IEEE 5G World Forum (WF-5G)

Thursday, 14 October 2021

Program Outline
5G and its extensions (i.e., B5G) have unleashed significant entrepreneurial, innovation, and investment opportunities the world over. It is generally entrepreneurial pioneers and startups who take the risk with new and innovative technologies, products and services. The Entrepreneurship and Innovations Forum (EIF) is created to actively promote the engagement of entrepreneurs and young businesses in pioneering innovation in 5G/B5G, and to stimulate vibrant discussions on how 5G/B5G would improve and evolve with time as technologies mature to deliver its full potential.

This year, we have collaborated with IEEE Entrepreneurship to present two panels. The first will be a live panel of venture capital experts on 5G investment; the second is a pre-recorded panel on entrepreneurship in the 5G and broadcast industries.

We also assemble presentations from a number of startups at different stages to present and showcase their evolutionary or revolutionary technological or/and business developments in the 5G space.

5G Investors Panel – Live panel discussion – 1 hour
Abstract: In this session IEEE Entrepreneurship will present with TandemLaunch, a global startup foundry. TandemLaunch works with aspiring entrepreneurs to build companies around university technologies. TandemLaunch will talk about how their model has developed businesses that will leverage our 5G future. Their portfolio companies, Latys and HaiLa Technologies, will talk about their technology and how it will impact 5G.

Moderator: Joanne Wong
Participants:

• Omar Zahr, Director of Technology & Principal Scientist, TandemLaunch Inc
• Artmiz Golkaramnay, Co-Founder & Product Lead, Latys
• Gursimran Singh Sethi, Co-Founder & Technical Lead, Latys
• Derek Kuhn , CEO, HaiLa Technologies

Metawave Presentation – Future of Connected Autonomous Vehicles in 5G powered Smart Cities
Abstract: It is a matter of time when the need for secure low-latency and higher network capacity at the edge is critical with the emerging advent of Manufacturing 4.0, telehealth, remote learning and training, and autonomous transportation of goods and people to exponentially explore experientially during these unprecedented times due to pandemic evolution. Hence, current cellular and WLAN networks will face a firewall to address such needs unless high-capacity and low-latency mmWave 5G networks are deployed effectively, economically, and most importantly while lowering their carbon footprints. Metawave has pioneered the only all-passive, wire-free, and zero-delay relays “KLONE reflectors” and all-analog low-power and low-latency active “TURBO repeaters” that were successfully tested by top telcos worldwide given their lowest-cost solution, enhanced speed, wider coverage, and broader bandwidth spectrum to meet global geographical needs.

Presenter: Maha Achour, CEO, CTO, Founder

Dynamic and distributed 5G Networks to enable new services
Abstract: Operators realize the benefits of bringing IT network like agility in the telecom network infrastructure; they are spending a significant amount of money moving their networks to virtualized and cloud-native infrastructure. Market dynamics are changing with increasing internet Data demands for streaming video, and operators need to bring data closer to the edge. With the recent COVID-19 situation, a new normal is evolving where more and more organizations will allow people to work from home; remote education and telehealth are becoming essential. Data will become more distributed and less centralized.

With new technology introduction, i.e., 4G, 5G, WiFi, and 6G, the Cost of network evolution and transformation will be high in the short term. Still, it will give long-term cost savings; it will also generate new revenue streams. With the current trends, there will be several private networks, i.e., many small networks needing seamless interconnect with various large networks, both wireless and wireline. It will mix different public cloud vendors and private clouds hence a very heterogeneous network environment. There will be many new applications and services coming into the network. To deliver those applications with the desired quality of service, we need to rethink the 5G network architecture.

Presenter: Kaitki Agarwal, co-founder, President, and CTO at A5G Networks

Evolution of Central Cloud to Hybrid Edge Cloud in a Hyper-Connected World
Abstract – We are in the midst of a historical transition from mobile internet to a hyper-connected world. Billions of devices and apps have to process data and communicate instantly and as directly as possible. We need to ensure much higher data privacy, lower capital and operational costs, better resiliency and immunity to poor network conditions. We are further challenged to support a multitude of incompatible operating systems and malicious privacy and security attacks. Last best not least, we need to lower energy consumption and the carbon footprint. In this new world, hundreds of billions of smart devices, apps, and processes will transform almost all industries through automation and personalization. In a hyper-connected world, digital intersects with every aspect of the physical space. Therefore, digital solutions should mimic and complement the interactions in the physical space. We need to transition from a world dominated by vertical apps connected through central cloud to one where these apps communicate seamlessly and directly. In this presentation, we will present how hybrid edge cloud can help fulfill this vision to create a more sustainable hyper connected internet.

Presenter: Sam Armani, Senior VP of Business Development at mimik Technology, Inc.

Enabling mmWave 5G Through Antenna, IC, Packaging and Algorithm Innovations
Abstract: The promise of the ultra-high bandwidths and ultra-low latencies of 5G will be delivered by millimeter-wave technology. While early deployments of millimeter-wave are underway, there are still several challenge to overcome, including the limited range and robustness of millimeter-wave links, and the cost and thermal challenges of current hardware solutions. This talk will cover MixComm’s recent innovations that range from Antennas through ICs and Packaging to Algorithms that provide a holistic solution to these problems, and enable practical and successful millimeter-wave deployments.

