WMAS: Wireless Audio Enters a New Era

Joe Ciaudelli was hired by Sennheiser in 1987 upon graduating from Columbia University with an electrical engineering degree. He provided frequency coordination for large multi-channel wireless microphone systems used by Broadway productions, major theme parks, and broadcast networks. He wrote the Turbo-RF software which became the industry standard planning tool of the time. Joe has served in various capacities at Sennheiser USA including Director of Marketing, Director of Market Development & Education, and Director of Advanced Projects & Engineering. He is now Director of Spectrum & Innovation. He wrote the chapter on wireless microphones for the last three editions of the Audio Engineering Society (AES) Handbook for Sound Engineers. Joe is a private sector adviser in the U.S. delegation to the International Telecommunications Union (ITU), the United Nations specialized agency on information and communications in Geneva, Switzerland. Joe is also the founder of Rayvel, a corporation that specializes in electro-magnetic science, and holds three patents in holographic technology

Robert Weller is Vice President for Spectrum Policy at the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB), a position he assumed in July 2014. In that role, Mr. Weller is responsible for developing and implementing spectrum policy for NAB. Prior to joining NAB, Mr. Weller served as Chief of Technical Analysis in the FCC’s Office of Engineering and Technology, leading the development of mathematical models relating to electromagnetic wave propagation, frequency allotments, spectrum sharing, human exposure to radiofrequency energy, and other areas. He played lead roles in the development of rules and policies pertaining spectrum sharing, including the broadcast incentive auction, television white spaces and modernization of interference analysis software. Earlier in his 15-year FCC career, Mr. Weller was Director of Denver District Office where he was responsible for the agency’s enforcement, engineering, and public relations activities over a five-state area. Mr. Weller also worked for 14 years as a senior consulting engineer with the firm of Hammett & Edison, San Francisco, where he advised clients including technology start-ups, broadcasters, wireless companies, and others on the regulated use of radio. He designed numerous broadcast, satellite, and wireless facilities to technically implement the business plans of clients and provided expert assistance to local governments to draft model legislation to implement provisions of the Telecommunications Act of 1996. Bob started his career doing professional audio, working at an AM/FM combo in the San Francisco Bay Area, and has changed his share of aviation beacons. He is currently treasurer (and former three-term president) of the AFCCE and a three-term director of the IEEE Broadcast Technology Society. He is a member of the International Committee on Electromagnetic Safety, the FCC World Radio Conference Advisory Committee, the Department of Commerce Spectrum Management Advisory Committee, and the Department of State International Telecommunications Advisory Committee. Mr. Weller earned his master’s degree in Electromagnetics from The George Washington University and his undergraduate degree in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science from the University of California at Berkeley. He is a Registered Professional Engineer in California and Colorado.

Axel has more than 20 years of experience in the audio industry, especially in research and standardization in the field of wireless audio transmission. He holds a Diploma in Electrical Engineering from the Technical University Munich and a PhD from the University of the Federal Armed Forces Munich in the area of microelectronics. In March 2021, he joined Shure’s Spectrum & Regulatory Affairs department with focus on standardization work in e.g., European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI) and 5G-Media Action Group (5G-MAG). He has been working on the development of Wireless Multi-channel Audio System (WMAS) in ETSI since the start. In 2023, he was appointed Head of Standardization at Shure. Before joining Shure, he worked in Sennheiser’s research department, focusing on new wireless technologies, RF system design, hardware development, and standardization work. From 1999 to 2003, he was with Infineon Technologies, where he worked on the development of GSM transceiver circuits.