Distinguished Keynote Speakers
Dr. Joerg Widmer
Research Director of IMDEA Networks,
Madrid, Spain
Wireless Sensing: From Localization to Coherent Imaging
Xavier Costa
i2cat Research Center
Physical AI: Embodied Intelligence for Agentic Mobile Systems
Miguel Santos
MASORANGE
Emerging market trends and opportunities in Autonomous Networks
Rafael Cantó Palancar
Telefonica Quantum Journey
Operationalizing Quantum Technologies in Telecom Networks
More About Keynote Speakers
Dr. Joerg Widmer
Wireless Sensing: From Localization to Coherent Imaging
Next generation wireless communication systems are increasingly capable of providing accurate sensing in addition to connectivity. By reusing spectrum and infrastructure, these systems can provide capabilities traditionally associated with radar, including precise localization and motion tracking. This keynote discusses the evolution of wireless sensing from simple device localization to advanced imaging in distributed multi-static wireless systems. The talk will cover how time and frequency offsets can be handled for accurate sensing among unsynchronized devices, how sparse frequency bands can be combined to increase resolution, and how receivers can cooperate to form synthetic apertures for coherent imaging of dynamic scenes. We will emphasize experimental testbeds and real-world demonstrations, highlighting both practical challenges and opportunities in turning communication networks into pervasive sensing infrastructures.
Joerg Widmer is Research Professor and Research Director of IMDEA Networks in Madrid, Spain, where he leads the Wireless Networking Research Group. Previously, he worked at DOCOMO Euro-Labs in Munich, Germany and EPFL, Switzerland, and has held visiting researcher positions at ICSI Berkeley (USA), University College London (UK), and TU Darmstadt (Germany). His research focuses on wireless networks, ranging from extremely high frequency millimeter-wave communication and wireless sensing to mobile network architectures. Joerg Widmer authored over 250 conference and journal papers, and holds 14 patents. He was awarded an ERC consolidator grant, the Friedrich Wilhelm Bessel Research Award of the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation, a Mercator Fellowship of the German Research Foundation, a Spanish Ramon y Cajal grant, as well as 16 best paper awards. He is an IEEE Fellow and Distinguished Member of the ACM.
Dr. Xavier Costa-Pérez
Physical AI: Embodied Intelligence for Agentic Mobile Systems
The convergence of Generative AI and robotics is giving rise to “Embodied Intelligence” within multi-agent connected systems (Physical AI). This keynote explores how we can bridge the gap between high-level reasoning and physical actuation by orchestrating the interplay between Small Language Models (SLMs) at the edge and Large Language Models (LLMs) in the core. We will demonstrate how our Agentic ‘TelecomRAG’ framework provides the necessary semantic grounding, allowing autonomous agents to verify and reason over telecommunication standards in real-time. By embedding this intelligence directly into physical agentic solutions, we propose a disruptive shift towards self-organizing, multi-agent networks that can physically adapt, repair, and evolve in complex environments.
Xavier Costa-Pérez is an ICREA Research Professor and Scientific Director at the i2cat Research Center, concurrently leading 6G R&D at NEC Laboratories Europe. His research spearheads the digital transformation of society through the convergence of Mobile Networks and Artificial Intelligence. His team consistently delivers impactful research, evidenced by publications in top-tier scientific venues and numerous awards for successful technology transfers. He actively secures funding through internal and external competitive R&D programs and contributed significantly to standardization bodies, including 3GPP, O-RAN, ETSI, and IETF. Notably, his innovations have been integrated into commercial mobile phones, base stations, and network management systems, and have spurred the creation of multiple start-ups. Dr. Costa-Pérez has held various leadership roles across industry and research, including Deputy General Manager, Chief Researcher, and member of Technology and Scientific Advisory Boards. He is a recognized contributor to multiple standard specifications who actively participated in bodies such as IEEE 802.11, 802.16, WiFi Alliance, and 3GPP. He has also served on organizing committees for prominent conferences (e.g., ACM MOBICOM, IEEE INFOCOM) and as an Editor for leading journals like IEEE Transactions on Mobile Computing (TMC), IEEE Transactions on Communications (TCOM), as well as Elsevier Computer Communications (COMCOM). Dr. Costa-Pérez holds M.Sc. and Ph.D. degrees in Telecommunications from the Polytechnic University of Catalonia (UPC), receiving a national award for his doctoral thesis. He has authored approximately 200 research publications and holds 100 granted patents.
Miguel Santos
Emerging market trends and opportunities in Autonomous Networks
Autonomous networks are reshaping digital infrastructure by enabling systems that can self‑configure, self‑monitor, self‑heal, and self‑optimize with minimal human intervention.
Driven by advances in AI, machine learning, and cloud‑native architectures, these networks improve operational efficiency, reduce costs, and enhance resilience.
Key trends include closed‑loop automation, predictive analytics, and integration with emerging technologies such as 5G/6G, edge computing, and network slicing.
As demand for highly dynamic and reliable connectivity grows, autonomous networks will become essential to supporting next‑generation services and complex, distributed environments
Miguel has spent the last 10 years as the Chief Technology Officer at MASMOVIL/MASORANGE, reporting to the CEO as a member of the Executive Committee, where he was in charge of the Network, IT, O&M, Cybersecurity as well as Products Delivery. Prior to this, he worked at Vodafone Spain for 20 years managing different roles in the Technology Area (Radio, Transmission, Deployment, TV, Fixed, Strategy, Software development, Product development, …). Miguel has an MBA from the Manchester Business School and the Escuela de Organización Industrial as well as a degree as Telecommunications Engineer. In 2024, he was awarded as CTO of the Year in ‘Gamechanger’ category by Mobile Europe.
Rafael Cantó Palancar
Operationalizing Quantum Technologies in Telecom Networks
This talk explores the quantum journey of a telecommunications operator, establishing the rationale for quantum technologies through information-theoretic foundations and network-engineering imperatives. It introduces core quantum principles—qubits, entanglement, and no-cloning theorem—and maps them to practical applications in large-scale networks, emphasizing quantum key distribution (QKD), quantum-safe architectures, and the quantum internet paradigm. The presentation reviews the state of the art in quantum communications, featuring recent performance metrics from deployed testbeds, alongside standardization efforts by ETSI, ITU-T, and IETF that define interoperable architectures and interfaces. Finally, it outlines an operator’s strategic roadmap—from proof-of-concept pilots to pre-operational integration—covering quantum link embedding in optical transport networks, control/management-plane enhancements, interoperability protocols, security-by-design principles, and key research challenges for achieving production-ready quantum-enhanced infrastructures
Rafael Cantó Palancar holds an MSc in Telecommunication Engineering from the Universidad Politécnica de Madrid and has been with Telefónica I+D since 1998. His early research and professional activity focused on Radio Access technologies, followed by leadership roles in Optical Networks and Fixed Access systems.
Since 2013, his work has been centred on IP and Transport Technologies. He is currently Head of IP and Emergent Connectivity Technologies at Telefónica CTIO, where his innovation activities focus on advanced network architectures and quantum communications. In this role, he leads research and innovation initiatives in quantum technologies, including the deployment of the TEFQCI network, the coordination of multiple experimental trials and customer-oriented proofs of concept, and active participation in national and European R&D projects. His work is particularly oriented towards the industrialisation and operational deployment of Quantum Key Distribution technologies in operator networks, contributing to initiatives such as EuroQCI and IberianQCI.