WOMEN WILL BE MORE PRESENT THAN EVER AT THE ‘5G FORUM 23’

• Of the 40 speakers, more than 20% are top international women.

• Multinationals from Europe, America and Asia with a presence in more than 135 countries meet at the 5G Forum in Seville to discuss 5G and 6G.

• Technology giants such as Orange, Telefónica, Vodafone, Ericsson, Capgemini Engineering, Rohde & Schwarz, Viavi Solutions, Minsait, Netmetrix, OFG, Vantage Towers, ZTE and Huawei will be the protagonists at the 5G Forum 2023.

Two months after the multitudinous Mobile World Congress (MWC), the world’s leading technology multinationals will meet in Seville on May 8 to analyze, in a much more “feminine and relaxed” atmosphere, the advances in 5G and 6G that have already been activated in more than 135 countries on five continents.

The agenda of the 5G Forum in Seville, which has been published today, has more than 20% of female speakers, which contrasts positively with the rest of technological events around the world, which barely have female engineers and scientists in their panels and relevant papers.

The ‘5G Forum 2023’, which is being held from May 8 to 12 in Seville, with two face-to-face sessions at the Seville Conference and Exhibition Center (FIBES), and three other virtual ones, has been bringing together the leading national experts in 5G and 6G technology since 2018 uninterruptedly (despite the pandemic).

This “boutique” event has stood out for providing its participants with a multidisciplinary and specific vision on the new 5G and 6G technology,.

Thanks to the trust of more than 20 sponsors (the vast majority private), the 5G Forum has created an independent meeting space where multinationals and experts present their news and projects in a more relaxed and exclusive way than at the MWC in Barcelona.

In the 2023 edition, the major operators, at the proposal of the organizer Medina Media Events, are betting that women specialized in 5G technology will be their representatives at the event.

Telefónica will be present with Leonor Ostos, Innovation Manager. With more than 10 years of experience in this Spanish company, she will analyze the present and future of 5G and its impact on digital transformation.

Vodafone will bring two women to Seville: Fini Irles and Irene Velasco. Fini Irles, Head of Network Engineering at Vodafone, will propose to continue “Innovating beyond 5G”, with complementary approaches to be able to reach remote and rural environments more efficiently and quickly thanks to Open RAN, and the joint initiative with AST and the use of 5G in a box prototype satellites that will democratize accessibility.

Irene Velasco is Senior Open RAN Engineer at Vodafone and will talk about Open RAN and the future of mobile networks, a field in which she is an expert with a Master’s degree in Telecommunications Engineering and more than 10 years of experience in mobile networks.

Several Spanish companies have also selected female representatives for their presentations at the 5G Forum 2023, such as the Galician company Gsertel, with Maura Outeiral, 5G Technical Product Manager.

Outeiral will talk about its new product line for 5G measurement and analysis. In the midst of change and budget cuts, the rise of new standardized technologies and cost-effective solutions that take into account the competitive and regulatory pressures of the market is key in the telephony industry.

Cristina Peñas, Commercial Director, will represent Axión at the 5G Forum. During her speech she will explain the Sevillian company’s point of view towards this technology. Axión is one of the references in the management of telecommunications infrastructures in Spain.

The European Broadcasting Union (EBU) will take the floor through Elena Puigrefagut, Senior Project Manager of the European Public Broadcasting Union, more popularly known for the Eurovision music contest.

In her speech, Puigrefagut will present a series of innovative projects they are currently working on, such as 5G Broadcast, which is already standardized as a broadcasting technology, or the 5G Emerge, which is developing a system that combines satellite with the flexibility of 5G, and future generations, so that anywhere, no matter how remote, and in the most efficient way citizens have access to the audiovisual content they want.

María Medina, General Manager of Medina Media Events, organizer of the 5G Forum, will make the official presentation of EL OBSERVATORIO, under the slogan “Observe and Connect”, a new concept of New Technologies Platform, which combines the daily information of digital newspapers, a VIP Networking -like Linkedin-, permanent access to the presentations -like Netflix-, and a new advertising support that allows the messages of the companies to remain alive 24/365 and much more.

International multinationals in this sixth edition

The level of the participating companies makes this sixth edition one of the most international held since 2018. And is that it encompasses the participation of multinationals from the three major continents: Europe, America and Asia.

From Europe: Orange, Telefónica, Vodafone, Ericsson, Capgemini, Rohde & Schwarz, Minsait, Netmetrix, OFG, Vantage Towers, Nokia, RTVE, Gsertel, Hispasat and Axión. From the Americas, Viavi Solutions and Tesla will be present, and finally, from Asia, ZTE and Huawei will be the protagonists.

