Ken Riordan, principal architect for Nokia Federal, has been elected as a member of the National Spectrum Consortium’s executive committee, where he will serve as a representative for large, non-traditional companies.
During his three-year term, Riordan will support NSC’s mission to drive the development of novel electromagnetic spectrum technologies by facilitating cooperation between industry, academia and federal organizations, Nokia told ExecutiveGov on Wednesday.
“The NSC has proven itself to be a vital force in connecting government with industry and academia. I look forward to continuing that cause as an executive committee member,” Riordan commented.
Riordan brings more than two decades of experience in the telecommunications industry to the committee. Throughout his career, he has developed products for mobile devices and network equipment and has participated in the establishment of AMPS, GSM, CDMA, WiMAX, LTE and 5G networks, encompassing the full history of cellular communications standards.
Before assuming his current role at Nokia, Riordan held several positions within the company over seven years. Most recently, he served as senior director of business development, after which he took a four-year hiatus from Nokia to work on the Alphabet-owned Loon connectivity initiative.
While in operation, Loon had a goal of harnessing high-altitude, stratospheric balloons to bring connectivity to rural and remote areas. Riordan served as the project’s head of product management for connectivity solutions before returning to Nokia in 2022 following Loon’s conclusion.
Earlier in his career, Riordan spent over 12 years with Motorola, during which he held directorial positions within the organization’s main business as well as its solutions sector.
Riordan has also served as technical committee chair and forum vice-chair for the Wireless Innovation Forum and as a member of the Small Cell Forum’s executive board.
Currently, Riordan is president of the HAPS Alliance, an organization of industry leaders who aim to remove digital divides and increase the scope of connectivity worldwide.
His term with NSC officially began last month and will run through December 2025.
