Cellular Service from LEO

Gregg Daffner is co-founder and CEO of GapSat, which leases in-orbit, operational satellites to satellite operators for use in their orbital slots for interim periods of time, generally until the operator launches its own satellite. Gregg is also president of G3 Global Communications, an international satellite venture incubation and consulting firm.

Previously Gregg co-founded and was president of Asia Broadcast Satellite (ABS). He headed satellite services for Hong Kong Telecom, was VP for PanAmSat and Lockheed Martin, and Director of International Policy for the US government’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration.

Gregg is a founding member and current President of the Asia Pacific Satellite Communications Council (APSCC), Chairman of the AVIA (formerly CASBAA) Satellite Wireless Action Group, and a member of the Board of Governors and Secretary of the Pacific Telecommunications Council (PTC).

Gregg is an attorney who began his career as a New York-based filmmaker and video artist.

Margo Deckard is a Co-founder and the Chief Operating Officer of Lynk Global, Inc. Her work analyzing BGAN usage data from the 2014 Ebola Pandemic Crisis Response drove the Lynk team to design a global connectivity solution that uses the unmodified phone in everyone’s pocket. Margo leads Public Safety and Government Programs for Lynk. Previously, Margo served as VP of Programs for NexGen Space LLC, where she was the Project Manager for the Ultra-Low-Cost Access to Space Study for the United States Air Force. This study focused on how the United States Government could leverage free enterprise to achieve low cost access to space to meet U.S. National Security needs in the next 5 years. She was the PI for NASA-funded research on the environmental impacts of space solar power (SSP), and co-authored a study for the National Security Space Office on SSP. Margo wrote a web data connector for NetHope to connect data from the United Nations Humanitarian Crisis Response Syrian Refugee Crisis REST APIs and populate Tableau. This product will guide over 43 NGOs in their efforts to meet the needs of the Syrian Refugees. She has a BS in Genetic Engineering from Purdue University and an MS in Systems Engineering from Wright State University.

As Director of Spectrum and Standards for EchoStar Corporation, Munira’s focus is on advancing satellite technology to be part of the next generation of integrated networks across the 5G ecosystem. In this capacity, Munira plays an active role at 3GPP and other forums in contributing and advocating for non-terrestrial-networks (NTN) to be included in the 5G specifications. Prior to EchoStar, Munira served as a senior advisor developing business and technical strategy for the design and execution of deployment plans for FirstNet, the US nationwide public safety LTE broadband network, incorporating both terrestrial and non-terrestrial solutions. Earlier in her career Munira held various key positions with telecom and technology organizations including Sprint Nextel, Lockheed Martin, and LCC International. Her roles and involvement included managing cellular network planning and participating in numerous wireless deployment and spectrum management projects. Munira received her MBA from the George Washington University and holds a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering. She also holds a PMP certification from the Project Management Institute.

Richard Swardh is Senior Vice President, Premium Enterprise & Mobile Operators for Comtech EF Data. In this role, he leads the market development and direction for the telecom and enterprise markets, directing long-term strategic initiatives and defining solution suites and feature sets. A telecom industry veteran, Swardh’s background includes strategic and operational positions at Ericsson with business development, partnership management and strategy execution responsibilities. He holds both a Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering and a Bachelor of Business degree in Administration and Logistics from Linneaus University in Sweden.

Simon M Watts has worked in the telecommunications industry since graduation from Manchester University in 1981, with the majority of his experience gained from within the satellite communications industry. Simon has extensive experience of satellite communications and network design having overseen deployment of major satellite networks for BT International and Hughes Network Systems.
Simon has worked with Avanti in a Principle Consultant role from early 2012 on multiple ESA, UK, FP7 and H2020 projects looking at the integration of satcom in to 5G and related topics. He has brought wide experience in the telecommunications and broadband network industries at a technical and commercial level to ensure technical and commercial direction. These projects have covered areas including the integration of satellite and terrestrial networks, 5G future satellite networks, modem/antenna design, cellular and Wi-Fi backhaul, mobility, and the network design for incubator services projects in East Africa offering Wi-Fi and multicast content delivery.

He was Hughes Network Systems Europe – Chief Engineer between 2001 and 2011 Prior to this he worked at HNS Europe in multiple other roles between 1996 and 2001. His career started at BT International initially helping to design and implement ground station systems before providing VSAT systems in the North Sea for Oil Companies and a VSAT network in southern Africa for a major UK bank.
Simon regularly presents and participates in discussion panels and has supported multiple technical papers whilst at Avanti. Simon is the Avanti representative on ESOA’s 5G Standards Working Group. He is an MIET.