The French company Orange will be represented by Javier Olveira, Presales Director of Orange Spain. In his presentation he will explain how the different private networks that exist in 5G are today. Also, in one of the virtual days, Orange will present a panel on the Metaverse.

Germán Martín, Applications Engineer at Germany’s Rohde & Schwarz, will review standards and regulatory roadmaps, as well as areas of study that could form the basis of 6G. He will also explore the possible use of sub-THz frequencies for wireless data transmission. Another interesting presentation will be given by Juan de Miguel, Head of Strategy and Technology Innovation, also from Europe, Vantage Towers. He will discuss everything related to indoor coverage and Small Cells.

Another French multinational, Capgemini Engineering, Sweden’s Ericsson and Finland’s Nokia will also showcase their latest technological advances, giving substance to the concept of “European Technological Sovereignty”, which aims to maintain technological leadership over the advances of China, Taiwan, Korea, Japan and the United States.

Jaime Ruiz, Innovation Manager at Nokia, will present Network as Code, a versatile and multi-sectoral tool that is very economical, which facilitates the developers of applications in 5G and B5G networks, under the name of Network as Code.

From the United States, Viavi Solutions will be in Seville with Genís Sánchez, EMEA PLM Director, Wireless Test, who will talk about safe electromagnetic radiation in 5G, as well as new verification methods.

From Asia, the Chinese multinational Huawei did not want to miss its appointment at the 5G Forum 2023. The company’s 5G Solution Architecture expert, Miguel Barroso, will take stock of 5.5G and how it may evolve towards 6G in the future. Also ZTE, Victor Pascual, CTO in Spain and Portugal, will tell the latest developments on this technology, emphasizing the sustainability of its solutions. 

Leading Spanish companies at the 5G Forum

In addition to the presentation by Leonor Ostos, on behalf of Telefónica, Juan Cambeiro, Head of 5G Customer Innovation, will give the keys to the future of 5G with StandAlone and Millimetrics, all from the customer’s point of view.

Minsait will also be present at 5G Forum 23 with Daniel García Manteiga, Director Products and Business Development for Telco & Media. In his presentation he will talk about solutions for private networks, both in 5G and 6G, using Data and Artificial Intelligence.

Pablo Álvarez, CEO of Netmetrix, will give a presentation on the importance of testing in 5G. The improvement that 5G has brought over previous generations of mobile networks enables new applications and use cases, such as the Internet of Things (IoT), autonomous driving and remote medical care. However, to ensure that 5G networks work properly and deliver the intended user experience, rigorous testing is essential.

Sergio Ceresuela, OFG’s Director of Business Development, will explain to the audience the path this company is developing with end-to-end solutions for the deployment of 5G networks. OFG is an international group with more than 22 years of experience in the telecommunications sector, providing comprehensive services to meet the needs of its customers, among which are mainly operators.

Also, Hispasat, a Spanish communications satellite operator that offers coverage in America, Europe and North Africa, will be present at the 5G Forum 2023. José Luis Serrano, Innovation and Product Strategy Manager, will be in charge of talking about Smart5GSATs.

RTVE, through Urbano García, Director of Innovation and Digital, will reflect on “RTVE, facing the challenge of 5G and AI”. Also from RTVE will be Pere Vila, president of the association UHD Spain, who will talk about the possibilities of Ultra High Definition transmission through 5G.

On the other hand, the researcher and professor at the Polytechnic University of Valencia, and Director of the Institute of Telecommunications and Multimedia Applications (iTEAM), Narcís Cardona, will present the reasons why it is necessary to have a sixth generation in the world of telecommunications and what significant changes it can bring.

Another keynote speaker will be the CEO and founder of Sateliot, Jaume Sanpera. This Spanish company has launched the first satellite in space history under the 5G standard that will serve to connect IoT devices automatically when they have no coverage.

National and international associations will also be protagonists in this edition. Jordi J. Giménez, Chief Technology Officer of 5G-MAG, will give the keys to 5G media. Carles Antón-Haro, Governing Board Member of 6G-IA / JU-SNS, will address the first set of reflections and strategic recommendations for the development of 6G intelligent networks and services. Finally, José Otero, Vice President of 5G Americas for Latin America and the Caribbean, will speak about the challenges of 5G for Latin America.

The sixth edition of the 5G Forum, organized by Medina Media Events, is promoted by Sevilla City Office and Fibes, and is supported by Orange, Telefónica, Viavi Solutions, Ericsson, Capgemini Engineering, Rohde & Schwarz, Minsait, Netmetrix, OFG, ZTE, Huawei, Vantage Towers, Vodafone, Nokia, Gsertel, Hispasat, Axión and Impulsa Visión RTVE, among others.