SPEAKER: Fawzi Behmann, DL, MBA, M. Comp. Sc., Author and Lecturer
President, TelNet Management Consulting Inc.,
IEEE ComSoc NA Regional Director
Abstract:
Layers of smartness—using technology and data—are being built into cities to make them safer,
more efficient, and sustainable. Developed cities around the world are actively launching smart
solutions, while new and emerging cities are integrating intelligent, connected systems from the
start. The big cities of today may not be those of tomorrow. The opportunities are
immense—across infrastructure, mobility, energy, healthcare, and beyond. Innovative technology applications and their adoption in society offer a turning point. At its core, the smart city is about people and improving the quality of our everyday lives. The COVID-19 pandemic has revealed some of the shortcomings of major cities in times of crisis.
The talk will cover the following areas:
• Current state and challenges of Smart Cities
• Disruptive technologies enable building a solid foundation for smart cities - highlights of
current and future of IoT, 5G/6G, Analytics (AI/ML/DP) across key markets
• Key examples – technology convergence & adoption in new use cases in key verticals such as smart homes, public safety, autonomous driving, healthcare, smart energy, and others.
• Covid-19 accelerates the return to the new norm with greater innovation and end-to-end services
• Conclusion: Adoption of disruptive technologies and acceleration to a new norm will help transition to smart societies.
Key Takeaways
• Understanding the mission of smart cities and the current situation of 50 worldwide top smart cities and the impact of Coronavirus Covid-19
• Technology Features overview and roadmap of 4G/5G/6G, IoT, and AI
• Sample use cases and power of virtualization and network slicing
Biography:
Fawzi is currently the founder and president of TelNet Management Consulting Inc. offering international professional services in the areas of technology trends; positioning and building smart networking ecosystem solutions in key markets. Prior, Fawzi held various executive and leadership positions with Tier 1 companies in the areas of communications and networking in Canada and the US. He championed the development of Telecom Network Management systems, led efforts in rolling out product releases for network edge and core and
marketing SoC product line and roadmap.
Fawzi has been a keynote speaker and distinguished lecturer at several domestic and international conferences and events. He has several publications and a co-authored book on Collaborative Internet of Things for Future Smart Connected Life and Business, published by Wiley. He is a voting member of the IEEE Conference Committee (2022-2023),
Co-Chair IEEE SA Transdisciplinary Framework working groups and contributor to IEEE Future Direction Initiatives.
He is IEEE ComSoc Regional Director for North America and BoG member (2020-2021, 2022-2023). and chair of multiple society chapters (ComSoc, Signal Processing, Computer, EMB, CTS).
Fawzi engaged with international forums and successfully organized international conferences since 2010. He has been the general chair of the WCNC 2022 hybrid conference “Boosting Verticals in Wireless Orbit” and has organized several events such as the smart city summit (2019), Blockchain for Healthcare (2018) and Greentech of Smart Cities (2018), Advanced technologies in Healthcare (2017), and others. In addition, he has been Industry Forum and exhibits chair, panel/session chair, marketing & publicity chair as well as local arrangement chair at many conferences such as GlobeCom, ICC, WCNC, WFIoT, Future Networks (WF5G), ICCE, HIMSS, BHI, Smart connected cities, CABA, enterprise IoT, and others. He has been honored with several awards from Industry and IEEE. Freescale CEO Diamond Chip Award in 2008, IEEE Communications Society Chapter Achievement and Chapter of the year award in 2015 and 2017, Region 5 Outstanding Member award for 2013, 2014, and 2015. Most recently, Fawzi received IEEE-USA Regional Professional Leadership Award in 2018 and Outstanding Large section and Section Visionary chair for 2018-2019.
Fawzi holds a Bachelor of Science with honors and distinction from Concordia University, Montreal; a Master in Computer Science from the University of Waterloo, Ontario, and an Executive MBA from Queen’s University, Ontario Canada.
