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Years in telecom leadership
About me
A technology leader who speaks the language of the boardroom
I am a telecom and digital-transformation executive with more than 25 years building and modernizing mobile networks from greenfield launch to nationwide 5G. As a Chief Technology & Information Officer, I translate business plans into technology roadmaps, budgets and projects — balancing coverage, capacity, quality and cost to hit commercial targets.
My work sits at the intersection of engineering, finance and strategy: preparing CAPEX/OPEX budgets, negotiating multi-million-dollar carrier and IRU contracts, running revenue and profitability analysis with the CEO and CMO, and leading network swaps, fiber rollout, mobile money and digital services. I have launched and operated networks across Afghanistan, Sudan, Syria, Liberia, Benin, Ghana and Lebanon.
Career highlights
Impact, measured
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Countries launched & operated
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Radio sites swapped to 4G MIMO
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Fiber backbone deployed
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Cloud core nodes modernized
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Cross-border dark-fiber IRU secured
Professional journey
Experience timeline
Chief Technology & Information Officer
Sep 2024 — PresentATOMA · Kabul, Afghanistan
- Set the technology vision & strategy for Network and IT divisions to meet commercial targets and regulatory requirements.
- Converted strategy into funded projects — 4G coverage expansion, VoLTE, and 5G introduction into budget and time plans.
- Drove revenue analysis with CEO & CMO; monitored business plans, cost control, site profitability and resource allocation.
- Negotiated reductions in IP bandwidth, DPLC/IDPLC carriers, dark fiber and capacity exchange; led OPEX-saving initiatives (Towerco, energy efficiency, NaaS).
- Active in Exco & shareholder meetings; supported procurement on technology tenders and contractor selection.
Chief Technical Officer
Sep 2008 — Aug 2024MTN · Kabul, Afghanistan
- Set the mobile network technology strategy to meet business plan, commercial and regulatory requirements.
- Aligned radio planning on coverage & QoS KPIs; directed core and transmission expansion plans.
- Prepared network expansion budgets, placed orders, and monitored project execution and O&M performance.
Network Operations Senior Manager
Dec 2004 — Aug 2008MTN Sudan · Khartoum, Sudan
- Led network operations & maintenance — Core (CS/PS), BSS, MPBN, radio sites, microwave and fiber transmission.
- Secured high network KPIs and managed vendor SLAs.
Network Operations Senior Manager
May 2002 — Nov 2004Areeba — Investcom · Aleppo, Syria
- Managed Core, NSS, BSS and BTS operations and expansion activities.
Technical Manager
Mar 2001 — May 2002Lonestar — Investcom · Monrovia, Liberia
- Project-managed network start-up — deployed NSS, BSS, prepaid platform (PPL231), transmission and radio sites for launch.
Core Network Manager
Oct 2000 — Mar 2001Spacetel · Benin
- Project-managed greenfield network — deployed NSS, BSS, BTSs and transmission links in coordination with Ericsson.
Telecommunications Engineer
Jan 1998 — Oct 2000MTN Ghana · Ghana
- Early-career engineering across mobile network operations and deployment.
Telecom & consulting expertise
From radio access to the boardroom
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Network Strategy & Rollout
4G/5G coverage & capacity planning, VoLTE, MIMO, core (CS/PS/HSS), transmission backbones and FTTX rollout.
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Connectivity & Transport
Fiber rings & DWDM, IRU & dark-fiber leasing, VSAT (PtP/PtMP, C/Ku/Ka), Abis-over-IP, MPLS and IP transit.
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Digital Transformation
Network swaps & modernization, NaaS, Towerco & co-sharing, data centers, mobile money and VAS launches.
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Managed Services & Vendors
Managed-service contract scope, SLA/KPI governance, T&Cs, service specs, procurement, tenders and negotiations.
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Risk & Continuity
Risk assessment, business continuity & sustainability, disaster recovery, geo-redundancy and network resiliency.
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Commercial Alignment
Mapping promos & growth projections to coverage/capacity, customer life-cycle value management (CVM) and EBU.
Finance, valuation & reporting
Engineering decisions, financial discipline
Technology only delivers when it pays back. I own the numbers behind the network — building budgets, modelling project payback, controlling cost and reporting performance to executives and shareholders.
- CAPEX & OPEX budgeting, forecasting and variance control
- Site & project profitability analysis and ROI modelling
- Revenue analysis across commercial streams with CEO/CMO
- Carrier, IRU & capacity contract valuation and negotiation
- Business-intelligence reporting and KPI dashboards
- OPEX-reduction initiatives — energy, Towerco, transmission & ISP cost
Core competency mix
Technology Strategy & Roadmap
Budgeting, Forecasting & Cost Control
Network Rollout & Modernization
Vendor & Contract Negotiation
Revenue & BI Reporting
Digital Transformation & Fintech
Technical & business skills
Capabilities at a glance
Network & Technology
Strategy & Leadership
Finance & Commercial
Operations & Governance
Recent major projects
Selected achievements
Network Swap & Modernization
Led RFP, assessment and negotiation of the swap deal. Swapped 1,200 Ericsson 3G/4G 4×4 MIMO radios and 6 cloud core nodes (CS/PS/HSS) to Huawei. Ongoing swap of OCS charging, mediation and full BSS (CBS, WBS, CRM, BI).
Kabul Fiber Backbone
Deployed two 150 km fiber rings serving 3G/4G and FTTX — two pipes, 96 cores, Huawei DWDM 9800 (80 Gbps).
Regional Fiber Rings
Built 50 km, 48-core fiber rings across Jalalabad, Mazar-i-Sharif, Herat and Kandahar, linking transmission nodes to PS and RNC.
Cross-Border Dark-Fiber IRU
Signed a 10-year dark-fiber IRU on the Kabul–Pakistan (Torkham) route with AFTEL; negotiated multiple ring extensions plus DPLC & IP bandwidth leases.
Mobile Money — ATOMA Pay
Co-led project management and launch of the MoMo / mobile financial services platform (ATOMA PAY).
MTN → ATOMA Rebranding
Delivered a seamless brand migration across IT (Microsoft, mail exchange, Oracle, portals) and all commercial tools and mobile apps — plus VAS & IT application launches.
Education & credentials
Academic foundation
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EMBA, Business Administration
American University of Beirut (AUB) — Beirut, Lebanon
Sep 2019 — May 2021⚙️
BS, Electronics & Communications Engineering
Beirut Arab University — Beirut, Lebanon
Sep 1991 — Sep 1996Credentials & languages
🛡️ UAE Golden Visa
🟢 English — Fluent
🟢 Arabic — Native
🟡 French — Intermediate
Get in touch
Let's discuss your next opportunity
Open to executive roles, advisory and consulting engagements in telecom, digital transformation and infrastructure investment. I usually reply within one business day.
- ✉️ kanaan5g@gmail.com
- 📱 +971 58 815 2961
- ☎️ +961 70 345 555
- 📍 Dubai, United Arab Emirates
- in linkedin.com/in/raed-kanaan
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