GMDI logo

Governance: A collaborative initiative

SetGMDI is building both the technical infrastructure and the governance framework needed to make commercial microwave link data usable for hydrometeorology at scale.

The project brings together researchers, national meteorological services, mobile network operators, telecom equipment vendors, and international organisations. This collaboration is essential for ­establishing trusted processes for data sharing, system operation, and long-term sustainability.

Governance in SetGMDI therefore focuses
on two complementary goals:

1

enabling practical technical implementation

 

2

building a legal and organisational framework for long-term operation of the Global Microwave Data Initiative (GMDI)

 

Governance structure

The project operates through a multi-layer governance structure designed to coordinate research, implementation, and stakeholder engagement.

Project leadership

The project is coordinated by the core leadership team:

Chair

Dr. Vojtěch Bareš
Czech Technical University in Prague,
Czechia

Vice-Chair

Prof. Hagit Messer
Tel Aviv University,
Israel

WG1—Legal and business framework

Chair: Dr. Martin Fencl,
Czech Technical University in Prague, Czechia

Co-chair: Mr. Alexander Seitz,
Telefónica Germany, Germany

WG2—Technical implementation

Chair: Dr. Christian Chwala,
Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, Germany

Co-chair: Roberto Nebuloni,
National Research Council of Italy

Pilot studies

Coordinator: Dr. Marielle Gosset, Institut de Recherche pour le Développement, France

This leadership team provides strategic direction, coordinates activities across partners, and oversees the delivery of project objectives.

Implementation and steering team

SetGMDI brings together experts from academia, meteorological services, the telecom industry, and equipment manufacturers. The team contributes to both the technical development of the platform and the governance framework required for operational use.

Key participants include representatives from:

Research
institutions

  • Czech Technical University in Prague (Vojtěch Bareš, Martin Fencl)
  • Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (Christian Chwala)
  • Tel Aviv University (Hagit Messer, Jonathan Ostrometzky)
  • Delft University of Technology (Remko Uijlenhoet)
  • Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (Marielle Gosset)
  • Norwegian University of Life Sciences (Erlend Øydvin)
  • National Research Council of Italy (Roberto Nebuloni)

Meteorological and hydrological services

  • Deutscher Wetterdienst (Tanja Winterrath)
  • Météo-France (Dominique Faure)
  • Royal Meteorological Institute of Belgium (Kwinten van Werverberg)
  • Swedish Meteorological and Hydrological Institute (Remco van de Beek)
  • Arpae Emilia-Romagna (Elia Covi)
  • UK Met Office/EUMETNET (Alex Priestly)

Telecom
and industry partners

  • Ericsson (Jonas Hansryd, Kamran Keykhosravi)
  • Huawei (Wu Yuan Yuan)
  • Ceragon (Gil Kedar)
  • Telefónica Germany (Alexander Seitz, Sven Altendorf)
  • T-Mobile Czech Republic
    (­Pavel Kubík)

This combination of expertise allows the project to address scientific, operational, and industry perspectives simultaneously.

Workstreams

The project is organised around two main workstreams.

WG 1—
Legal and business framework

This working group focuses on creating the ­organisational foundations for GMDI, including:

  • governance structure of the initiative
  • templates for non-disclosure and data‑sharing agreements
  • review of business models for meteorological data provision
  • development of a long-term business plan
  • integration of GMDI into an existing institutional framework

WG 2—
Technical implementation

This workstream develops the technical infrastructure required to acquire and process microwave link data as follows:

  • preparing an ITU recommendation on microwave link data acquisition
  • development of the first GMDI-CAP system ­prototype
  • testing data acquisition from multiple mobile network operators
  • improving integration with network management systems
  • defining requirements for future versions of the platform

Strategic partners

SetGMDI collaborates with several international organisations to ensure alignment with global standards and operational needs.

These include:

World Meteorological Organization (WMO)

International Telecommunication Union (ITU)

GSMA

EUMETNET

Their engagement supports the development of standards, operational adoption, and international scaling of the initiative.

Governance principles

The initiative is guided by several key principles.

Trusted data sharing

Data access arrangements respect operator control and ensure secure, transparent use.

Shared value

The project is designed so that telecom operators, meteorological services, and researchers all benefit from participation.

International relevance

GMDI is being designed as a globally applicable framework that can scale beyond individual pilot projects.

Long-term sustainability

Legal, organisational, and technical components are developed together to ensure the initiative can continue beyond the duration of the project.