With just over 1 week until the 13th annual GSM>3G Middle East – Towards a Broadband World, Ian Hemming, CEO, Informa Telecoms & Media has announced “We have news of very welcome late additions to the panel of speakers. Dr Marwan Al-Ahmadi, CEO Zain Saudi Arabia; Mr Nasser Bin Obood, Chief Corporate Affairs Officer, Etisalat; and Mr Anthony Corbett, Head of M&A, Vimpelcom will add further value to an already strong conference programme.”
One of the main themes running throughout GSM>3G Middle East – Towards a Broadband World, 15-16 December, Dubai UAE (www.comworldseries.com/me) is convergence and addressing new revenue streams and technological developments for operators in a market with high mobile penetration.
In a recent interview with Informa Telecoms & Media, Marwan Al Ahmadi, CEO, Zain Saudi Arabia, points to the opportunities created by the combination of Saudi Arabia's very low broadband penetration and its youthful population, with 50% below the age of 15 and 67% below the age of 25. This is something that number 2 operator Mobily has capitalised on to achieve one of the largest HSPA customer bases in the world at the end of 1Q08, with an estimated 2.64 million subscriptions, according to Informa Telecoms and Media.
"It's a young nation," says Dr Marwan Al-Ahmadi. "And these people, their consumption of information and telecommunications services is much higher than older people."
Dr Marwan Al-Ahmadi is confirmed to speak on day two at GSM>3G Middle East – Towards a Broadband World. His presentation will focus on Building and Growing a New Entrant Mobile Operator to Offer Value and Choice. Given the newness of this business unit, we expect there to a very strong interest from delegates keen to evaluate the progress made by Dr Al-Ahmadi 's team in the first few months of commercial operation.
Another group involved closely with this year's GSM>3G Middle East – Towards a Broadband World conference is Etisalat. The UAE's leading telecoms service provider, and an endorsing sponsor of our event, Etisalat has subsidiaries in markets including Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and Egypt. Representing the group on the panel of speakers will be Mr Nasser Bin Obood, Chief Corporate Affairs Officer and Mr Ali Amiri, Executive Vice President Carrier & Wholesale.
A recent mobile market update by Informa Telecoms & Media found that although Etisalat’s net additions were 4.8% lower than in 2Q07, they maintained their leadership with 6.8 million subscriptions by the end of 2Q08. Of these, 1.9 million were 3G subscriptions.
A further addition to the speaker panel from outside the Middle East region is Mr Anthony Corbett, Head of M&A at leading Russian mobile operator Vimpelcom. Vimpelcom has a long-established footprint across a number of less-highly penetrated markets across Central Asia and has more recently been active in SE Asia. Mr Corbett is therefore well-placed to contribute to a roundtable discussion focused on the exploitation of further growth opportunities in emerging markets, joining co-panellists from Vodafone and Turkcell.
GSM>3G Middle East – Towards a Broadband World will be held 15-16 December 2008, Dubai International Convention and Exhibition Centre, UAE. Special attendance discounts apply to readers of this publication with free conference and exhibition entry to operators and regulators and free exhibition only passes for all other companies. Please bring a business card and copy of this article with you to register. Find out more at www.comworldseries.com/me
About GSM>3G Middle East – Towards a Broadband World
13th Annual GSM>3G Middle East – Towards a Broadband World
Setting the Telco Agenda for the Middle East
15-16 December 2008
Dubai International Convention and Exhibition Centre
Dubai, UAE
www.comworldseries.com/me
Reflecting the changing dynamics of Middle Eastern telcos and the market place, the 13th annual GSM > 3G Middle East Congress and accompanying exhibition will focus on the opportunities and challenges thrown up by convergence and the evolution to 3G, broadband and beyond. Join us in December to network, learn and do business with 2,500+ attendees.
The 2-day congress will again comprise a multi-streamed, strategic and technical conference alongside a networking exhibition showcasing the products and services of over 160 international companies.
Hear from our 60 strong panel of expert speakers, including 18 mobile operators and 16 from beyond the pure-play mobile space, comprising 4 WiMAX operators, 4 incumbent carriers, 4 Other Licensed Operators and 4 MVNOs.
Co-located with the GSM Arab World’s Plenary meeting and incorporating the Middle Eastern Telecom Leaders’ Summit we have brought together an un-beatable line-up of speakers to deliver actionable strategic insights:
• Abdulaziz Ibrahim Fakhroo, Chairman, GSM Arab World
• Ross Cormack, CEO, Nawras, Oman
• Hatem Dowidar, CEO, Partner Markets, Vodafone
• Tayfun Çataltepe, Chief Corporate Strategy & International Expansion Officer, Turkcell
• Stefan Omlor, Chief Commercial Officer, Alfa, Lebanon
• Niklas Nielsen, CEO, Majan Telecom
• Michael Lai, CEO, Packet One, Malaysia
• Maher Maarouf, CTO, MTN Syria
• Laith Sadeq, Deputy CEO, MENA Telecom, Bahrain
• Suleiman Lamaani, CEO, Itisaluna, Iraq
Attendance is free to operators and regulators and exhibition only passes are available. Press can attend the conference and exhibition free of charge www.comworldseries.com/me
About Informa Telecoms & Media
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