Ericsson: Convergence gives rise to new opportunities in a networked society

Value creation and operator’s business potentials are high on Ericsson’s agenda as top telecoms and ICT companies participate in this year's Telecoms Convergence Conference in Amman, Jordan. The event, organized by The Arab Advisors Group, was held under the patronage of Her Royal Highness Princess Sumaya bint El Hassan, President of El Hassan Science City and the Royal Scientific Society from June 6–7.

The Ericsson sponsored event saw Anders Lindblad, Head of Region Middle East and North-East Africa, Ericsson, moderate a panel discussion on the state of the industry. During the discussion, executives from Etisalat, Du, Nawras and Saudi Telecom amongst others shared their insights on innovative business models, the impact of the current political and economic environment on the industry and focused on organic growth versus acquisitions and mergers.

“We see the market is entering the era of convergence, the opportunities are there for all key players with new types of services.  Opportunities to increase revenue and diversify revenue streams, achieve lower total cost of ownership and, most of all, keep customers happy and coming back for more.” said Anders Lindblad. “The network is the key differentiator and greater speed and capacity is now critical factor between service providers' offerings.”

“Convergence and sustainable investments will enable us to enjoy the benefits of a networked society. With the combination of mobility, broadband, the cloud, applications and services, we will have an empowered society, with more jobs and greater prosperity for people in all kind of economies. To reach our vision of a fully Networked Society and a converged world, we need to think beyond the traditional technology to create new business models that can help achieve a sustainable growth for all. The starting point for us in the Middle East is Mobile Broadband which will help improve our lives and economies. ” added Lindblad. 

Lindblad continues, “Digital technology now allows both traditional and new communication services, whether data, sound, picture or voice, to be provided over many different networks. Developments such as online services combined with television via systems such as Web-TV, as well as delivery via digital satellites and cable modems, e-mail, data and World Wide Web access over mobile phone networks, all represent concrete examples of convergence’s potential to touch the lives of every citizen and highlight a change in the range and diversity of traditional telecommunications and media services”.

The two day conference brought together key players from the telecom, IT and media industry and allowed them to exchange knowledge and discuss a sustainable future in which all three sectors would come together to provide consumers with an integrated experience.