Presenter: Harish Krishnaswamy (Senior Member, IEEE) received the B.Tech. degree in electrical engineer- ing from IIT Madras, Chennai, India, in 2001, and the M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in electrical engineering from the University of Southern California (USC), Los Angeles, CA, USA, in 2003 and 2009, respectively.
In 2009, he joined the Electrical Engineering Department, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA, where he is currently an Associate Professor and the Director of the Columbia High-Speed and Millimeter-Wave IC Laboratory (CoSMIC). In 2017, he co-founded MixComm Inc., Chatham, NJ, USA, a venture-backed start-up, to com- mercialize CoSMIC Laboratory’s advanced wireless research. His research interests include integrated devices, circuits, and systems for a variety of RF, millimeter-wave (mmWave), and sub-mmWave applications.
Dr. Krishnaswamy was a recipient of the IEEE International Solid-State Circuits Conference Lewis Winner Award for Outstanding Paper in 2007, the Best Thesis in Experimental Research Award from the USC Viterbi School of Engineering in 2009, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency Young Faculty Award in 2011, the 2014 IBM Faculty Award, the Best Demo Award at the 2017 IEEE ISSCC, the best student paper awards at the 2015, 2018, and 2020 IEEE Radio Frequency Integrated Circuits Symposium and the 2020 IEEE International Microwave Symposium, the 2021 IEEE MTT-S Microwave Magazine Best Paper Award, and the 2019 IEEE MTT-S Outstanding Young Engineer Award. He has been a member of the technical program committee of several conferences, including the IEEE International Solid-State Circuits Conference since 2015 and the IEEE Radio Frequency Integrated Circuits Symposium since 2013. He has also served as a Distinguished Lecturer for the IEEE Solid-State Circuits Society and is a member for the DARPA Microelectronics Exploratory Council.

Pioneering World’s First 5G Software Programmable Base Station-on-a-Chip
Abstract: The current 5G ecosystem is an architectural dichotomy of closed, vertically-integrated approaches versus an open virtualized radio access networks (ORAN). As many look to 5G as the lingua franca of connectivity for the next trillion of devices, hyperconnectivity at the edge will impact the fluidity, scalability, and openness of the 5G infrastructure. Traditional closed solutions will be challenged to service the new wave of 5G systems and applications. And the cloud and network infrastructure will need to be reconstituted so that new edge devices can converge connectivity and compute in real-time.
As such, the building blocks from baseband processing to base station architecture to the cellular stack all need to be disaggregated and virtualized, much in a manner that is openly configurable and programmable. We will cover the starting point of all wireless infrastructure – the baseband SoC. We will cover how a programmable 5G SoC can scale with evolving infrastructural demands across small cells and RU/DU base stations, with virtualized layers of the cellular stack.

Presenter: Feng Kan is the head of Platform Software at EdgeQ. He is a veteran embedded systems developer, kernel developer, and CPU enthusiast. Prior to EdgeQ, he spent 10+ years at Ampere and Applied Micro launching and developing multiple generations of 64-bit ARM v8 server processors. Feng started his embedded developer career at network giant companies Nortel and Tellabs, where he worked on various RTOS solutions. In his current role at EdgeQ, he heads all platform software development activities which cover applications engineering, benchmarking and testing, optimization, and development. He holds a computer engineering degree from the University of Alberta and currently resides in California’s Silicon Valley.

Entrepreneurship in 5G and Broadcast Technologies – pre-recorded panel – 45 minutes
Abstract: In this session presenters will discuss the factors that cause startups/products to fail in the 5G space with a specific focus on technical challenges, best practices and possibilities for improvement. We will hear case studies into the various phases of innovation and product development and learn about the circumstances that contribute to the high and lows of entrepreneurship in the 5G and broadcast industries.

Moderator: TBD
Participants: TBD

IEEE Entrepreneurship: A Glimpse into 5G and the Future – pre-recorded panel – 30 minutes
Abstract: As rapid download speeds, ultra-low latency communication, and seamless connectivity take hold in cities around the world, tech entrepreneurs will have more opportunities than ever before to make an impact with technologies such as VR and AR, industrial IoT, autonomous vehicles, drones, and medical devices, etc.
5G will unlock new opportunities in every space from healthcare to transportation and from agriculture to manufacturing industries and others. These industries will be significantly more capable of innovation and growth as 5G networks and beyond take shape.

