Speakers:

• Blanca Fernandez Cavalheiro, partner | TMT strategy & transformation, PwC Middle East – PWC (Chairperson)
• Mustafa Afifi, sales director ME – RIVADA SPACE NETWORKS
• Hasan Zainal, managing director – Visionaria Business Consultancy
• Peter Hall, vice president, Europe & Middle East – SES
• Abdulaziz Aljasmi, director – Space Business – E&
• Majid A. Alyazeedy, general manager – business development & strategic partnership – STC
• Hani El Arja, VP connectivity sales, MENA & Central Asia – Eutelsat

As connectivity demands continue to grow across the Middle East, carriers are adopting hybrid architectures that combine fibre, long terrestrial routes and non-terrestrial networks (NTNs) to extend coverage and strengthen resilience.

This panel makes a case for how low Earth orbit (LEO) satellites are becoming a critical layer for supporting mission-critical services and reaching remote or underserved areas. No longer viewed as a last resort, LEOs are being increasingly integrated as a native component of network infrastructure and are working to reshape network resilience across the Middle East.

Moderated by Blanca Fernandez Cavalheiro, partner for TMT strategy & transformation at PwC Middle East, this panel outlined how this hybrid approach is creating new opportunities – including enhanced resilience and expanded coverage.