HAROON AZHAR Technology & Network Transformation Leader

Scale. Performance. Automation.

Haroon Azhar

Executive leadership for connectivity & wireless transformation that scales — and keeps performing.

I lead connectivity and wireless transformation: taking wireless networks from pilot to nationwide scale, holding performance as they grow, and using AI to run operations leaner. My experience spans greenfield wireless build-out, RAN performance strategy, and network operations across Comcast, T-Mobile, Nokia, and Ericsson — plus the technical operations framework for telecom operations, ensuring a smooth transition from construction to full operations. My current focus is where terrestrial networks meet the sky: Direct-to-Device (D2D) and Non-Terrestrial Networks (NTN).

Open to both paths: full-time Director-level roles in connectivity and wireless transformation, and fractional leadership for companies that need senior wireless transformation, telecom operations, and AI-automation expertise part-time. See the ways to work together.

Black-and-white portrait of Haroon Azhar in a navy quarter-zip sweater against a black background
Haroon Azhar · Based in Chalfont, Pennsylvania

Selected leadership experience

ComcastT-MobileNokiaEricssonAircom

Experience in execution

A record of leading the work.

11,063

sites nationwide

Wireless transformation, scaled from pilot to nationwide

Comcast greenfield connectivity platform (5G SA / CBRS), grown over five years from a single pilot cluster.

40+ TB

offloaded traffic per day

8,103× growth in daily offload

Daily offloaded traffic on the Comcast wireless platform as the network scaled.

~$1M

annualized cost savings

AI and in-house tooling

Delivered by replacing a vendor KPI-monitoring subscription with in-house tooling and reducing dependence on cross-functional support teams.

$5M

post-launch optimization budget

A 25-person organization

Nine direct technical reports, plus a 16-person offshore RAN NOC established and managed.

Selected results from prior and current executive-track roles.

Current interest · Emerging focus

D2D & NTN: coverage beyond the tower.

Direct-to-Device (D2D) lets an ordinary phone connect straight to a satellite when no terrestrial signal reaches it. Non-Terrestrial Networks (NTN) are the broader architecture behind it — satellites (and other airborne platforms) working as part of the mobile network, not alongside it. It is the convergence I am now focused on: the same performance, device, and operations questions I have spent my career on, extended past the edge of the terrestrial grid.

Why it connects to my work: D2D lives or dies on the handset, the link budget, and the handover between satellite and terrestrial coverage — device behaviour I have worked on directly with Apple and Samsung (including DSDS), spectrum trade-offs like the N71 lease analysis, and the operating discipline it takes to hold KPIs when coverage comes from a moving network in orbit.

Illustration on a black background of a satellite beaming gold and teal signals down to three smartphones, alongside a terrestrial wireless tower covering the same devices
Direct-to-Device · Non-Terrestrial Networks · Terrestrial + satellite, one network

Direct-to-Device

Standard handsets talking directly to satellites for messaging, emergency, and eventually voice and data — no special hardware, no separate dish.

Hybrid by design

Terrestrial connectivity where it exists, NTN where it doesn't — with seamless mobility, spectrum sharing, and one performance view across both.

An operator's lens

What D2D NTN means for coverage obligations, MVNO economics, device certification, and the NOC — the questions operators, not just satellite firms, have to answer.

Ways to work together

Start with what you need.

01

Fractional leadership

For operators, MVNOs, and vendors who need a senior connectivity leader embedded part-time — typically one to two days a week — to own a wireless rollout, a performance turnaround, a construction-to-operations transition, or an AI-automation program without a full-time hire.

What fractional means
02

Director roles

For organizations hiring a full-time Director of connectivity, wireless transformation, network performance, or technical operations. My scope at Comcast — 11,063 sites, a 25-person organization, a $5M budget — is director-level work, and it is the level I am targeting.

Discuss a director role
03

Advisory & speaking

For leadership teams and event organizers who want an operator's perspective on connectivity and wireless transformation at scale, taking telecom operations from construction to full operations, applying generative AI to network operations, building high-performing RAN organizations, or what D2D / NTN means for terrestrial operators.

Discuss an engagement
04

Interim / Program Lead

For telecom operators who need hands-on leadership of a defined program — a network transformation, a failover / resiliency initiative, or an operational turnaround. I step in to own the program end to end: the plan, the team, and delivery against milestones, until it lands.

Discuss a program

The fractional model

What is a fractional leader?

