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

Brian Potterill is a Policy Director in Ofcom’s Network and Communications Group, with 30 years’ experience in the telecoms industry, working in industry, as a consultant and now as a regulator.

Brian spent his early career at Orange during its launch as the 4^th mobile operator in the UK before moving on to PwC’s telecom strategy consulting team.

Brian has worked in more than 50 countries across both fixed and mobile. Brian joined Ofcom in 2013 and has since been involved in the development of Ofcom’s regulation in fixed and more recently Ofcom’s mobile strategy.

Ceri Howes is Vice President of Government and External Affairs at Opensignal, where she leads engagement with policymakers, regulators, and international organisations to advance evidence-based policies that improve global connectivity.

Before joining Opensignal in 2020, Ceri worked at the GSMA, contributing to global initiatives on spectrum policy, digital inclusion, and digital public infrastructure, with a particular focus on addressing the digital divide from both demand- and supply-side perspectives. She previously held policy and strategy roles at Ofcom, where she was the policy lead on the reform of the Electronic Communications Code and the fixed broadband universal service obligation (USO), and supported wider mobile coverage initiatives. Prior to this, she managed the global mobile technology programme at the Cherie Blair Foundation for Women.

Ceri holds an MSc in Globalisation and Development from SOAS, University of London, and B.A. degrees in International Relations and Business from the University of Redlands, California.

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).

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.