The tenth annual GSM in the Middle East, Gulf and North Africa (MEGNA) conference and exhibition is due to take place on 11 – 12 September 2005, at the Dubai International Convention Centre, Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
Organized by Informa Telecoms and Media, the leading provider of business intelligence and strategic services to the global telecoms and media markets, the event will showcase the latest in GSM technology, solutions and services. It will provide an unrivalled platform for the region’s mobile industry to learn from key industry speakers on the critical business, strategy and technical issues facing the region as well as providing market case studies of the leading services, applications and products.
“GSM in the Middle East, Gulf and North Africa conference and exhibition is a unique event, focused purely on the GSM market, technology and services,” says Louisa Rogers, marketing director, Informa Telecoms and Media. “The event aims to provide a platform where GSM operators, network vendors and software developers can meet and exchange experiences in order to better serve the customer in the region and enrich the lifestyle of the people,” she adds.
“Subscribers in the Middle East, Gulf and North Africa are forecast to reach 77.7 million by the end of 2005 and are set to exceed 150 million by 2009,”
says John Everington, Senior Analyst, Middle East and Africa at Informa Telecoms and Media.
Subscribers in the region grew to 54.3 million at the end of 2004. This represents an increase of 16.6 million on 2003’s figure, the region’s largest ever annual subscriber growth. North Africa remains the fastest growing part of the region, accounting for 9.1 million new subscribers in 2004. Algeria, which witnessed the launch of its third GSM operator Nedjma in August 2004, had an explosive year of growth, with 3.4 million new subscribers in 2004, 21% of the region’s total. Two of the region’s more established markets, Morocco and Egypt, also continued to post impressive growth, adding 3.7 million subscribers during the year. North African mobile subscribers are forecast to hit 39.1 million by the end of 2005.
Endorsed by the GSM Association and the Emirates Telecommunications Corporation – Etisalat, the conference programme focuses on the analysis of mobile communications developments across the Middle East, Gulf and North Africa by leading panellists from across the GSM industry in the area. The panel will discuss the importance of mobile telecommunications growth as part of regional development and investment through liberalisation and regulatory reform, using mobile technology to encourage further prosperity and the future growth of mobile technology.
GSM MEGNA conference and exhibition is sponsored by the world’s leading GSM technology providers, including Alcatel, Convergys, France Telecom, Gemplus, LogicaCMG, Nokia, Oberthur, Orga Systems, Siemens, SIM Alliance, Smart Trust, Vallent, Telesoft and Intec. The event exhibition will demonstrate the latest in GSM technology, services and solutions.
Informa's GSM in the Middle East and Gulf 2004 set an attendance record with an increase of 43% on the previous year, reflecting the new developments and challenges facing the GSM community in this region.
GSM in the Middle East, Gulf and North Africa conference and exhibition is an ideal platform for the leading network vendors, software developers and operators from outside the Middle East interested in establishing key partnerships with the region’s operators
About Informa Telecoms & Media
Informa Telecoms & Media is the leading provider of business intelligence and strategic services to the global telecoms and media markets. There are two key strands to Informa Telecom & Media's business:
Providing business critical information
Informa Telecoms & Media produce and distribute business information products using innovative formats and powerful channels that meet the real business needs of their customers. Informa Telecom & Media's newsletters, reports and consultancy guides the decisions of over 10,000 leading Decision makers.
Creating communities
Informa Telecoms & Media works to actively foster and empower the communities it works with, assisting in debating and sharing best practice, solving problems and stimulating innovation. From magazines to online information portals, from large exhibitions to intimate networking lunches at focused conferences, Informa Telecoms & Media bring the industry together to enable progress within the dynamic telecoms and media markets.