Presenter: Mahbubul Alam, Chief Marketing & Business Development Officer, DIMAAG-AI, Inc.
A frequent author, speaker, and multiple patent holder, Mahbubul Alam has developed a reputation as an executive who drives quick change and achieves success. He is currently Chief Marketing and Business Development Officer of DIMAAG-AI, Inc. DIMAAG-AI provides adaptive self-healing advanced AI platform and solutions for industries and service providers. DIMAAG-AI’s mission is to democratize “AI-for-Everything”. Alam is also CEO of SmartAvatar and VehicleAvatar doing business as TrustedMobi. SmartAvatar provides an intelligent trusted digital services platform for the Internet of Things (IoT) and TrustedMobi provides a trustworthy mobility service platform for the transportation industry.
Previously, he was CTO and CMO of Movimento Group, where he reinvented the company starting in 2015, turning it into the top vendor in Over-The-Air (OTA) software updates for the automotive industry leading to an acquisition in 2017 by international pacesetter Aptiv PLC formerly known as Delphi Automotive PLC.
Prior to joining Movimento, Alam spent 14 productive years as a technologist and strategist at Cisco on two continents. He began in the mobile technology arena, later working in a variety of business development and market intelligence capacities in Cisco’s Netherlands operation. Having developed a solid name in the company for far-sighted, winning strategies, he was brought to Silicon Valley to head up Cisco’s Internet-of-Things (IoT) and Machine-to-Machine (M2M) platforms in 2012.
After coming to California, he proceeded to create a series of now-renowned products and businesses at Cisco. The flagship 4G LTE multi-service router, the IoT edge-cloud gateway, the next-generation Integrated Services Router (ISR), Enterprise Mobility Solutions, and more. Alam grew the company’s M2M business from nothing to $350 million in four years. Along the way, he also helped initiate the company’s smart connected car roadmap and created several successful internal startups such as IoT vertical solutions for the transportation, manufacturing, and mining industries

Speaker Bios

Maha Achour, PhD
CEO, CTO, Founder
Forbes 50 Over 50: Vision List

Maha is a senior leader with more than 25 years’ experience in both public, defense, and startup companies in semiconductor and wireless RF and optical communication and sensing systems. She combines her strong background in technology with her leadership, business and marketing skills. As Metawave’s founder, she was recently recognized on the Forbes 50 Over 50: Vision List for her bold thinking, determination and impact in the fields of science and technology. Maha also serves as Chairwoman on the board for Glass Dyenamics. Previously, Maha served as co-founder and CTO of Rayspan, Dir of Adv Technology at SDRC (Boeing), and Dir of Adv Technology of Optical access where she pioneered the first broadcast HDTV system over satellite, mm-wave/Free-Space Optical systems for last mile connectivity, and led various DARPA projects in wireless MIMO and Optical devices. She holds a doctorate degree in Physics from Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), has authored over 35 publications, and holds more than 75 granted patents and over 150 pending applications.

Kaitki Agarwal is the co-founder, President, and CTO at A5G Networks. Before A5G Networks, Kaitki was the Chief product officer at Parallel Wireless and led product and operations. Kaitki co-founded Parallel Wireless in 2012. She led the disruption of the traditional RAN market with Open RAN movement. She Established global operations in the US, India, UK, and Israel and grew the team to 500+.

She created a culture of innovation and has 50+ patents pending and granted.
Before founding Parallel Wireless, Kaitki was at Starent Networks. She led the multimedia team and architecture for various packet gateways and VoLTE products and led customer engagements with several customers wins.

Kaitki has a strong track record of innovation and leading disruptions. She led CS voice to VoIP disruption at CedarPoint communications and Excel Switching that went IPO, followed by acquisition by Lucent. Kaitki holds MBA from Babson College and BS in computer science from IIT Roorkee.

Sam Armani is the Senior Vice President of Business Development at mimik Technology, Inc. She is an experienced executive in the software technology sector. She brings a diverse skill set and expertise to mimik, including sales, business strategy, product management, and engineering. She has been with the company from an early stage and has made significant contributions to the development of the company and its products.

Prior to joining mimik in 2010, she held key leading positions at startups Mobidia and L3 Technology and before that she was with Sage Software. At Mobidia, Sam was part of a leading sales team, worked closely with the sales and engineering teams internally and held a key customer facing position focused on delivering network optimization solutions to large mobile operators. At Sage she held various positions including leading a product specialists’ team and delivering the right business software solutions to the business partners channel.

Sam holds degree in Electro Mechanical Engineering from University of British Columbia (UBC) in Vancouver, Canada.

Joanne Wong is General Partner of REDDS Capital, a Californian-based VC firm investing in global early-stage & seed-level IT startups. She has worked with IBM, HP, SAP, and Cisco in multiple technical, market development, and strategic investments positions. She is a mentor/advisor for multiple startups.

Joanne is Co-Founder/CEO of a health startup, SciosHub, providing a unified data and project management platform for life science researchers. She was Executive Director of a healthcare charity startup, The SuperComputer for Cancer Research, providing free green access to high-performance computational resources for cancer researchers. She has had startups in 3D simulations for learning.

Joanne will be the 2022 Chair of IEEE Entrepreneurship. She is Member at Large (2021) and was Vice Chair, Industry & Investor Activities (2020) of IEEE Entrepreneurship. She was Secretary, IEEE TEMS Executive Committee and Board of Governors (2019 to 2021).

Entrepreneurship and Innovations Forum Co-Chairs:

Sudhir Dixit IEEE Future Network Initiative

Titus Lo Wireless Technologist