A fractional executive is an experienced leader a company hires part-time — a fraction of a full-time role — instead of carrying a full-time executive salary. The leader typically works one to two days a week, or against a defined program, often for two or three companies at once, on a monthly retainer. The company gets director-level judgment and ownership from day one; it pays only for the share of that leadership it actually needs.

It sits between hiring full-time and hiring a consultant: a fractional leader is embedded and accountable — in the meetings, owning the outcomes, managing the team — where a consultant advises from outside and hands over a deck.

Where fractional fits my experience

Connectivity & wireless transformation

Standing up or rescuing a wireless deployment — including 5G standalone and CBRS — the pilot-to-scale path I ran at Comcast, applied to your markets, vendors, and milestones.

Telecom technical operations

Managing the technical operations framework for telecom operations — technical monitoring, operational automation, incident response, and vendor management, run as one accountable operating discipline.

Construction to full operations

Ensuring a smooth transition from the construction phase to full operations: coordinating with engineering and construction teams on equipment commissioning, system handovers, and operational readiness.

RAN performance turnaround

A network that is live but underperforming: KPI diagnosis, optimization strategy, and the operating rhythm to hold gains — the work I led at T-Mobile and Comcast.

AI automation for network ops

Replacing vendor tooling with in-house capability and putting generative AI to work on performance and configuration data — the program behind ~$1M in annualized savings.

D2D & NTN readiness

Helping an operator think through Direct-to-Device and non-terrestrial coverage: device readiness, terrestrial–satellite handover, spectrum, and how NTN traffic shows up in performance management and the NOC.

An operator's perspective

A network is only as strong as the team bringing it to life.

My career has centered on one problem from several sides of the industry: how connectivity performs once it leaves the lab and meets real traffic, real devices, and real scale. At Comcast I have led wireless network performance and optimization since 2021, scaling a greenfield wireless platform (5G standalone / CBRS) from a pilot cluster to 11,063 sites nationwide.

Before that, six years at T-Mobile working on wireless performance strategy, and earlier roles with Nokia, Ericsson, and Aircom — the vendor and tooling side of the same discipline. That mix is why I work the way I do: strategy set by someone who has also had to make the KPIs move.

That operating discipline extends beyond the radio network. I manage the technical operations framework for telecom operations — ensuring a smooth transition from the construction phase to full operations, covering technical monitoring, operational automation, incident response, and vendor management, and coordinating with engineering and construction teams on equipment commissioning, system handovers, and operational readiness.

The newest chapter is AI in operations. I built a RAN-specific generative-AI assistant on performance and configuration data in Amazon Redshift and took it from proof of concept to pilot — and replaced a vendor KPI-monitoring platform with in-house tooling, together delivering roughly $1M in annualized savings. I also supported the business case for 30–50% MVNO bill savings as part of Comcast's wireless economics.

My current interest is where that terrestrial story goes next: Direct-to-Device (D2D) and Non-Terrestrial Networks (NTN) — ordinary phones connecting directly to satellites beyond terrestrial coverage, and what that means for device performance, spectrum, and operations. More on D2D & NTN.

The experience behind the results Connect on LinkedIn

Career

Experience, in order.

2021 — Present

Senior Manager, A&D — 5G Network Performance & Optimization

COMCAST · CHALFONT, PENNSYLVANIA

  • Led connectivity and wireless transformation at scale: scaled the greenfield wireless platform (5G SA / CBRS) from a pilot cluster to 11,063 sites nationwide in five years; daily offloaded traffic grew 8,103× to 40+ TB/day.
  • Lead 9 direct technical reports; established and manage a 16-person offshore RAN NOC; manage a $5M post-launch optimization budget.
  • Delivered ~$1M in annualized cost savings with AI and in-house tooling, replacing a vendor KPI-monitoring subscription.
  • Built a RAN-specific generative-AI assistant on PM/CM data in Amazon Redshift, from proof of concept to pilot.
  • Supported the business case for 30–50% MVNO bill savings.
2015 — 2021

Wireless Performance Strategy

T-MOBILE

  • Six years working on wireless performance strategy (5G / LTE) through T-Mobile's 5G launch era.
Sep 2013 — Apr 2015

RF Manager, KPI Planning & National Performance — 2G / 3G / LTE

NOKIA · MEXICO CITY

  • National performance lead across 8 operational regions, guiding a cross-functional team of 16 RF engineers through LTE rollout and 2G/3G/LTE modernization.
  • Led nationwide KPI analysis, forecasting and operational assessments, converting findings into executive recommendations that guided rollout priorities.
Apr 2012 — Sep 2013

