IIC UK Chapter meeting – The Future of the UK Mobile Sector

Ian brings over 30 years of experience in the telecoms, technology, and digital sectors, gained via numerous roles and engagements in global industry and consulting. His experience covers the full industry life cycle from start-ups and investor funding, through strategic planning and M&A advisory, to procurement, hands-on engineering, systems architecture, expert witness, tech & commercial due diligence, and programme delivery and recovery, together with extensive expertise in policy development, telecoms regulation, telecoms finance, and radio spectrum management.

Recent experience includes:

• M&A advisory to telcos and investors
• Numerous technical and commercial due diligence projects
• Technical Director on a review for a NATO comms / EW system
• Technical / Programme Director for strategic planning and delivery of a $250m shared access /
  neutral host 5G system for a major enterprise
• Advisory to UK Government on national telecoms policy and 5G programmes
• Specialist advisory on fixed wireless access FWA programmes
• Analysis on IEEE/3GPP standards policy and SEPs
• Numerous regulatory projects on cost, competition, and consultations

Formerly with PwC TMT Strategy London, PA Consulting, Nokia, Oracle, and Bell Labs, Ian’s experience spans both technology and commercial domains and includes digital strategies, radio spectrum planning and valuation, investment / transaction advisory, C-suite advisory, performance and process improvement, bid development, network and IT systems transformation, and large-scale technology programme management. His client base includes national and local governments, industry bodies, regulators, telcos, ISPs, enterprises, vendors, investors, banks, and law firms.

With Bell Labs USA, he was awarded the President’s Prize. Ian holds PhD and BSc (1st Class Hons, IET Prize) degrees in Telecommunications and Electronic Engineering, PgD Management and Finance, UK Chartered Engineer, and Fellow IET. He is a Visiting Professor at The University of Surrey, a role providing commercial and industry support to the Faculty of Engineering and Physical Sciences (5/6GIC).

Lynn Robinson became Director General of the International Institute of Communications (IIC), in March 2020.

Lynn is an experienced senior director and trustee / non exec-director, having held key senior leadership positions in the technology, built environment, regulation, accreditation and dental industries. She has extensive experience of professional membership bodies working within the full spectrum including, Regulatory bodies, Industry associations and Chambers of Commerce. Lynn is a well-known and established ambassador in these areas having led on many strategic programmes to aid engagement, growth, retention, change management, stakeholder and political engagement.

Martin Duckworth is a Director at Frontier Economics and a leading expert in telecommunications regulation, competition policy, and commercial strategy. With over 25 years of experience, he has advised regulators, governments, and telecoms operators across the UK, Europe, and internationally. Martin began his career at OFTEL before moving into consultancy, and has since been at the forefront of major regulatory and policy developments in liberalised telecoms markets.

His recent work includes advising on spectrum auctions, mobile merger reviews, and frameworks to support investment in next-generation networks, including 5G. For example, Martin led the mobile workstream of the Future Telecoms Infrastructure Review in 2019, directed the Digital Connectivity Forum’s report on the mobile ‘investment gap’ and advised Vodafone as part of the CMA clearance of the Vodafone/Three merger.  His strength lies in combining technical rigour with strategic insight to help shape effective policy and deliver results for clients.

Natalie Black CBE joined Ofcom in 2024 as Group Director for Communications and Networks and Executive Board Member. She is also responsible for leading Ofcoms’s work on the implications of Artificial Intelligence. Previously, Natalie was the UK’s first His Majesty’s Trade Commissioner for Asia Pacific. Based in Singapore, she led the UK’s trade strategy and operations across 15 countries and was the UK’s first Senior Economic Official to ASEAN. Highlights included the UK’s first Digital Economy Agreement, securing new investment deals from Australia and Japan and joining the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for the Trans-Pacific Partnership. In the UK, Natalie was Deputy Head of the Prime Minister’s Policy Unit where she oversaw the AI Review (2017) and established and led the first cross-government Online Harms Unit. Natalie has over 10 years of experience in cyber security and led the National Cyber Security Programme as Deputy Director and Director of the Office of Cyber Security in the Cabinet Office after joining the Civil Service from London2012, where she was Chief of Staff to the Director of Security.

Natalie is a Visiting Professor in Practice at the London School of Economics and a World Economic Forum Young Global Leader. She was previously a trustee of Bletchley Park and co-founded GBxAsia (now British Tech Advisers) to support collaboration between the UK and Asian tech ecosystems. Natalie is a graduate of the LSE and Harvard Kennedy School, where she was a Fulbright scholar.