At Ofcom we recognise that wireless connectivity is becoming part of your digital transformation, whether that is at home, at work or while you are travelling.

As the UK's communications and media regulator, we strive hard to ensure that we enable modern telecommunications infrastructure across the country, in both rural and urban communities so that the benefits of this digital transformation can be felt evenly across the country.

Achieving that can become a challenge as an increasing number of sectors compete to use similar frequencies. We are, however, exploring new ways to share spectrum and to mitigate the risk of interference between different users.

The UN's International Telecommunications Union globally harmonises frequencies every four years through the World Radiocommunications Conferences. However, given the pace of change within the tech community, some have argued that this process may be too slow.

We would therefore like to set three 'grand challenges':

- How would you like to connect - at home, at work and while you travel? How can we improve these services, especially in rural communities and on transport nodes?

- How can we better manage our spectrum and mitigate interference between operators?

- How can we quickly enable new services without impacting existing users?

We look forward to bringing together a broad community to discuss these and other issues on 10th September, to share some of our recent initiatives and to hear how your sector is innovating through new technology and new ways of working.

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Spectrum - Mapping the Future

10th September 2019

0815 Registration

0845 Introduction

Sharon White, Chief Executive, Ofcom

0850 - 0915 Spectrum Management: New Horizons

Philip Marnick, Group Director Spectrum, Ofcom

0915-1015 New Sectors Going Wireless

Chair: Cristina Data, Director Spectrum Policy and Analysis, Ofcom

Opportunities and challenges for new sectors looking to adopt wireless technology

Derek Long, Head of Telecoms and Mobile, Cambridge Consultants

Understanding Rural Connectivity and Agritech

Dr David Crawford, 5G Projects Director, University of Strathclyde and Co-Chair RuralFirst

5G for Health and Social Care Delivery

Ann Williams, Commissioning and Contract Manager, Liverpool City Council

The Role of Government in Supporting Innovation

Melissa Giordano, Deputy Director Mobile and Spectrum, DCMS

1015-1045 Q&A

1045 Coffee

1115-1200 Spectrum Management Delivering Social Benefits

Chair: Tony Lavender, Chief Executive Officer, Plum Consulting

Spectrum Sharing: Supporting Innovation

Helen Hearn, Director Spectrum Management and Authorisation, Ofcom

Implications of Broadcasting Trends for Spectrum Management

Graham Plumb, Director Spectrum Broadcasting, Ofcom

Mitigating Interference in an Increasingly Dynamic and Congested Environment

Armelle Boisset, Director Spectrum Engineering, Ofcom

1200-1230 Q&A

1230 Lunch

1315-1400 Spectrum Management in a Changing World

Chair: Justin Moore, Head of Spectrum Strategy & Space, Spectrum Group Ofcom

Conditions to Maximise the Benefits from Wireless Innovation

Simon Saunders, Head of Connectivity Partnerships, EMEA, Google

Enabling Access for Innovative Users: A US Approach

Julius Knapp, Chief of Rules and Policy Division, Office of Engineering and Technology, Federal Communications Commission

Wireless Disruptors and Implications for Spectrum Management

Dean Bubley, Disruptive Analysis

1400-1430 Q&A

1430-1500 Coffee

1500-1600 Considerations for International Spectrum Management

Chair: Chris Woolford, Director Spectrum, International, Ofcom

Jonas Wessel, Chair, Radio Spectrum Policy Group and Director, Resource Management Department, PTS

Paris Mashile, Councillor, ICASA

Hema Remnani, Director Policy for Technology & Resilience, Infocom Media Development Authority

Andy Hudson, Independent Consultant

1600-1630 Q&A

1630-1700 Final Keynote

Philip Marnick, Group Director Spectrum, Ofcom

1700 End of Conference