NOC Manager — MTN Nigeria

Aircom International · MTN Nigeria

  • NOC Manager on Aircom International's MTN Nigeria engagement — vendor- and tooling-side network operations leadership.
2007 — 2012

LTE / UMTS RF Optimization SME & RF Optimization

ERICSSON · SOUTH KOREA & PAKISTAN

  • South Korea (Nov 2011 – Apr 2012): LTE/UMTS RF optimization SME.
  • Pakistan (Apr 2007 – Nov 2011): 2G expansion and RF optimization, with coverage and capacity investment justified through business cases — including a short-term 3G/GSM project with Orange France in Romania/France.

Areas of expertise

  • Connectivity & wireless transformation — including 5G standalone (SA) and CBRS scale-up
  • Telecom technical operations framework
  • Construction-to-operations transition — equipment commissioning, system handovers & operational readiness
  • Technical monitoring, operational automation & incident response
  • Vendor management & coordination with engineering and construction teams
  • RAN performance management & optimization
  • Generative AI and automation for network operations
  • NOC build-out and offshore operations leadership
  • Device performance — including DSDS work with Apple and Samsung
  • Spectrum and MVNO economics — including an N71 lease analysis
  • Hybrid Core migration and IPv4-to-IPv6 transition
  • Direct-to-Device (D2D) & Non-Terrestrial Networks (NTN) — current interest: terrestrial–satellite convergence, device readiness, and NTN performance & operations

Current interests

D2D / NTN — direct-to-device satellite connectivity for standard handsets, hybrid terrestrial + non-terrestrial coverage, and the device, spectrum, and NOC implications for operators.

Telecom operations — the technical operations framework that carries a network from construction through commissioning and handover into full, ready operations.

AI in network operations — generative AI on PM/CM data, and replacing vendor tooling with in-house capability.

Education

MSc, Modern Wireless & Radio Frequency
University of Leeds · 2005–2007

B.E.
NED University of Engineering & Technology

Perspectives · From LinkedIn

Notes from the work.

Themes from my LinkedIn posts — the lessons behind the numbers, in colour: wireless transformation at scale, AI in the NOC, wireless economics, and now D2D / NTN.

Follow on LinkedIn
Telecom EarningsD2D / NTN

Q3 Earnings · Starlink D2D

Q3 telecom earnings: Great quarters. One elephant in the room.

Strong Q3 results from T-Mobile, AT&T and Verizon are overshadowed by Starlink D2D, which already covers most of the US and is positioned to extend — not replace — terrestrial networks as the next coverage layer.

Read on LinkedIn
AI in OperationsAgentic AI

Agentic Operations

What I've learned about Agentic Operations in Enterprise Wireless

After a week with AWS's agentic-AI team in Herndon, the post argues that agentic AI is truly agentic only when it acts on live network intent and telemetry, and the winners will be operators who let it do so.

Read on LinkedIn
In-Flight ConnectivityStarlink

LEO Satellites

The limit of physics is being shattered.

On a Qatar Airways flight I measured 173 Mbps down / 43 Mbps up with 30 ms idle latency at 35,000 ft via Starlink's LEO satellites (~550 km up), showing in-flight Wi-Fi can now rival ground broadband.

Read on LinkedIn
Shared SpectrumCBRS

CBRS · SAS

CBRS is at an inflection point.

With Google exiting the SAS business within 12 months while Federated Wireless says AI-driven coordination can unlock 5x capacity, the post argues the coordination layer is where shared spectrum wins, drawing on my Comcast greenfield 5G SA CBRS build from a pilot cluster to 11,063 sites nationwide.

Read on LinkedIn

Start a conversation

Good networks start with a connection.

For conversations about a Director-level role, a fractional leadership engagement, advisory work, or a speaking opportunity — the fastest routes are email and LinkedIn.

  • Based in: Chalfont, Pennsylvania
  • Open to: Director roles (full-time) and fractional leadership engagements
  • Current focus: Direct-to-Device (D2D) & Non-Terrestrial Networks (NTN), alongside connectivity & wireless transformation, telecom technical operations, and AI automation
  • Hybrid: Open to roles requiring time in New York or Arlington, VA offices; relocation considered for the right role
  • Work authorization: US citizen, unrestricted