About SATNAC

The Southern Africa Telecommunication Networks and Applications Conference (SATNAC) is an annual event hosted under the auspices of Telkom and attracts in excess of 400 delegates.

This prestigious event has become the continent's leading ICT conference where Industry, Academia and Operators publish on matters concerning progress achieved in applied research in the Information and Communications Technology (ICT) sector and where industry leaders share their views on latest trends and developments

Our main objectives:

Focus on the latest developments in the ICT sector world-wide.

Host a peer review and publishing platform for students to gain input from industry.

Develop the next generation of innovative leaders.

The SATNAC conference is a parallel development to the Telkom Centres of Excellence (CoE) programme and is a very important facet of this capacity building programme. It provides researchers a platform to test their work with peer groups by receiving input from fellow students at other CoE's, industry and international experts attending the conference.

An environment for rich networking and partnership opportunities

SATNAC is one of a few conferences recognised by Higher Education where researchers can claim subsidies for publishing the outcome of their research. Some institutions require students to publish peer reviewed papers before they can obtain their postgraduate degree.

SATNAC therefore also affords students this opportunity as it follows a review process based on the international de facto standard for paper reviews.

To find out more about our partnerships and sponsors, visit our sponsorship page.

The Telkom Centre of Excellence Programme

The CoE programme objective is to create the opportunity for young graduates to do research in a world-class environment so that the much needed skills can be developed to grow the ICT knowledge in order for South Africa as a developing nation to become internationally competitive.

Towards the late 1990s Telkom Group recognised that there was a shortage of highly skilled engineers, computer scientists and related professionals in South Africa and as a result embarked on establishing a postgraduate research programme which focused on developing high level skills for the Information Communications and Technology (ICT) sector. The Telkom Centre of Excellence (CoE) programme was launched in February 1997, and there are currently 15 CoE’s, making it the largest coordinated research effort in ICT in South Africa.

It is a collaborative programme between Telkom Group, academia, the telecommunications industry and government to promote research in communication technology and associated sciences and to provide facilities to encourage young scientists and engineers to pursue their interests in South Africa.

Download Telkom COE Report
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Next Generation of Leaders

Organising Committee

Photo of Mmaki Jantjies
Mmaki Jantjies

Chairperson

Dr. Jantjies is the Group Executive of Innovation and Transformation at Telkom. She is an NRF Rated Researcher, a SAYAS and SAICSIT Member. She began her career in Technology Consultancy and spent several years in Innovation, Research and Technology Policy Development. She has also served in various strategic leadership roles, including Head of Information Systems at UWC and NWU.

Photo of Maletsabisa Molapo
Maletsabisa Molapo

Committee
Member

Dr Maletsabisa (Tsabi) Molapo is the Executive for Research and Innovation at Telkom and the Director of the Telkom Industry Solutions Lab at Wits University. She holds PhD and MSc in Computer Science and a B.Eng in Computer Systems and Networks.

Photo of Lebo Masalesa
Lebo Masalesa

Committee member

Lebo Masalesa is the Managing Executive for Mobile Network at Telkom. He has over 19 years' experience in the telecommunications industry. Lebo holds a Post Graduate Diploma in Business Management and a National Diploma in Electrical Engineering.

Photo of Chrissie Loock
Christobelle Loock

Committee member

Chrissie is a Functional Specialist at the Telkom Group Innovation & Transformation Office, who has 23 years of service within Telkom. She has been instrumental in the organising and execution of more than 12 SATNAC events and is a long-standing support of the Organising Committee.

Photo of Pushkar Gokhale
Pushkar Gokhale

Committee member

Pushkar is a senior leader with global experience across strategy and technology. As the Chief Digital and Strategy Officer, Openserve, Pushkar holds a diverse portfolio, which includes business and technology (IT and Network) strategy; and oversees the execution of strategic initiatives across the organisation.

Photo of Martin Smuts
Martin Smuts

Technical Program
Chairperson

Martin Smuts is an Engineer within the Openserve Engineering Centre of Excellence. He has been involved with SATNAC for more than five years and is currently the Technical Programme Committee Chairperson. He holds an PhD in Computer Science from the Nelson Mandela University.

Photo of Anton Taute
Anton Taute

Technical Program
Vice Chairperson

Anton Taute is the Technical Programme Committee Vice Chairperson for SATNAC. He holds a M.Eng in Computer and Electronic Engineering from the North-West University and is part of the Openserve Research and Development Laboratory within the Openserve Engineering Centre of Excellence.

Photo of Tapiwa Chindeka
Tapiwa Chindeka

Social Media
Coordinator

Tapiwa Chindeka is an Engineer within the Openserve Engineering Centre of Excellence and performs the role of IT Solution Architect for Openserve. She holds an MSc in Computer Science from Rhodes University and previously presented a full paper at SATNAC (2019). Tapiwa is the Social Media Coordinator for SATNAC.