “Santa Maria di Galeria” (Rail maintenance, rebuild and upgrade of the aperiodic reflector). Responsible of the DAB network planning, antenna design and of system implementation. Broadcast network planning and international frequency coordination are normal part of the job activity. Responsible of the application by Vatican City State of provisions of Resolution 559 (WRC-19) for replanning of the orbit segment / frequency assignments.
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| Chuanyang Miao
ITU-T Study Group 16 Question 13 Acting Rapporteur, ITU | Chief Standard Engineer of Future network, Wireline Product Planning Dept, ZTE Corporation, China
Chuanyang Miao, as the chief standard engineer of future network and multimedia service team in Wireline Product Planning Department in ZTE Corporation, is responsible for technical and standard pre-search of multimedia application, content distribution & delivery, and future networking. He began participating in ITU-T SG 16 in 2008 and serves as the Acting Rapporteur of ITU-T SG16 Q13 “Content delivery, multimedia application platforms and end systems for IP-based TV services including digital signage" from 2017 and has made continuous contributions to promoting international standardization of multimedia service content delivery, especially in IPTV and OTT TV. He is the main Editor and contributor of H.644 series Recommendations which are the specifications related to the multimedia content delivery based on IP network and future network environment.
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| Satoshi Miyaji
Chair, ITU-T Study Group 9; General Manager, KDDI Corporation, Tokyo, Japan
Dr Miyaji has a long history of participating in the ITU-T SG9 (“television and sound transmission, and integrated broadband cable") almost for twenty five (25) years as an expert of broadcasting and telecommunications particularly for cable television networks and services. He served as Vice-Chair of SG9 and Chair of WP1/9 for eight (8) years in 2009 - 2016. At the WTSA-16 (General Assembly of ITU-T), he has been appointed as Chairman of SG9 for the Study Period 2017-2021, and continues to serve for the current Study Period 2022-2024. He works for KDDI Corporation, Japan, and he had been in charge of development of cable TV set-top box with Android OS capability for 2008 – 2014 which was also standardized as ITU-T J.295 and J.296, and had been responsible for entertainment content delivery business such as video streaming, music distribution, e-books, live concert, etc. for 2015-2022. Since 2023, he has been responsible for developing the company's technology development strategy and research and development strategy as Deputy General Manager of Technology Strategy Division, KDDI Corporation.
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Elena Puigrefagut Coarasa
Senior Project Manager, European Broadcasting Union (EBU); Vice-Chair ITU-R Study Group 6
Elena Puigrefagut Coarasa, Senior Project Manager at the European Broadcasting Union, co‑ordinates joint technical activities undertaken by EBU Members on frequency planning and spectrum management and regulation and, in particular, frequency planning studies for terrestrial broadcasting systems. She represents the EBU in a number of international committees as the CEPT, EC and ITU including ITU World Radiocommunication Conferences.
Prior to joining the EBU, Elena worked at Eutelsat, a global satellite operator, as a frequency planning engineer in the Operations Department. During this period, she was responsible for the planning of the satellites that supported the launch of digital TV across Europe in the mid-1990s.
Elena holds a Master's degree in Image and Sound (ENST, Paris) and a M.Sc. in Telecommunications Engineering (Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya, ETSETB Barcelona).
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Andy Quested
Acting Chair ITU-R Working Party 6C; Lead EBU QC Group,
European Broadcasting Union (EBU)
Andy Quested started working for the BBC in 1978 becoming a video-tape editor in 1985 where he worked on many comedy, children's and documentary series. Moving to a new technology department he, worked on introducing non-linear editing, stereo, widescreen, the BBC's first HD programme Planet Earth I and the first UHD programme, Planet Earth II. Andy has been a Rapporteur for ITU Working Party 6C investigating the use of 3DTV, the Global Broadcasting Platform and image quality. He is a Co-Chair of the joint group on Accessibility and has chaired several Rapporteur Groups including the group that developed the High Dynamic Range (HDR‑TV) Recommendation which was awarded a technical Emmy in 2023. In 2015 he became chair of Working Party 6C itself where he initiated new areas of study on Advanced Immersive Sensory Media Systems, Artificial Intelligence and Energy Aware Broadcasting as applied to content production and international programme exchange. In WP 6B, Andy led the group formalizing the use of componentized content creation that led to a new Recommendation. Andy left the BBC at the end of 2020 but is still leading standards work in the ITU and EBU. He is also an active member of SMPTE, becoming a Fellow in 2014 for work relating to standards.
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