Agenda

The agenda and speakers will continue to be updated through June 2026, so please check back for the latest.

Opening session

Registration

8:00 – 9:00

Registration and welcome coffee

9:00 – 9:15

Welcome and intro to the conference

Simon Fletcher

Chief Strategy Officer, SCF

Session 1: The expanding small cells ecosystem – an industry in growth

Keynote

9:15 – 9:45

Putting neutral host at the centre of the next-generation network

Abdulrahman Al Moaiqel

Chief Commercial Officer, TAWAL

Speaker

9:45 – 10:05

Small cell market analysis for 2026-2031 – how to capitalize on growth forecasts

Caroline Gabriel

Industry Analyst and SCF Content Director

Speaker

10:05 – 10:25

Planning and deploying small cell networks of the future

Michael Thompson

Head of Mobile Access Strategy, VMO2

Panel Discussion

10:25 – 10:55

Best-case or worst-case? The critical decisions shaping small cell deployment through 2030

Mod

Monica Paolini

Founder and Analyst, Senza Fili

Caroline Gabriel

Industry Analyst and SCF Content Director

Michael Thompson

Head of Mobile Access Strategy, VMO2

Güven Topcu

Radio Network Technology Principal, Turkcell

Break

10:55 – 11:10

Morning coffee break and networking

Session 2: Connectivity blueprints for public places – from planning to reality

Keynote

11:10 – 11:30

Neutral host outdoor – providing seamless, multi-operator connectivity to public places

Lance Bamford

Senior Director Advanced Technology, ANDREW

Speaker

11:30 – 11:50

Connected cities and towns: Practical deployment models for urban small cells

Speaker

11:50 – 12:10

Multi operator small cell for dense outdoor areas: Holy Mosque of Makkah case study

Dr. Khalid Al-Mashouq

CTO, ACES Group, CEO, ACES-NH

Panel Discussion

12:10 – 12:40

Public-private partnerships: Lessons from local authority deployment

Mod

Nick Wiggin

Partnerships Director, WIG

Matt Smith

Programme Manager RSPAWIR, Shropshire Council

Ada Lam

Senior Manager - Small Cells and Open RAN Product Design and Planning, BT Group

Neal Jones

Director of Smart Networks, Clarke Telecom

Break

12:40 – 13:40

Lunch and networking

Session 3: Next generation networks for venues – the new wave of connectivity for demand

Keynote

13:40 – 14:10

Stadiums and beyond: The shift to fully digital in-building wireless

Upendra Pingle

GM, Indoor Cellular Solutions, ANDREW

Panel Discussion

14:10 – 14:40

Digital infrastructure for smart venues and extended indoor/outdoor coverage

Ahmad Al-Deghaither

Senior Director - Infrastructure Design & Delivery, Qiddiya

Samuel Buttarelli

VP Sales, Indoor Cellular Networks, ANDREW

TAWAL

Fireside Chat

14:40 – 15:00

Always on: Delivering reliable indoor connectivity for property owners

Mod

Simon Fletcher

Chief Strategy Officer, SCF

TAWAL

Panel Discussion

15:00 – 15:30

The stadiums connectivity blueprint: lessons for large scale wireless deployments

Atef Aburas

Group COO and Co-founder, ACES

Richard Heseltine

Sales Director, SOLiD Technologies EMEA

Break

15:30 – 15:50

Afternoon coffee break and networking

Session 4: Open networks and sharing frameworks – are we nearly there?

Keynote

15:50 – 16:10

The right sharing option for every scenario - Open RAN/MOCN/MORAN

Shadi Sayed

VP, Head of Sales MENA, Rakuten

TAWAL

Speaker

16:10 – 16:30

Localized development of O-RAN compliant small cells: A neutral host perspective on multi-operator indoor networks

Ali Ahmed

R&D Manager, ACES

Panel Discussion

16:30 – 17:10

The open RAN and open source eco-system discussion: with O-RAN ALLIANCE, Open Air Interface and Small Cell Forum

Mod

Dr. Prabhakar Chitrapu

Chair, SCF

Irfan Ghauri

O-RAN OSFG Co-chair & Director of Operations, OpenAirInterface

Doug Pulley

Co-founder and CTO, RANsemi

Simon Fletcher

Chief Strategy Officer, SCF

Paul Senior

CTO, Airspan

Speaker

17:10 – 17:15

Day 1 closing remarks

Simon Fletcher

Chief Strategy Officer, SCF

Networking

17:15 – 18:15

Networking drinks reception

18:15 – 19:35

SCF Mobile Network Awards ceremony and reception

Independently judged by leading analysts and journalists and organized by global trade organization SCF, the SCF Awards are upheld as the Oscars of the wireless industry.

Learn more

Opening session

Registration

8:00 – 10:00

Registration and welcome coffee

Workshop

8:00 – 10:00

Invitation only: Local authority breakfast briefing

Express your interest in attending when registering for SCWS

Session 5: Future Networks: sustainable, scalable, adaptable

Keynote

10:00 – 10:30

AI-RAN and Edge AI: Automating the small cell network of tomorrow

Speaker

10:30 – 10:50

Non-terrestrial networks and small cells: Regenerative HAPS D2D constellations

Paul Senior

CTO, Airspan

Panel Discussion

10:50 – 11:20

Emerging technologies for future networks: AI RAN, NTN and 6G

Mod

Elly Whittaker

Reporter, Wireless Watch, Rethink Technology Research

Vicky Messer

VP Product Management, RANsemi

Paul Senior

CTO, Airspan

Dr. Prabhakar Chitrapu

Chair, SCF

Fabrizio De Paolis

European Space Agency

Panel Discussion

11:20 – 11:50

5G in 3 greenfield frontiers

Break

11:50 – 12:50

Lunch and networking

Workshop

12:20 – 13:20

JOTS workshop

See workshops for more information

Session 6: Private and mission critical networks

Keynote

12:50 – 13:10

Mission critical connectivity - Event and emergency services applications

Stephen Patrick

Director, Cable Free

Keynote

13:10 – 13:30

Rural safety and secure connectivity using small cells

Panel Discussion

13:30 - 14:00

Public vs. Private vs. Hybrid? Models for industry sector networks

Emile Van Wyk

Head of Partner Management, Nokia

Mikael Glandberger

Pictor Consulting

Cristina Data

CEO, JRC

Break

14:00 – 14:20

Afternoon coffee break and networking

Session 7: Private networks and neutral hosting - emerging trends

Keynote

14:20 – 14:40

Quantifying the in-building connectivity gap with real-world data

Luke Kehoe

Lead Analyst, Ookla

Panel Discussion

14:40 - 15:10

Neutral host and private networks – the best of both worlds deployed together

TAWAL

Panel Discussion

15:10 – 15:40

Spectrum for indoor and outdoor small network deployments: Influencing the global standards and regulatory ecosystem

Yusuke Miyazeki

Assistant Manager, SEI

Muhammad Alrabeiah PhD

Advisor, Radio Spectrum Sector, CST

Ahmed Hegazy

Director, Wholesale Services, Regulatory Policies, National Telecom Regulatory Authority Of Egypt

15:40 – 15:45

Closing remarks

Simon Fletcher

Chief Strategy Officer, SCF

Workshops

3 Jun 12:00 – 13:30

12:00 – 13:30 Workshop

Globalizing network sharing frameworks – in collaboration with the UK JOTS Forum

It is now becoming more widely recognized and accepted that sharing frameworks can be a powerful activator for innovation in cellular networks to enable use cases like indoor coverage and also outdoor coverage where macro is not enough. In this dedicated workshop for MNOs and neutral hosts we will discover and discuss more about emerging sharing specifications from around the world. The Mobile UK JOTS (Joint Operator Technical Specification) Forum will share latest thoughts on using shared spectrum for JOTS NHIB, and we will hear perspectives from European countries and beyond on different operator sharing models. Discussion and questions will be encouraged.

This session is invitation only. You can register your interest to attend this session via the SCWS registration form. Your participation will be confirmed approximately 2 weeks prior to the event.

3 Jun 8:00 – 10:00

8:00 – 10:00 Workshop

Local authority connectivity: breakfast briefing

This is an invite-only briefing for local authorities, with speakers from SCF, the UK Government and industry experts, to shine a light on the latest developments around small cell deployments for public outdoor spaces in the UK.

How and why deploy small cells? An update on Open Access Agreement templates and the resources for local authorities. Data and analysis on hot spots and not spots. And hear case studies and best practice examples of local city and town deployments.

This session is invitation only. You can register your interest to attend this session via the SCWS registration form. Your participation will be confirmed approximately 2 weeks prior to the event.

Agenda

Registration now open for SCWS 2026